London, 18 January, 2024  –  Multi-award-winning, pre-school animation Bing, produced by the independent creative studio Acamar Films, has now been streamed over one billion times on BBC iPlayer, making it one of the most popular series nationally, across all genres, on the platform. This historic milestone complements Bing’s continued expansion as Acamar confirms broadcast agreements with key national broadcasters: The BBC, Rai, France Télévisions and NPO as well as leading partners in Australia and Malaysia to extend Bing’s global reach and success. 

“Any series being streamed over a billion times on BBC iPlayer is a rare achievement. We are so proud to have hit this incredible milestone and we’re all so grateful to the many UK families who have invited Bing into their cherished daily routines over the last eight years. We are also grateful to our partners, the BBC, who have continued to recognise Bing’s power to support the healthy development of young children. Our new agreement with them will allow us to continue to share Bing, Flop and their friends with audiences for years to come,” said Mikael Shields, CEO, Acamar Films.

Kate Morton, Senior Head of Commissioning for CBeebies said: “From toddlers trying to understand big feelings and new experiences, to their parents trying so hard to support and guide them, every family has a special place in their hearts for Bing and his friends. He is much-loved and much-watched by millions of pre-schoolers and will continue to be a CBeebies favourite for years to come.”

Bing will now be available to a wider global audience thanks to significant growth in Acamar’s global distribution agreements. 

“Our growth in renewals with leading broadcasters is helping our existing audience to deepen their connection with Bing across Europe as well as globally and strongly reinforcing the universal, timeless values of our characters and storytelling,” said Eroulla Constantine, Executive Director, Sales and Distribution, Acamar Films.

Recent European Broadcast Deals Include: 

The BBC: The UK’s public service broadcaster which was the first to broadcast Bing in June 2014, will continue to air all four seasons (104 episodes) of Bing as well as a 22-minute extended Christmas special.  This new agreement means young audiences will be able to watch Bing as part of the CBeebies lineup where the series airs three times a day. Bing can also be watched on BBC iPlayer where the series is one of the most popular pre-school programmes of all time. 

Rai: In Italy, where Bing is a cultural phenomenon, Rai have signed an agreement to renew their rights. All 104 episodes will continue to air on Rai Yoyo and to be available on RaiPlay. In addition to the extension of previously held rights, the deal introduces new and exclusive non-episodic Bing content including the Italian premiere of Bing and his Friends at the Cinema, a feature-length compilation of best-loved Bing episodes.

France Télévisions: Bing was the most watched pre-school programme in April 2023 on France 5 and also achieved the highest weekend audience share amongst 4-10 years olds in July for France 5.* France Télévisions have now acquired series three of Bing following the tremendous success of series one and two on France 5 as well as on their Okoo digital platform. 

In the Netherlands, NPO have renewed their agreement with Acamar Films to continue to air all 104 episodes of Bing on the Zappelin channel. This new agreement with the national broadcaster includes a range of new character compilations for the first time. 

Acamar Films have also reached an agreement with DreamWorks, the 24-hour kids and family entertainment channel from NBCUniversal, which sees Bing broadcast twice daily on DreamWorks in The Netherlands. Bing premiered on the DreamWorks channel on 6th November, 2023.

In addition to these new European agreements, Acamar have also extended its audience reach with Malaysian SVOD platform, Durioo+ who have the rights to stream 78 localised episodes of Bing in Malay. 

In Australia, Italian-speaking Bing fans will be able to access Bing on the Il Globo TV streaming platform as the service launches Bing as one of its first children’s titles for the country.

*(Mediametrie, April, July 2023)