“Talk to Pocoyo”, the new skill of Amazon Kids in Alexa

“Talk to Pocoyo” is the new skill that is added to the catalog of preschool content offered by Amazon Kids, an Alexa service aimed at the little ones, through Alexa. Children will be able to interact and talk with their favorite character and discover, through play, multiple aspects of music, colors, the world of animals… In this way, Pocoyo will be present on Amazon Kids on Alexa, along with other skills oriented, among others, to learning and practicing languages ​​or music.

Alexa users in Spain can access Amazon Kids for free through their Echo and Echo Show devices in a safe, fun and adapted environment for children between 3 and 12 years old. And among the many features it offers are educational and entertainment skills, such as “Talk to Pocoyo”, as well as playlists designed for children to play and learn with Alexa.

For the peace of mind of parents, there are many other new features that Amazon Kids incorporates in Alexa, such as the parental control panel, daily time limits, children’s profile, voice purchase blocking, explicit content filter, numerous educational content , as well as voice and video calls with parent-approved contacts. The little ones will receive answers appropriate to their age in tone and content. To start the Amazon Kids experience on Alexa, parents must create and approve a child’s profile through the Alexa App. It is also possible to create a Voice ID on devices with a screen and the experience can be activated on one or more Echo devices in the home, as well as use the child’s profile on a shared device or dedicate one for exclusive use of the child.

The little ones can now safely use Alexa and connected devices, and learn, play and interact with characters like Pocoyo.

Zinkia, one more year at MIPJunior

While fully immersed in the celebration of Pocoyo’s 20th anniversary, Zinkia continues to work on new content and has its sights set on the start and production of its fifth season. The new episodes will see the light in 2023 and will include significant changes and new characters like “Pocoyina,” Pocoyo’s sister. This is part of the news announced by the company at the latest edition of MIPJunior, the event kicking off MIPCOM dedicated to children’s content, to be held in Cannes on the 15th and 16th of June.

It was precisely at this event that Pocoyo was unveiled for the first time, 20 years ago. Since then, the series has experienced an unstoppable expansion through free-access television, cable TV, VoD platforms and OTT in the USA. A growth that has been fuelled by important partnerships with HBO Max, Cartoon Network, Disney+ and Netflix, among many others.

In addition, Pocoyo is one of the key references in children’s content on YouTube, where it has over 37 million subscribers and its videos have been viewed more than 6.5 billion times in the past year.

New properties in the catalogue

Zinkia is also progressing in the development of other properties making up its portfolio. This is the case of “Yanco, Dina y los Dinosaurios”, the studio’s new property and its first original project in the last 15 years. Aimed at audiences aged between 6 and 8, it will include an animation series for TV and platforms, as well as specific content for YouTube and mobile devices. Other titles are “Bumpy: the Bear,” a traditional animation series which is expected to have 52 episodes lasting 7 minutes, and the productions “Ghost Bros” and “Bugsted.”

In the words of the studio’s General Manager, Víctor M. López, “Zinkia is tackling a total overhaul, with an ambitious content production plan for Pocoyo and a redefinition of the brand’s commercial operations. In addition, we are currently immersed in the development of three new projects that will see the light over the coming years.”

“Muchoyó” raises its voice to demand children’s rights

Pocoyó has taken a step forward to give life to Muchoyó and to be able to address the problems affecting millions of children and teenagers around the world. To demand that their rights are being respected, and to mobilize funds for projects to protect children. Six major entities – Children’s Villages SOS, Educo, Plan International, Save the Children, UNICEF Spain, and World Vision – have joined together in a historic alliance called “The Children’s Revolution” through a multimedia project, with a teenage language and a groundbreaking aesthetic that uses animation, fashion, urban art, and music.

