MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. will make an investment in SCi Entertainment Group plc, the parent company of publishing label Eidos Interactive Ltd, representing 10.3 percent of the company‘s enlarged share capital. Additionally, Warner Bros. and SCi have entered into an agreement for licensing and distribution of games based on select Warner Bros. Entertainment properties, asserts an official release. A part of the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) has granted the licenses to SCi for the comic book version of Batman, the Looney Tunes, select titles from the Hanna-Barbera catalog and television properties The OC, Monster Allergy, Loonatics Unleashed and Legion of Super Heroes. In addition, Eidos and Warner Bros. have entered into a primary distribution agreement under which Warner Bros. will provide warehousing, logistics, merchandising and media buying services in the United States to Eidos. Eidos will continue to run, through its US publishing office, all other aspects of its US operations including manufacturing, sales, marketing and PR, adds the release. |
Warner Bros. President Kevin Tsujihara said, “Investing in SCi further solidifies our commitment to the rapidly growing interactive and gaming space. This deal is consistent with our core strategy of delivering high quality entertainment based on some of the world‘s best-loved brands for all formats and channels. We look forward to working with SCi to build games the fans of these brands will truly enjoy.” SCi chief executive Jane Cavanagh said, “These agreements represent a further step in SCi‘s development as one of the world‘s leading publishers of interactive entertainment. The licensed properties extend and strengthen our product portfolio through globally recognised titles such as Batman, Looney Tunes including brands such as Bugs Bunny and the classic Hanna-Barbera catalogue including brands such as Tom and Jerry. “The additional investment provides us with the firepower to accelerate growth initiatives such as increasing our development capacity and our new media and online strategies,” she added. Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment has licensed the rights for selected intellectual properties to SCi. SCi‘s publishing label Eidos will develop videogames based on the properties. The licenses are: – Batman. The license enables Eidos to create games based the on comic book version of the DC Comics‘ renowned super hero. – Looney Tunes. Eidos will create games using the library of Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales and more, for handheld platforms. – Hanna-Barbera catalog. Eidos will develop up to twelve games based on a number of individual characters in the classic Hanna-Barbera catalogue including Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. – The OC. The license is for the interactive rights to the long running global TV series The OC, based around the lives of teenagers in Orange County, California. – Other animated properties. Eidos has also signed license agreements relating to the children‘s animated TV programs, Monster Allergy, Loonatics Unleashed and Legion of Super Heroes. |
Category: Kids
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Warner Bros. to buy stake in SCi
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‘No child’s play’ for Disney in India
MUMBAI: Kid’s television behemoth Disney is approaching its second anniversary in India on 17 December and with this, the channel is signing off 2006 with a lot of aggression. In the last two years Disney Channel and Toon Disney have contributed to competition in the kid’s television landscape in India, thus provoking the pioneers Cartoon Network and its sibling Pogo to spruce up their offerings.
In this respect, the most strategic move made by Disney this year was its acquisition of kids GEC channel Hungama TV. UTV recently bid farewell to what it calls its ‘little baby’ and in that same breadth Disney opened its doors to the channel and took control. This consolidation will mark the beginning of a new era for Disney, but will inevitably kindle fierce competition in this space.
Walt Disney Television International (India) executive director production and programming Nachiket Pantvaidya affirms that this landmark will only lay the foundation and provide a spring board for the company’s future plans in India. However, he declined to divulge on the positioning and integration of the new addition into the Disney portfolio.
While Disney was bold enough to select India as the first market in the TV business outside the US to introduce original local production with Vicky Aur Vetaal, the next home grown entity is likely to be announced next month.
Pantvaidya expects that the next year will convert kid’s viewership habits from a ratio of 23:77 kids’ channels versus GEC/sports to a 60:40 ratio of the same. He added that Disney currently cornered the bulk of market share as individually Disney Channel held 18.9 per cent, Southern star Toon Disney 8 per cent and new comer Hungama TV 22 – 23 per cent (Market:HSM, Period:average for November 2006).
As reported earlier, the two Turner players plan to enter the local movie production space as well as put in place a theme park experience next year with Planet Pogo and Cartoon Network Townsville. At the same time rumours are rife in the industry of a new player from the BBC plethora, while Nick is also showing potential of bringing some action to the fore. Commenting on the capability for growth of the category Pantvaidya says that the revenue monetization of the market should be in proportion to its viewership. “Currently, it is highly under monetized from an ad sales point of view. The question is, will the ad pie expand?”
