Rights to Sooty catalogue sold

Children's television favourite Sooty is to move to a new home after the rights to a large library of programmes featuring the puppet were sold.

The glove-puppet bear and his friends Sweep the dog and panda Soo are being bought by One Media IP, a Buckinghamshire-based acquirer of music and video rights.

The rights are being sold by Richard Cadell, the children's entertainer who has appeared alongside Sooty since 1999.

The company will have exclusive control of a variety of classic Sooty content including eight TV shows presented by Sooty's creator, Harry Corbett.

The shows date back to the original Sooty episodes of the 1950s all the way through to the 1970s including The Sooty Olympics and Sooty's Birthday.

One Media also has the rights for The Sooty Radio Show and a feature-length special entitled Sooty - The Big Day Out with Richard Cadell.

The acquisition was made for an undisclosed sum which will be offset against future royalty payments.

One Media said it will look to derive value from the content by packaging it for sale across a variety of digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon, and YouTube.

Michael Infante, One Media chairman and chief executive, said: "The continuing acquisition of outstanding content is core to the success of One Media and I am extremely pleased with the addition of Sooty, Sweep & Soo to our portfolio.

"This acquisition broadens our mix of content and marks an important move into the distribution of non-music related video, an area we are looking to build on in the near future."