Muchoyó’s genesis is presented in an animated video clip, with breakthrough language, and a black and white aesthetic very different from what Pocoyó has us accustomed to. In the piece, the character embarks on a decisive journey through a grey and dark world, dominated by injustice and lack of rights, in which references are made to some of the problems that his group suffers: discrimination, child labor, sexual violence, or war. His journey ends in a symbolic place where Muchoyó sends his message to the world:

“We want to hear laughter instead of shouting. Feel affection and not fear. We want to play instead of fighting. Kill hunger, and not let hunger kill us. We want to heal ourselves when we get sick. We want to stop fleeing without knowing from what. We want to learn to read and not just to survive. We want to be listened to. ”

And he warns: “Childhood has a voice”

https://youtu.be/6pT25mtxCpw

¡Muchoyó was created to raise public awareness of the importance of fulfilling children’s rights, to amplify the voices of children and teenagers so that they can demand the fulfillment of their rights. It invites them to join their revolution through a manifesto song composed by 18-year-old NG from Alicante in collaboration with SFDK, which is available on all music platforms (Spotify, Itunes, Youtube Music).

Núria García, a. k. a. NG, scored millions of views in rapping “cockfights” when she was just 14 years old, where she faced older rappers with more trajectory. As a child, she listened to American rap without understanding what they were saying. It was enough for her to fall in love with hip hop, and to devote all her free time to rapping and writing her first lyrics, more out of personal need than out of artistic interest. With discretion and constancy, she has been developing her style and a legion of followers on Instagram.

The movement also has its flag: a collection of protest t-shirts with the slogan “YO SOY MUCHO” now available at CorreosMarket on request for 20 euros (shipping costs included). All the funds generated through the sale of t-shirts and streams of the song will be used to finance childcare projects of the six global organizations involved: SOS Children’s Villages, Educo, Plan International, Save The Children, UNICEF Spain, and World Vision.

Thirty years after the Convention on the Rights of the Child

The right to education, housing, health, healthy food, to grow up in a family, non-discrimination, and participation are some of the rights that this movement makes visible through various media, such as infographics on current figures on children’s problems or the manifesto with their demands are available on the website www.muchoyo.org.

Many issues have improved since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in November 1989, when, for the first time, Countries around the world recognized in an international treaty that boys and girls have the same rights as adults, who have their voice and representation.

But there is still a long way to go. Events such as the economic crisis of 2008, the climate crisis, and, more recently, COVID, and conflicts such as the war in Ukraine have led to a setback in children’s rights.

Nowadays:

-Globally, 45 million children under the age of five suffer from severe malnutrition.

426 million children currently live in areas of armed conflict, the second largest number in history.

The number of girls and boys involved in child labor has increased to 160 million worldwide.

1 in 10 children grow up without parental care or are at risk of losing it.

Data like this highlight that movements like Muchoyó are important and necessary.

“Muchoyó is much more than a character and content. It is an attitude that allows children to raise their voices and demand the fulfillment of their rights” says Jorge Martínez, the publicist and creator of the project.

“Muchoyó was an obligation for Zinkia and Pocoyó to fight for children’s rights, to remember that children are the most important human heritage that exists and that it is the duty of all to take care of them” explains Víctor M. Lopez.

“Ensuring children’s rights, putting an end to child poverty and all forms of violence against children call us to generously and resolutely build partnerships such as the one we are presenting today. In the context of major global challenges for children, six global children’s organizations, a new global activist, Muchoyo, collaborators from various sectors, and, most importantly, children and teenagers, have joined as active agents of change. We want their voices to be heard around the world, to reach out to governments, businesses, the media, and society at large to make children’s rights a reality”, explains Javier Ruiz, CEO of World Vision and spokesperson for The Children’s Revolution.

 

 

 

 

 

Pocoyó and Kidoodle.tv renew their broadcasting agreement

Pocoyó’s catalog offering continues to grow and consolidate through the main VOD or streaming platforms. Among the latest news is the renewal of the agreement that Zinkia maintains with the free platform Kidoodle.tv for the USA, UK, and Australia. The platform has renewed the broadcast contract for the children’s animation series that includes the continuity of season 1 and four special episodes, to which are now added the episodes of season 2 and six other special contents.