Additionally, Pantvaidya outlines an emerging trend among kids television viewing which is inviting a large number of older girls (10 – 14 year old) as opposed to a previously a male dominated scenario that was attracted to action and cartoon based themes.
In eyeing the ‘tween’ category, he sees the biggest challenge in 2007, as being “to create programming that will resonate culturally with older kids (10-14).”
Presently, the channel has lined up a slew of festive programming with the TV premiere of The Incredibles on Christmas Eve on Disney Channel at 11 am (with a repeat at 7 pm). While on 25 December, Micky’s Once upon a Christmas will air at 12 noon and a special episode of Mickey Mouse Club House: Mickey Saves Santa in the preschool segment on Disney Channel.
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4Kids Entertainment sets up 2 subsidiary companies
MUMBAI: 4Kids Entertainment Inc., global children’s entertainment and merchandise licensing provider, has announced the formation of two subsidiaries, TC Digital Games, LLC, a trading card company, and TC Websites, LLC, an online multi-platform game company.
4Kids will be majority owner of TC Digital, LLC and a fifty percent owner of TC Websites, LLC. This marks the first time that 4Kids Entertainment is going to be directly producing trading cards to be sold at retail, informs an official release.
“The formation of TC Digital Games and TC Websites represent a significant enhancement of our business strategy,” said 4Kids Entertainment chairman and CEO Alfred R. Kahn.
“The extraordinary success of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! has given 4Kids tremendous insight into the trading card industry and the profit potential of a successful trading card game. With the upcoming launch of Chaotic, which integrates traditional trading card game play with unique online game elements, the timing is right for 4Kids to establish and invest in these new ventures.
“By owning and operating our own trading card and online game operations, 4Kids will now have greater control of the creative, marketing and distribution elements for Chaotic and an opportunity to capture substantially greater revenues and margins than we have recognized from trading card sales in the past,” he added.
Chaotic, which is owned by 4Kids Entertainment and Chaotic USA Entertainment, is a trading card game that features a unique alphanumeric code that can be uploaded for virtual play on the free Chaotic website (www.Chaoticgame.com). Once online, kids enter the world of Chaotic, a place where their cards can be stored, traded or played against anyone signed onto Chaotic’s virtual world.
The Chaotic trading card game is likely to launch in Spring 2007. The Chaotic trading card game is based on the Chaotic animated TV show, which premieres on 4Kids TV on Fox on 6 January, adds the release.
Based in San Diego, TC Digital Games and TC Websites base their technology on a series of patents covering the uploading of coded trading cards to a website where online gameplay and community activities occur.
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Disney & Excel Home Videos kick off DVD Film Carnival with ‘Pirates of the Caribbean – 2’
MUMBAI: Disney and Excel Home Videos kicked off a DVD Film Carnival on 11 December, that will continue through the festive season till 31 December, at select book and DVD stores across the country. The special event opened with the DVD launch of Pirates of the Caribbean – 2.
M.N Kapasi inaugurates the carnival
The Pirates of the Caribbean – 2 was released a week earlier in India as opposed to its worldwide DVD debut. Says, Excel Home Videos managing director MN Kapasi, “The incredible success of the movie has prompted us to raise the number of DVDs by 50 per cent as compared to the prequel. The DVD will also be available at a specially discounted price during the launch period. The Disney DVD Carnival, a first of its kind in India, will also feature a host of Hollywood films of various genres.”The DVD bonanza, a prelude to the festive season, will also feature over 50 movies from various genres at discounts such as three DVDs at the price of two and will include blockbusters like Air-Force One, Bruce Almighty, Pretty Woman, Cold Mountain, Sea Biscuit, Honey- I Shrunk the Kids, Enemy of the State, Mary Poppins, The Rock, Shall We Dance, The Parent Trap, The Horse Whisperer, The Recruit, Dangerous Minds, Crimson Tide, End Of Days, Dick Tracy, Gone In 60 Seconds, National Treasure, among others.
The carnival is underway at stores across the country including Planet M, Crossword, Landmark, Rhythm House and Music World among others, informs an official release.
Events like these showcase the increasing focus of companies on the home entertainment turf in India, which is an evidence of the growing demand and increased hardware penetration in the country. The revenues from home entertainment abroad compete with the theatre earnings there; this scenario may soon be a reality in India, adds the release.
