Turner Broadcasting's Boomerang Will Air The New Inspector Gadget In 56+ Countries (Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia Pacific)

Fresh off the presses today: Turner Broadcasting has picked up the rights to air DHX's Inspector Gadget reboot on their Boomerang channels in a plethora of different countries - and continents. Via KidScreen:

Turner Broadcasting has picked up DHX Media‘s Inspector Gadget reboot for its Boomerang channels across EMEA, Latin America and Asia Pacific. 

The new CGI series, which updates the 1980s classic toon, will run on Boomerang EMEA, a digital cable and satellite network operating across Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 56 countries, reaching more than 48 million homes. Boomerang Latin America, a pay-TV network launched in September 2014, will also carry the Canadian CGI series. 

The new Inspector Gadget , comprising 26 half-hours, has Dr. Claw restarting his global crime syndicate MAD, bringing the multi-tasking detective Gadget out of retirement to save the world, along with his niece Penny and his dog Brain.

The press release version at TV Wise includes a quote from DHX's Josh Scherba (who we already know) about what this deal means for the reboot, and why he thinks the show will appeal to audiences across the globe:

“Inspector Gadget is one of those classic properties that’s perfect for a contemporary version”, said Josh Scherba, DHX Media’s Senior Vice-President of Distribution. “It combines humour, mystery and zany accessories that audiences the world over will wish they had. This series has been updated for the next generation of gadget-savvy kids and our deals with these new broadcast partners will ensure Inspector Gadget will ‘go-go’ to new fans.”

The TV Wise article also states specifically that the series will start airing on all these Boomerang channels in 2015 (though nothing more specific has been mentioned in any of the press releases I've seen):

Under the deal, the show will launch on Turner’s Boomerang channel, which is currently in the midst of a global revamp, in those regions in 2015.

The deal seems to make sense considering that the series is already slated to air on Boomerang's big brother Cartoon Network in the United States, and Turner Broadcasting is, of course, the owner of both these channels. And to be fair, parts of this information about the international Turner deal has actually been known for a little while...

-- Already on June 27, it was announced that Boomerang in Africa would air the show - though at the time, that article seemed unclear to me, as I didn't realize it specifically refererred to plans for Boomerang and Cartoon Network in Africa. 

-- A recent distribution catalogue from DHX, released in PDF format on September 26, stated this: "New series premiering on Teletoon Canada and Cartoon Network EMEA & Asia in 2015". (So it might seem that the deal for many regions was changed, after this writing, to Boomerang rather than Cartoon Network.) 

-- During this October's Mipcom market, where DHX promoted their new Inspector Gadget series heavily to international buyers, a WorldScreen article also stated that Boomerang EMEA had purchased the show. This extract includes mention of Boomerang's current, worldwide rebrand plans, referred to in the above TV Wise quote:

At Turner Broadcasting System EMEA, Patricia Hidalgo, the senior VP and chief content and creative officer for kids, says that her priority this year is Boomerang. 

“We have made a strategic decision to elevate this channel to become our second flagship kids’ brand next to Cartoon Network. We will be aligning our Boomerang channels globally with a new look and feel and a common unique positioning that we believe will resonate strongly with boys and girls 4-to-7 and their families.” (...) Coming up next year we will be launching new content from our own classics like Scooby-Doo!, Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes, as well as new seasons of acquisitions including Inspector Gadget, Mr Bean and The Garfield Show.” (...)

Global commissions include Wabbit, a series of comedic shorts featuring Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam and Wile E. Coyote, and Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, an all-new animated comedy series. “In addition, we have prebought Mr Bean series two from Endemol and the new Inspector Gadget from DHX for EMEA and Asia Pacific,” she says.

There were several reasons I waited with reporting this stuff... mostly due to being very short on time over the past two months, but also because of the contradicting information presented in the DHX PDF and the Worldscreen write-up. Would the show be on Cartoon Network or on Boomerang across the EMEA and Asia regions? The current press releases, however, seem to clarify once and for all that Boomerang will bring the reboot to all of these countries. And I wouldn't be surpriced if today's major annnouncement also means that Boomerang is moving very close to an actual premiere date.

So all in all: VERY GOOD NEWS, and news that means Gadget's reboot will see a wide-spread, global launch next year. In all likeliness, the series will even end up on the Boomerang channel in my home country Norway... though personally, I'll probably be seeking out the English-language version rather than a Norwegian dub.