Hopster lands on Vodafone Play in Iceland

Hopster, the service that helps kids learn through the shows they love, has signed a carriage deal with Vodafone Iceland, which will see the service join the mobile and IPTV provider’s SVOD service – Vodafone PLAY.

Hopster is now available in all three Vodafone PLAY subscriptions across Iceland – Vodafone PLAY, Vodafone PLAY M and Vodafone PLAY L – and will be bringing hundreds of local-language episodes of its trademark hand-picked shows to kids all over the country.

The partnership between Vodafone Iceland and Hopster means that kids in Iceland will now be able to enjoy some of the most popular preschool programmes in their native language. They will have access to hit shows such as Thomas & FriendsTM, Pingu, Bob the Builder in Icelandic, in addition to some popular national nursery rhymes, all supporting Hopster’s special early years’ curriculum.1

Hopster has also been working on the localisation of other hit shows, including Max & Ruby, Wanda and the Alien, Peg + Cat, which will also be premiering on the Vodafone PLAY subscription service.

Vodafone has been investing in cross-platform video services for its customers for the past eight months and launched Vodafone PLAY in April 2015. The addition of Hopster to the Icelandic production offering harmonies well with the company’s CSR practices, where the “Play-to-Learn“ approach goes hand in hand with its current emphasis on the importance of good communication and responsible behaviour on the internet.

The accompanying mobile app is currently in the works and will be launching in Iceland early 2016. Similarly to the English version app, as well as the shows, it will include Hopster’s suite of educational games and interactive interface, all in Icelandic.

Nick Walters, founder and CEO at Hopster says: “We’re really excited to be working with Vodafone Iceland. Their approach ties in nicely with what we believe in at Hopster, which is helping kids to learn through the shows they love, in a safe and ad-free environment that’s built just for them. We look forward to introducing Hopster to children and parents across Iceland, and feel it’s important they enjoy the app to the fullest without any language barriers.”

Björn Víglundsson, COO at Vodafone Iceland adds: “We are thrilled with the agreement with Hopster and very excited to offer our customers this great kids TV and learning VoD platform, something we are confident that will be very well received in Iceland. We couldn‘t be happier to be able to include Hopster in our TV offerings and look forward to the partnership. The Play-to-Learn approach of the content included is of great importance and goes well with our approach of products for the younger generation growing up.”

Fore more information on Vodafone PLAY please visit www.vodafone.is/hopster.