Pocoyó, therefore, reinforces its international presence through Kidoodle. tv. One of the added values of the streaming platform is the security of the content, selected so that parents don’t have to worry about what their children watch, as it is only and exclusively aimed at the youngest. In addition, it has an interesting catalog with popular series and animated films for children, including Pocoyó, which is available for TV and mobile terminals.

Pocoyó releases three new musicals on Youtube

Pocoyó’s presence on YouTube remains unstoppable and has been reinforced in the last month with the launch of three music channels (in Italian, French, and German). Zinkia has carried out this new action as part of its commitment to Europe to offer Italian, French, and German-speaking children its new line of musical products. The little ones will be able to enjoy classic songs or original themes from their favorite cartoon.

The renewal of content offerings in the digital environment is a constant at Zinkia, which, like YouTube, continues to grow at a very good pace this year, with more than 37 million subscribers and 6. 5 billion videos viewed in the last year on its YouTube channels.

Canal alemán: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjbKEPxqhsrIIPLYHPy-gbQ

Canal italiano: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA1bCqSTWA5V8cCaVgLxecQ

Canal frances: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_uj0x9gGD78bTrepipJ-Rw

Zinkia renews its agreement with Rakuten TV

Rakuten TV once again relies on Pocoyo for its offer of children’s content. The Spanish platform of VOD and Zinkia has renewed the broadcast contract for the series which, for Spain, includes seasons 1, 2, 3, and seven special episodes.

Rakuten TV is one of Europe’s leading Video-On-Demand platforms that combines TVoD (transactional VOD), SVoD (subscription VOD), AVoD (VOD with advertising) and FAST (free streaming TV with advertising) channels to deliver a content universe that simplifies the user experience as much as possible.

Rakuten TV is available in 43 European territories and currently reaches more than 110 million homes thanks to the remote control button and its pre-installed app for devices from leading manufacturers of Smart TVs.
For its part, Pocoyo is one of the children’s animation series with the largest presence on VOD platforms as well as on open and cable TV.

Pocoyo joins Tivify’s content offering

Pocoyo continues to grow, expanding and strengthening its presence on digital channels and platforms. Tivify, with more than 130 channels available online, has been one of the latest platforms to bet on Pocoyó, which will have its TV channel, and which can already be enjoyed on dial 113 of the platform. With this new addition, Tivify’s streaming service continues to expand the catalog of free content.

The new channel of Pocoyo focused on children, will bring the adventures of Pocoyó and his friends closer to children, discovering the world throughout its four seasons, as well as special episodes and songs, with which to learn and have fun.

With the addition of Pocoyo, Tivify reinforces its commitment to offering its users channels created with its technology, The Channel Store (TCS), which allows any content editor to make its catalog available to users in the form of a television channel.

The platform has an app for all screens: TV (Android TV, Chromecast, Samsung, LG, Amazon Fire TV), mobile phones and tablets (iOS, Android, and Huawei), and PC (Google Chrome). The service is available in Spain and also offers the possibility to enjoy the platform when traveling to any country in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom.

New production: “Yanco, Dina and the Dinosaurs”

Kidscreen, the big event of the children’s entertainment industry held from July 18th to 21st in Miami, has been the framework chosen by Zinkia to present its new production: “Yanco, Dina and the Dinosaurs”. This will be the company’s first original project in 15 years and will target audiences aged 6-8 through a combination of comedy and action. The property will comprise an animation series for TV and specific content for YouTube and handheld devices.

“Yanco, Dina and the Dinosaurs” brings a fun spin to traditional pirate stories, replacing treasure with dinosaur eggs. The protagonists, Yanco, an actor yeti with a penchant for stand-up comedy, and a young girl named Dina, who holds a deep secret, will face the evil Cuddy, a brilliant and charismatic millionaire obsessed with dinosaurs. Together, they will travel to a new corner of the world in each episode to retrieve dinosaur eggs and take them to a safe place before they hatch and become a problem for humans… or rather, the other way around.

