The National Hockey League (NHL) is looking to showcase hockey in China, and it’s going to do it through animation.
Super BOOMi Hockey Hero is the first-ever CG-animated series to focus on hockey to show kids of all ages how to play like NHL superstars Connor McDavid, Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Pettersson, and more. BOOMi is the star of China-based Up Studios‘ Super BOOMi. BOOMi is the creation of animation director, Trevor Lai, a lifelong hockey fan.
The character is a hit in China with more than 2.6 billion views online and top ratings on every major kids’ television network in the territory, including CCTV.
Super BOOMi recently inked an international distribution deal with Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, which launched the series in English on Treehouse in Canada, as well as internationally on YouTube as part of Nelvana’s Red Bear Animation channel.
The NHL will use Super BOOMi Hockey Hero as the cornerstone of “grassroots content” to grow awareness of ice hockey and the NHL in China. The League says that China is the largest new market for the sport, with around 75 new ice rinks being constructed each year.
The first episode will debut on Super BOOMi’s dedicated Tencent Video channel as well as on the Tencent Sports channel during the Stanley Cup Final, followed by television broadcasters.
Up Studios and its partners plan to launch Super BOOMi Hockey Hero both in China and North America, with further plans in the works for international expansion and licensing partnerships.
