Sixteen South

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Sixteen South is a company that creates and produces television for children around the world.

Founded in Belfast in 2008 by Colin Williams, they currently employ 81 people and have partnered with major names in children's entertainment, co-producing shows with Sesame Workshop, The Jim Henson Company and the BBC.

The company has already won over 20 major international television awards including a BAFTA Award and two Emmy nominations, and in Business, they have been ranked among the UK's top indie producers by Televisual and been ranked at the top of the Deloitte UK and Ireland Fast 50 in 2013. Colin Williams was one of the 2013 finalists in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award programme.

Television shows

Lily's Driftwood Bay

Lily's Driftwood Bay is a 52 x 7 minutes, mixed media animated show for 4-6 year olds. Season one premiered in Spring 2014 and airs around the world on: Nick Jr., Sprout (TV network), ABC, SVT, MTV3, RTÉ, HOP!, NRK and is being sold to other worldwide territories by The Jim Henson Company. Driftwood Bay is a special island that exists in the imagination of Lily, who creates a world of adventure and friendship from treasures she finds washed up on the beach.

Lily's Driftwood Bay is a unique series about making your own fun and adventures from the things you find. It’s about using your imagination and creativity to inspire an adventure or tell a story. Everything on Driftwood Bay has been created entirely from things washed up on the beach – from the characters to the props and landscapes. It came to life when children’s artist, Joanne Carmichael began to create characters from various things that she found washed up on the beach outside her cottage on the Scottish island of Arran.

Lily's Driftwood Bay received the following awards:

CINE Golden Eagle - 2015

Best Animated Series - Hugo Television Award, Chicago - 2015

Broadcast Awards for Best Pre-School Programme - 2015

Pajanimals

Pajanimals follows the amazing adventures of four cuddly musical puppets. Sixteen South partnered with The Jim Henson Company and PBS Kids Sprout to produce a full-length series of 52 x 11 minute episodes. Pajanimals debuted on Oct 10th, 2011 and airs globally on Sprout, NBC Kids, Disney Junior, ABC , TVNZ , Nick Jr. and TG4

Pajanimals was designed to help parents and caregivers develop bedtime routines for their preschoolers. Through their imaginary journeys, the Pajanimals model the skills preschoolers need to move through their days and nights successfully. Along the way, the Pajanimals discover how cozy and safe night time can really be when accompanied by friendship and songs.

Pajanimals features four cuddly puppet characters. This inseparable quartet forms a night-time community in the comfort of their magical, shared bedroom - Sweetpea Sue the quiet pony, the excitable duck Squacky, the creative cow CowBella and the optimistic puppy Apollo - designed and built by the world-famous OSCAR and Emmy Award winning Jim Henson's Creature Shop

Pajanimals received the following nominations/awards:

Emmy nomination for Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series – 2013

Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series - 2013

Parent's Choice Recommended Seal – 2012

Big & Small

Big & Small is a highly successful children’s pre-school show featuring two best friends who share a house together. Sixteen South partnered with London based Kindle Entertainment to give this hit show a new production home in Belfast and produce a third season which aired on BBC in 2011.

Each story revolves around the comedy of Big & Small’s contrasting approaches to life, and encourages young children to appreciate that people have many different ideas and opinions. The series combines the imagination of animation with the warmth of puppets - great stories packed with humour, laugh-out-loud moments and highly memorable songs.

Big & Small received the following awards:

KidScreen award for Best Writing in a Children's Programme - 2013

BAFTA for Best Interactive Service - 2009

RTS Television Award for Best Children's Programme - 2009

Big City Park

Big City Park is a 26 x 14 minute preschool show, co-produced with BBC Scotland, that’s all about getting outside and having fun – whatever the weather. It was shot in Ormeau Park, Belfast and features Billy the badger, Dara the fox and their ageless friend, Ruairi who all live in the park - along with their human friend, May the park keeper who hosted the series. It was a BBC featured show for August 2010 and rated very highly with over 24% of the audience. It peaked with an audience share of 341,000 on 20 August with an average of 244,000 across the series. It was the second most watched show in its slot on CBeebies during August 2010 and the first show attracted 19,000 viewers on i Player alone.

Big City Park received the following awards:

BAFTA Scotland for Best Children's Series - 2011

IFTA for Best Youth/Children's programme, Ireland - 2011

Silver Plaque - Hugo Television Award, Chicago - 2011

CINE Golden Eagle - 2011

Commended - Celtic Media Festival – 2011

Sesame Tree

Sesame Tree, a version of Sesame Street made entirely in Northern Ireland, is a children's television series produced by Sixteen South and Sesame Workshop. The first episode aired on BBC 2 in Northern Ireland on 5 April 2008 with the first series subsequently airing nationwide on BBC in August 2008. A second series was launched in November 2010 and broadcast on BBC from 22 November 2010.

Sesame Tree is aimed at young children and features strong curriculum and educational content as well as entertaining and engaging storytelling through a mix of traditional muppet interaction and live action films.

It features a new family of muppets - Potto the purple monster, Hilda the hare, Archie the red squirrel, Claribelle the red bird, Samson & Goliath the bookworms and the Weatherberries who all live inside the Sesame Tree - a magical question tree. The 14-minute show includes live action mini-documentary films, which look at life through the eyes of a 3-6 year old and classic clips from Sesame Street.

Sesame Tree received the following nominations/awards

Gold Plaque - Hugo Television Award, Chicago - 2011

CINE Golden Eagle - 2011

Winner - Hugo Television Award, Chicago - 2010

CINE Golden Eagle – 2010

Awards and nominations

2013 – Deloitte Fast 500 EMEA Awards – 68th place
2013 – Deloitte Fast 50 Awards UK - 7th Place
2013 – Deloitte Fast 50 Awards Ireland - 2nd Place
2013 – Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award – Finalist
2013 - Aisling Awards – Best Business - Finalist
2013 - Emmy nomination for Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series - Pajanimals
2013 - Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series - Pajanimals
2013 - Kidscreen Award for Best Writing in a Children's Programme – Big & Small
2013 – Belfast Telegraph Business Award – Best Small/Medium Business - Finalist
2013 – Northern Ireland’s Leaders in Business – Colin Williams
2012 – Belfast Business Awards – Best Creative Business – Finalist
2012 – Belfast Business Awards – Best Business Innovation – Finalist
2012 – Belfast Business Awards – Best International Trade - Finalist
2012 – Rated in Televisual Top 100 Indie Producers
2012 - Parent's Choice Recommended Seal – Pajanimals
2012 – Deloitte Rising Star – Technology Fast 50 Awards
2011 – Rated in Televisual Top 100 Indie Producers
2011 - BAFTA Scotland for Best Children's Series – Big City Park
2011 - IFTA for Best Youth/Children's programme, Ireland – Big City Park
2011 - Hugo Television Award, Chicago - Silver Plaque – Big City Park
2011 - CINE Golden Eagle – Big City Park
2011 - Celtic Media Festival – Commended – Big City Park
2011 - Gold Plaque - Hugo Television Award, Chicago – Sesame Tree
2011 - CINE Golden Eagle – Sesame Tree
2011 – Deloitte Rising Star – Technology Fast 50 Awards
2010 – Rated in Televisual Top 100 Indie Producers
2010 - Hugo Television Award, Chicago – Winner – Sesame Tree
2010 - CINE Golden Eagle – Sesame Tree
2010 – Belfast Business Awards - Best Creative Industry - Winner