HOPSTER ACQUIRES PRESCHOOL APP CURIOUS WORLD
HOPSTER ARE ACTIVELY SEEKING TO ACQUIRE IP, CONTENT & DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES TO BOLSTER ITS LEARNING FOCUS & STRENGTHEN ITS GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
London, 13 September 2020 –Hopster, the award-winning preschool educational and entertainment digital platform announced today that it has acquired preschool learning app Curious World to bolster its content portfolio and strengthen its global footprint.
Founded by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2015, Curious World is an early learning, ad-free app aimed at 2 - 7years olds. Powered by the world-renowned children’s brand Curious George, Curious World uses a personalised navigation system to showcase its diverse portfolio that is mapped to eight key early learning areas.
Operating as one company but keeping two brands, Curious World and Hopster, collectively will have over 5million downloads and over 500,000 subscribers worldwide. Through this acquisition Hopster will acquire an additional 140 original short-form videos such as Superpower Heroes, 150+ original interactive games such as the recently launched Daily Routine game collection and 100+ book titles. The acquisition includes 53 exclusive Curious George original content of games and books plus two video series Let’s go to Work and How to Make.
Among its numerous awards, last year Curious World was certified with 5* rating in the Educational App Store and within the last year launched in 11 new territories and partnered with Primrose Schools to offer its families free access to at-home learning resources this summer.
Adding Curious World to Hopster’s portfolio is the first step of aggregating all Sandbox’s preschool brands under Hopster. The acquisition follows a recent management announcement by Hopster as saw its newly appointed co-CEO’s Miki Chojnacka and Tyrell Ellis take the reins with a goal to accelerate its financial growth & further develop its original content, partnerships and global awareness.
Miki Chojnacka, co-CEO and Chief Content Officer at Hopster said “We are very excited to welcome Curious World to the Hopster family. This consolidation will boost our original IP offering and will double our catalogue of mobile-first educational content. We believe learning starts at an early age and through this acquisition and combined original content we will help kids learn through the stories they love on a larger scale.”
Tyrell Ellis, co-CEO at Hopster said “Curious World has a strong presence in the US with over a million downloads to date - it's an exciting opportunity to leverage commercial synergies between these businesses, drive growth across both platforms and increase our global reach. This is the first of our strategic pre-school brands aggregation that will support our mission to grow our content and reach, whilst adding value to our partners and customers. Hopster is actively seeking acquisitions, and is targeting preschool content, brand IPs and digital distribution companies to further accelerate growth. ”
In November 2019, Sandbox & Co. became a majority shareholder of Hopster, complimenting portfolio digital learning products and services reach in excess of 55m millennial families and kids which include CoolMathGames, Poptropica, Tinybop, Family Education, Teacher Vision, TeachIt, Super Awesome, Fact Monster, InfoPlease and Funbrain.
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About Hopster – www.hopster.tv
Hopster is a beautifully designed app for the under-sixes, aiming to strike the perfect balance between learning and fun. For one low monthly subscription with no tie-ins, Hopster subscribers get access to a large selection of kid’s TV shows, stimulating learning games, nursery rhymes and music.
Hopster is trusted by millions of parents worldwide to keep their kids amazed with fun educational content in a safe and ad-free environment. It has topped the App Store charts in over 36 countries, was named Best Streaming Video Platform for preschoolers by Kidscreen as has received a channel nomination at the Children’s BAFTA in 2018 and 2019.
Hopster can be downloaded free from the App Store and Google Play and can be found on selected smart TVs such as Amazon Fire TV, EE TV and Roku in the UK, Roku Channels, Comcast Xfinity, DISH and Sling TV in the US and on many other platforms around the world.
About Curious World – https://www.curiousworld.com
Curious World is a kid-safe and ad-free app that delivers hundreds of fun and education videos, games, and books to kids ages 2-7. Every piece of content is mapped to one or more of eight key learning areas, which are designed to help ensure children are prepared for kindergarten and beyond.
Since launching in 2014, Curious World has generated millions of downloads in the US, driven by a lineup of original series—including Through the Woods and A Rhino Named Paul—and licensed short-form videos, games and eBooks curated by early learning experts. The platform also snapped up a Kidscreen Award for Best Learning App in 2017.
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