Press release from ABC-TV
ABC3 SIGNS DEVELOPMENT DEAL FOR MORE PRANK PATROL EPISODES
Following the huge success of the first 26 locally-made episodes of the international award-winning series Prank Patrol, ABC3 has signed a development deal for a further 39 half-hour episodes with Melbourne’s activeTV.
The new Australian series is slated for production commencing in mid 2010. Originally created by Canada’s Apartment 11, local versions of Prank Patrol are ratings winners for CBBC in the UK and YTV in Canada.
Executive Head of ABC Children’s Television, Tim Brooke-Hunt says “We are delighted with the success of activeTV’s production of Prank Patrol. The show was a ratings winner from day one and its audience continues to grow.”
President of active TV, Michael McKay said “activeTV is immensely proud of the runaway success of Prank Patrol Australia, with audience ratings even outperforming the hugely popular Canadian and UK series by as much as 50% on ABC3.”
In each episode host Scotty Tweedie and his two prank-loving ninjas meet a new prankster who’s on a mission to pull a prank on someone they know whether it is a friend, sibling, parent or teacher.
The Australian versions of Prank Patrol debuted on ABC3 on December 4, 2009 and repeated in March on ABC1. The current series consistently rated in the top five shows viewed by children aged 5 to 12 on both channels.
ABC Commercial holds a new multi-platform licensing agreement with activeTV for Prank Patrol Australia. The first DVD will be released in May 2010.