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BBC Worldwide sells show to CCTV
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide has sold the show Charlie and Lola to CCTV, the Chinese national broadcaster.
The pre-school animation show will follow in the footsteps of the Teletubbies to become the second BBC Worldwide children’s programme to be shown in the country.
The show features seven-year-old Charlie and his small, feisty and very funny sister Lola, will be renamed ‘Cha Li Yu Lao La’ for broadcast on CCTV – The Children’s Channel.
BBC Worldwide MD global TV sales Mark Young said, “With Teletubbies now well established in China, we are very excited to launch a second major children‘s brand into the territory. The universal appeal of Charlie and Lola has captured the imagination of children around the world and we are certain that Cha Li and Lao La will be equally captivating to children across China.”
The series combines 2D CelAction animation, paper cut-out, fabric design, real textures, photomontage and archive footage to bring the distinctive style and exuberance of British author, Lauren Child’s award-winning books to life.
BBC Worldwide has now licensed the distinctive animation to 34 international broadcasters as well as selling over 1 million TV tie-in books and 200,000 DVDs
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Disney Channel launches in Papua New Guinea
MUMBAI: Disney Channel has been launched in Papua New Guinea on HiTron, television and data service provider.
Commenting on their entry in a new market, Walt Disney Television International (Southeast Asia) vice president and channel manager Laura E. Wendt, “Disney Channel has been the channel of choice for kids and families across the region. We are excited that our fun, quality programming can now extend its reach to Papua New Guinea through this platform and we look forward to extending that to other forms of media.”
HiTron‘s managing director Lindsay Jorgensen said, “We‘re pleased to have the strong family entertainment brand of Disney Channel on our channel line-up and we are confident families in Papua New Guinea will enjoy Disney‘s quality shows.”
The Disney Channel will form part of HiTron‘s range of channel offerings on its basic tier. HiTron Limited is now also the distributor of the channel to other cable TV platforms in the market. -
Disney Channel launches in Papua New Guinea
MUMBAI: Disney Channel has been launched in Papua New Guinea on HiTron, television and data service provider.
Commenting on their entry in a new market, Walt Disney Television International (Southeast Asia) vice president and channel manager Laura E. Wendt, “Disney Channel has been the channel of choice for kids and families across the region. We are excited that our fun, quality programming can now extend its reach to Papua New Guinea through this platform and we look forward to extending that to other forms of media.”
HiTron’s managing director Lindsay Jorgensen said, “We’re pleased to have the strong family entertainment brand of Disney Channel on our channel line-up and we are confident families in Papua New Guinea will enjoy Disney’s quality shows.”
The Disney Channel will form part of HiTron’s range of channel offerings on its basic tier. HiTron Limited is now also the distributor of the channel to other cable TV platforms in the market.
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Disney collaborates with Cathay Pacific to offer in-flight merchandise
MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company (Asia Pacific) Limited and Cathay Pacific Airways have joined hands to offer exclusive Disney in-flight merchandise starting 1 January 2007.
This will be the first deal of its kind between the two companies and Cathay Pacific is the first airline to have direct license for exclusive merchandise with Disney Consumer Products.
A total of 12 Disney-branded products will go on sale, each featuring Disney favourites Mickey and Minnie Mouse with an aviation theme, to include watches and aviation series charm bracelets. All the products will be available for sale through the ‘Discover the Shop’ inflight shopping guide on Cathay Pacific flights, and can be pre-ordered through the shopping pages at the airline’s website, informs an official release.
The Disney merchandise features a range of limited edition items ranging from jewellery and watches to charm bracelets and T-shirts – including Chow Sang Sang Captain Mickey/Cabin Crew Minnie Silver Pendants, the Captain Mickey plush toy, the Captain Mickey mobile phone strap and Mickey Airways T-shirts for adults, boys and girls.
As a special gesture to celebrate the Cathay Pacific/Disney collaboration, passengers who spend more than HK$1,000 on Disney merchandise during their flight will be able to order the limited-edition Captain Mickey Crystal Figurine for just HK$2,007, adds the release.
Disney Consumer Products Asia Pacific vice president of emerging markets retail sales and marketing Ken Chaplin added, “Disney is very pleased to work with Cathay Pacific to develop an exclusive range of Disney products for consumers available at the highest shop in the world. Every kid, and the kid in all of us, has a special Disney character and story.”
