Netflix has acquired StoryBots, the company behind the original Netflix children’s series “Ask the StoryBots.” StoryBots was founded by Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, the creators of JibJab. The price of the acquisition will be immaterial to Netflix, according to reports.
The acquisition marks a turn for the company toward buying intellectual property. It’s Netflix’s second content company acquisition after buying MillarWorld in 2017. StoryBots will expand its series offerings within Netflix after the acquisition. Season three of “Ask The StoryBots” comes out later this year. The show is available in 22 languages across 190 countries.
“Ask The StoryBots” has featured the voices of many celebrity guest stars, including rapper Snoop Dogg, actor Edward Norton and comedian Ali Wong.
Both Gregg and Evan Spiridellis will stay at Netflix and work in the company’s animation department. The two will be solely focused on expanding StoryBots, rather than making other shows, for the foreseeable future, said CEO Spiridellis.
Netflix doesn’t share its data on how many viewers watch its shows, even with the show’s creators, Spiridellis said. Now that Netflix has acquired StoryBots, he is anxious to learn that information, he said. StoryBots has more than 1 billion views on YouTube and the company’s own website and apps, Spiridellis said.
