DreamWorks Animation strikes carriage deal with France’s Lagardère Active

Lagardère Active, one of France’s biggest media groups, has entered a carriage deal with DreamWorks Animation.

The pact gives Lagardère free-to-air and basic pay-tv rights for its family and kids channels to broadcast DreamWorks Animation’s television series, including “Dragons: Race to the Edge,” “The Adventures of Puss in Boots,” “All Hail King Julien,” “Turbo FAST,” “The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show,” and “Dawn of the Croods.”

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The pact essentially amounts to a linear TV deal for shows that were initially created as part of DWA’s deal with Netflix.

The collaboration will launch on France’s leading kids’ TV network Gulli in September with “Dinotrux,” DWA’s first original series. The deal also brings DWA programming to France’s other kids’ pay TV network Canal J and TiJi.

“We couldn’t be happier that Lagardère will be bringing our DreamWorks Animation original series to French audiences for the very first time on linear television,” said Eric Ellenbogen, co-head of international TV and DreamWorks classics.

The deal is the latest example of how DreamWorks, which co-owns with Hearst Corp. the YouTube teen network Awesomeness TV, has been ramping up its television business to lessen its reliance on the performance of movies.

The Glendale-based studio recently expanded its landmark deal with Netflix to include launching several new series from DreamWorks Animation, as well as extending Netflix’s rights to stream such DreamWorks series as “The Adventures of Puss in Boots” and “Dinotrux” in markets around the world, except China.

And in December, DWA entered a five-year agreement with Canada-based children’s entertainment company DHX Media. As part of the deal, DWA would co-produce 130 episodes of original animated children’s content at DHX studios that would air on DHX portfolio of TV channels.

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