Cathay Pacific director service delivery Quince Chong said, “We are very excited about being the first airline to collaborate with The Walt Disney Company (Asia Pacific) to produce an exclusive range of inflight merchandise. Disney’s characters are much loved around the world and this new line of merchandise is certain to prove a big hit with our passengers.”
Cathay Pacific now sells more than 220 different items on its flights, with regular special promotions. Passengers can browse through inflight sales items at the airline’s shopping website, which recently won the Frontier 2006 “Travel Retail Website of the Year” award, and can pre-order items before they fly. A recent enhancement enables customers to pay for their inflight orders using Asia Miles.
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Disney collaborates with Cathay Pacific to offer in-flight merchandise
MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company (Asia Pacific) Limited and Cathay Pacific Airways have joined hands to offer exclusive Disney in-flight merchandise starting 1 January 2007.
This will be the first deal of its kind between the two companies and Cathay Pacific is the first airline to have direct license for exclusive merchandise with Disney Consumer Products.
A total of 12 Disney-branded products will go on sale, each featuring Disney favourites Mickey and Minnie Mouse with an aviation theme, to include watches and aviation series charm bracelets. All the products will be available for sale through the ‘Discover the Shop‘ inflight shopping guide on Cathay Pacific flights, and can be pre-ordered through the shopping pages at the airline‘s website, informs an official release.
The Disney merchandise features a range of limited edition items ranging from jewellery and watches to charm bracelets and T-shirts – including Chow Sang Sang Captain Mickey/Cabin Crew Minnie Silver Pendants, the Captain Mickey plush toy, the Captain Mickey mobile phone strap and Mickey Airways T-shirts for adults, boys and girls.
As a special gesture to celebrate the Cathay Pacific/Disney collaboration, passengers who spend more than HK$1,000 on Disney merchandise during their flight will be able to order the limited-edition Captain Mickey Crystal Figurine for just HK$2,007, adds the release.
Disney Consumer Products Asia Pacific vice president of emerging markets retail sales and marketing Ken Chaplin added, “Disney is very pleased to work with Cathay Pacific to develop an exclusive range of Disney products for consumers available at the highest shop in the world. Every kid, and the kid in all of us, has a special Disney character and story.”
Cathay Pacific director service delivery Quince Chong said, “We are very excited about being the first airline to collaborate with The Walt Disney Company (Asia Pacific) to produce an exclusive range of inflight merchandise. Disney‘s characters are much loved around the world and this new line of merchandise is certain to prove a big hit with our passengers.”
Cathay Pacific now sells more than 220 different items on its flights, with regular special promotions. Passengers can browse through inflight sales items at the airline‘s shopping website, which recently won the Frontier 2006 “Travel Retail Website of the Year” award, and can pre-order items before they fly. A recent enhancement enables customers to pay for their inflight orders using Asia Miles.
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Nickelodeon to launch series ‘Mighty B’; ‘SpongeBob’ to return
MUMBAI: Nickelodeon US has signed on a new animated series titled Mighty B, for which Saturday Night Live‘s Amy Poehler will lend her voice and be involved in its production.
Roped in for 20 episodes Mighty B will premiere in 2008. “Bessie represents the ever-optimistic spaz, who believes she can grow up to be a rock star, actress, politician and brain surgeon all at the same time,” said Poehler. “And as a person who knows absolutely nothing about animation, I am thrilled to be in such great hands over at Nickelodeon. I can‘t wait to find out how they make those cool little people move around.”
The channel has also given the go ahead for the sixth season of SpongeBob SquarePants, for which 13 episodes will be produced. This will thrust the show beyond its 100th episode.
Strengthening the programming for the next year, Nickelodeon has also ordered for new episodes of El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera and Tak and the Power of Juju, which are slated to premiere in March and September 2007 respectively, states an official release.
On making the announcements Nickelodeon Television executive vice president and general manager Tom Ascheim said, “It comes from the incredible comedic minds of Amy Poehler, Cynthia True and Erik Wiese, and is a fresh, creator-driven series about a hilarious character Amy created that we think kids are going to really love and connect with. And we are equally thrilled to be making another season of SpongeBob SquarePants — a series we hope to never stop making — as well as adding additional episodes of our upcoming series El Tigre and Tak.”
Mighty B, SpongeBob SquarePants, El Tigre and Tak and the Power of Juju are Nicktoons Productions and are produced at the Nicktoons Studios.