Rakuten TV Expands Mattel Partnership

Rakuten TV has expanded its partnership with Mattel with the launch of two new FAST channels across Europe, strengthening its family entertainment offering and extending the reach of some of the industry’s best-known children’s brands.

As part of the agreement, Rakuten TV will programme and distribute the new channels across a number of key European markets, building on an existing relationship between the two companies that was first established last year.

The latest expansion introduces two dedicated channels: Barbie & Friends and Pingu, both aimed at providing free family-focused content to audiences across the region.

The Barbie & Friends channel is centred around the Barbie brand and will also feature content from additional Mattel franchises including Monster High, Enchantimals and Polly Pocket. Designed around themes of friendship, creativity and self-expression, the channel targets family audiences across multiple age groups. It is now available in Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK and Ireland.

Meanwhile, the Pingu channel provides viewers with access to the complete Pingu series in a continuous stream format. The dialogue-free nature of the programme has helped establish the character as a long-standing global favourite, allowing the content to appeal to audiences across different languages and markets. The channel has launched in Portugal, France, Spain, Italy and Germany.

The move further expands a partnership that previously brought Mattel content to Rakuten TV’s Family FAST channel and AVOD library across Europe. With the introduction of the new dedicated channels, the collaboration now moves beyond content licensing into channel development and distribution, providing broader access to established family entertainment brands across European audiences.

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