BEIJING, Jan. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ) ("iQIYI" or the "Company"), an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, announced today that its original CG-animated series in collaboration with Nickelodeon International and VIS Kids, a division of ViacomCBS International Studios, Deer Squad, will premiere on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on January 25^th, 2021. The airing of Deer Squad in the US market is a testament to the high quality of this iQIYI original animation and marks the successful entry of Chinese animation into an international market.

iQIYI Expands Its International Footprint, Announcing Its Animation, Deer Squad Airing on Nickelodeon in the US on January 25, 2021

An adventure-rescue animation, Deer Squad tells the story of four lovable, enthusiastic and heroic deer friends Kai, Lola, Rammy and Bobbi, who protect the animals of Central Forest and the humans who inhabit Platinum City, a futuristic metropolis surrounding their woodland home. When there's trouble, the Deer summon their Planet Powers and transform into a team that can solve problems using their Planet Powers of Water (Kai), Wood (Lola), Earth (Bobbi) and Sun (Rammy). The animation series premiered on iQIYI on July 15, 2020 and was the most played show on the Chinese internet for seven consecutive weeks among all animations aired in the past four months.

Nickelodeon International aired Deer Squad across Asia in August 2020, including on iQIYI's platform in China. The show premiered in Australia, New Zealand and the UK later in the year. It was the #1 show in the Philippines amongst kids 2-14¹, ranked Nick Jr. as the #1 STV channel in Australia among kids 0-4 during Deer Squad premieres² and averaged +148% in the UK compared to the timeslot benchmark³. It is scheduled to air in Europe and Africa in March 2021.

Created with a global audience in mind, Deer Squad is a successful attempt for iQIYI to enter the international animation market with its own animation IP. iQIYI initiated the cooperation with the Nickelodeon International and ViacomCBS International Studio (VIS) Kids teams, collaborating throughout the entire production process and providing crucial feedback to help bridge the cultural gap between Chinese and international audiences. This innovative in-depth collaboration model has provided new avenues and possibilities for domestic animation to travel beyond its own shores.

In terms of production values, Deer Squad was benchmarked against the highest  international standard in order to perfect the show's screenplay, character design, animation effects and other aspects, which will be key to its success in the competitive international market.

Yang Xiaoxuan, Vice President of iQIYI and Head of Original Animation and Investment said, "Deer Squad is a major breakthrough for iQIYI's development of original children's animation, creatively supervised by Nickelodeon. We appreciate Nickelodeon's international broadcasting strategy on the show, and it is great news that we have achieved No.1 in viewership in many regions. We hope that there will be more Chinese original animations to go international."  

"We first partnered with iQIYI on the series with a worldwide audience in mind. We're incredibly proud to see this original pre-school series become the first global Chinese-originated collaborative project as we further our commitment to developing kids-first content from around the world," said Nina Hahn, Senior Vice President of International Production & Development for Nickelodeon International and Head of VIS Kids.

iQIYI has been expanding its global resources and partnerships in the children's animation space in recent years, working with renowned animation houses to provide premium content. In the future, iQIYI will deliver on its commitment of creating high-quality and original IPs and look to further expand its IP industry chain by hosting events and developing spin-offs and merchandise. These initiatives will allow the Company to realize the full commercial value of its IPs while simultaneously enhancing the children's content industry and boosting the international competitiveness of Chinese-made original animation.

About iQIYI, Inc.

iQIYI, Inc. is an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China. Its corporate DNA combines creative talent with technology, fostering an environment for continuous innovation and the production of blockbuster content. iQIYI's platform features highly popular original content, as well as a comprehensive library of other professionally-produced content, partner-generated content and user generated content. The Company distinguishes itself in the online entertainment industry by its leading technology platform powered by advanced AI, big data analytics and other core proprietary technologies. iQIYI attracts a massive user base with tremendous user engagement and has developed a diversified monetization model including membership services, online advertising services, content distribution, live broadcasting, online games, IP licensing, online literature and e-commerce.

About Nickelodeon International

Nickelodeon, now in its 41st year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location-based experiences, publishing and feature films. Nickelodeon is one of the most globally recognized and widely distributed multimedia entertainment brands for kids and family, available in nearly 400 million households across 170+ countries and territories, via more than 80+ locally programmed channels and branded blocks. Outside of the United States, Nickelodeon is part of ViacomCBS Networks International, a division of ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC). For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of ViacomCBS Inc. 

About ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS)

Introduced in 2018, ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS) is a division of ViacomCBS Networks International that produces content for ViacomCBS brands and platforms, including Paramount+, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, Channel 5, Network 10, Telefe and Porta Dos Fundos, as well as for third parties. In 2020, VIS Kids launched to further the expansion of the studio's global kids content pipeline. The content that VIS produces covers all genres, from pre-school to young adult and across live action and animation, as well as soap operas, dramas, short and long-form comedy formats and feature film productions. VIS global sales include original productions, co-productions, formats sold for local adaptations, and sale of ready-made content.