The creative team behind “Yanco, Dina and the Dinosaurs” have over 20 years of expertise in the animation industry, after working in series like “Pocoyo”, “Cleo y Cuquin,” “Jelly Jamm,” “Bugsted,” “Shuriken School” and “PINY Pinypon Institute.”

Yanco, Dina and the Dinosaurs” seeks to bring a new look to the extensive and popular theme of dinosaurs,’ explains Victor M. Lopez, General Manager of Zinkia. ‘The dinosaur cubs born from the colourful eggs retrieved by young Dina and Yanco, a yeti who loves omelettes, will star in a series that will unfold through digital and interactive content.’

A launch backed by RTVE

 The launch of “Yanco, Dina and the Dinosaurs”” at Kidscreen is preceded by its backing by RTVE, through its 2022 tender for animation series; the Spanish public television corporation has opted to broadcast the series through its kids channel, Clan.

The tender, which sought attractive formats aimed at children aged 0 to 14, received 26 proposals, and focused on those with charismatic characters, highlighting emotions, and featuring innocent and simple humour for the youngest kids, as well as references to popular culture for the older ones. Other values that were also taken into account include critical thinking, equality, respect, healthy habits and the environment.

 

Pocoyo Colors, the app to draw and paint

Pocoyo keeps working to renew its wide range of apps with new apps on major download platforms such as the App Store and Google Play. One of the latest novelties is the latest update of Pocoyó Colors: the app to draw and paint the character Pocoyo. This new application offers new experiences to the kids, improving the interaction and functionalities of the different proposals while guaranteeing the security and privacy of the contents.

With this new app, which is now available on Google Play and the App Store, children will be able to learn the colors and geometric shapes, and strokes of objects in a fun and educational way. An entertaining game that will allow you to give free rein to your imagination.

The Pocoyo Colors children’s app has different game modes to enjoy anywhere:

  • “Draw and color”: with templates of your favorite characters for scribbling, drawing, coloring, and writing.
  • “Musical Videos”: with different colored songs to reinforce their learning of them.
  • “Strokes”: with more than 30 tiles to learn and practice the correct scrolling and stroke directions.
  • “Create Shapes”: where children will know the names of the main geometric shapes, and their number of sides and recognize them in real-world objects.
  • In “My World” mode, you can entertain yourself by placing the available stickers in various settings with identifiable geometric shapes. They can also make it rain and snow, or make it day and night.

The benefits of starting coloring and drawing at a young age are innumerable. Children will strengthen, among other things, their ability to concentrate, develop fine motor skills, and learn to master movements. They will even learn to relax and improve their self-esteem.

Pocoyo at Licensing Expo (Las Vegas)

 

Zinkia were present at Licensing Expo, the major meeting point for the global licensing market, which was held again in Las Vegas from May 24th to 26th. This new appointment with the licensing industry, which has come after two years of absence due to the pandemic, has celebrated its 40th edition in person.

Pocoyo came to show all its novelties, such as the new episodes of the latest season produced, and a preview of its upcoming projects. The series has now accumulated four seasons (52 x 7`), in addition to 53 music videos and special content. It also has a short film of 25 minutes “Pocoyó and the Space Circus”, the production “Pocoyó: your first film”, and the co-production “Isla Dragón” made with the Cabildo of the island of Gran Canaria (Spain).

Víctor M. López, GM of Zinkia, and Eduardo Garagorri, commercial and business development director of the company, attended this new edition of Licensing Expo, where they had the opportunity to meet with the main players in the sector, who have shown great interest in the brand, to establish collaborations and agreements for future projects.

Currently, Zinkia has many licensees, and among these partners are master toy and first-class distributors, such as Bandai, Comansi, Hoffmann, Clementoni, and CyP, among others. Their product references on the market are grouped into more than twenty categories, including toys, publications, textiles, Back to School or baby care, etc.

Licensing Expo, with more than 37 years of experience, has once again consolidated itself as the main meeting point for the industry and starting point for the implementation of new projects.