Hulu Grabs ‘Sonic Boom’ Animated Hedgehog Series in Exclusive Deal

Hulu has acquired exclusive subscription-streaming rights to “Sonic Boom,” the CG-animated series starring SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog, as it keeps building up its stable of kids’ fare.

All 52 episodes from the first season will become available on Hulu to stream in English and Spanish beginning later in May, under a pact with video-game publisher SEGA and Technicolor Animation Productions (formerly OuiDO Productions).

The deal with Hulu comes after the series aired on Turner’s Cartoon Network starting in the fall of 2014. “Sonic Boom” will still live on VOD for Cartoon Network and select episodes will appear on CN.com.

As the exclusive online SVOD partner in the U.S., Hulu has rights to stream all episodes across devices including set-top boxes, gaming consoles, mobile, desktops and tablets.

SEGA first unleashed the bolting blue Sonic the Hedgehog character in a 1991 video-game, and he has remained popular in the years since through licensed merchandise, comics, film, animation and new games.

“Sonic Boom,” the franchise’s first-ever CG animated series, focuses on Sonic and his friends Tails, Knuckles, Amy and newcomer Sticks, their never-ending search for adventure, and their battles with Sonic’s arch-enemy, Dr. Eggman.

In the U.S., the show consistently ranked as the No. 1 or 2 telecast in its time slot on Cartoon Network for boys 6-11 and 9-14 as well as kids 9-14, according to Nielsen data for November 2014 to November 2015. It also was the top show in the U.K. on Boomerang for kids and housewives with kids in its launch month, and has performed well in other markets.

The “Sonic Boom” TV series is a co-production of SEGA of America and Technicolor Animation Productions (which acquired French animation company OuiDo Productions in February 2015). Executive producers are Evan Baily, Donna Friedman Meir and Jane McGregor on behalf of SEGA, and Sandrine Nguyen and Boris Hertzog on behalf of Technicolor Animation Productions. Bill Freiberger is the showrunner and executive producer. Takashi Iizuka, the head of SEGA’s Sonic Team, oversees the series to ensure it aligns with the Sonic universe and his creative vision.

Separately, Hulu’s subscription service offers the full run of “Sonic X,” a Japanese anime television series from TMS Entertainment featuring Sonic and friends, in subtitled and dubbed versions.

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