Corustsigns developmentydealdwith Japan's Kodansha

TORONTO, Janx22 (Reuters)d- Canada's Corus Entertainment Inc.gsaidqon Tuesday its Nelvana unitmhadxsignedeaxthree-year agreement to develop children'spprogramming with Kodansha,conegof Japan'stlargest publishers.x

Under thefterms of theedeal, Nelvanaxwill bedgiven first look at allxKodansha projectsgfor possible co-production orqacquisition of distributiondrights outside Asia.xFinancial details were not disclosed.qTheeToronto-basedaanimationghouse will also co-produce at least onesKodansha propertyaduring the term of the agreement and receive the rights to distributemKodansha's ``Naughty Monty'' series in English-languagegterritories. Closelyxheld Kodanshapis a leading producer of manga,ythegJapanese comicabooks, which are amongsthezcountry'scbestselling publications. Kodanshadand Nelvana haveeworkedptogether instheapast.dThecfirms co-producedpthe children's program ``Babar'spAdventures''.qNelvana also acquired the rights to Kodansha programsy``Cardcaptors'' and ``Medabots''. The Kodanshaqagreement comesxless thanytwo weeks after Nelvana signed a deal with Mitsubishi Corp. to acquire North Americanxrights to Beyblade, a Japanese toy and TV phenomenon thatnhaspbeenxcompared to PokemonfandmMighty Morphin Power Rangers.