DIC KIDS NETWORK
DELIVERS - Saturday/Sunday February 7-8, 2004
NEW YORK WPIX: Sabrina Sun/9:30am
Higher rating than ALL ABC Kids, Nick on CBS, NBC Discovery Kids, and FOX
Box programs on Saturday morning
100% U.S. TV MARKETS/ 400+
STATIONS/PLUS SPANISH SAP ENCODED FEEDS Ad Sales: Clark Morehouse
212.210.1060/Station Clearance: David Ozer 516.626.1007 Source: NSI/WRAP Overnights, 2/7-8/04
CYNTHIA TURNER'S CYNOPSIS
Kids! 02/16/04
Good morning. It's
Monday, February 16, 2004,
and this is your early morning
Kids!
briefing.
In today’s action packed episode of Who Moved the Cheese, we will
review the several different groups who are, or are rumored to be
nibbling in and around the mouse hole, not to mention at one another, and
the mouse that appears to seeking new strategies and potential annexes
and exits.
Disney’s board is still considering Comcast’s takeover
bid, though conventional wisdom and the end-of-the-week shift in the both
Disney stock (up) and Comcast stock (down), point to no deal.
Apparently this will come as no surprise to Comcast, which is working on
a new offer.
Meanwhile Pixar Animation Studios is contemplating its own bid
for The Walt Disney Company according to both the New York Post
and The Times of London who were first to report on the
possibility. No specifics about a potential offer were included in
either report, other than to note that Pixar would likely lead a
consortium of investors.
At the tail end of last week and over the weekend there have been a
gazillion published reports and rumors about other potential bids and
partnerships, including that Comcast is courting Pixar to join in
its takeover efforts. A logical move that might entice Disney
shareholders (particularly those frustrated by Disney’s inability to ink
a new deal with Pixar) to embrace a deal from a suitor with a formal
relationship with successful animation studio.
Additionally over the last few days, reports have surfaced that
Microsoft topper Bill Gates was considering his own proffer for
Disney. But a more likely scenario out there in Rumor and Published
Reports Land,is that given Microsoft’s relationship with Comcast (it owns
7.4% of Comcast, making it the largest outside shareholder of the cable
company), Gates would take a little tip-toe to Microsoft’s money garden
to bolster Comcast’s second round offer.
Other Disney/Eisner irritants last week include a series of lawsuits
filed against the board.
With the goal of conveying pertinent information to shareholders and
ask that they withhold their votes on specific board nominees prior to
the company’s March 3 shareholder meeting, former Disney board member and
company officer Roy Disney filed a lawsuit against The
Disney Company last Tuesday, February 10, seeking a court order that
would force the company to relinquish specific documents that he
believes will reveal poor company management practices including
‘improper conflicts between directors and officers and the company’s
compensation committee, and lack of due care with respect to compensation
matters.’ Roy Disney also claims that the confidentiality agreement that
the company has asked him to sign is ‘unreasonable and improper.’
Last Wednesday, on the heels Comcast’s takeover bid announcement,
the first Disney shareholder filed a lawsuit against the company
saying that Eisner's alleged refusal to consider Comcast’s bid denied
the shareholder their rights to obtain ‘…the true value of their
investment in Disney.’ Now there are more than ten separate
shareholder suits similarly claiming that a board of directors has the
legal obligation to get the best value possible for the company, and are
therefore must seriously consider takeover bids.
One last point of interest in this area is that last Monday, February 9,
Microsoft and Disney announced they would work together to
speed the availability of Disney’s content, including TV shows and
eventually its movies and other digital content, on cellular phones,
PDAs and on the new generation of portable media players.
Disney and Microsoft entered into a multi-year non-exclusive
agreement for Disney to license Microsoft’s Windows Media digital rights
management technology, which protects digital content from being
illegally duplicated or played. Less than 48 hours later Comcast
made public its unsolicited takeover bid of Disney.
The House of Representatives Subcommittee passed HR3717,
that is the Broadcast Decency Enforcement which increases the
fines the FCC can impose on a broadcast station or network, or on the
radio, from $27,500 per violation to $275,000. The bill, originally
sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Michigan) next goes to the House Energy
and Commerce Committee. The bill has also been endorsed by President
Bush.
Another apology from CBS. This time it was directed those
American Indians offended by a performance by Outkast at last weekend's Grammy Awards. The Native American Cultural Center (NACC) has called for the boycott of CBS as well as Arista Records, OutKast the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. The NACC has also filed a formal complaint with the FCC. The performance of OutKast's song Hey Ya its lead singer Benjamin dressed as a Native American, and women dancers dressed in fringed costumes with their hair braided and sporting feathers. According to the NACC, they liken this performance to a group of white people dressed in black face or wearing yarmulkes.
Video game pirating doesn’t pay! That's the message from a California court that sentenced one of the purported leaders of a well known game piracy group to 50 months in jail, and three years of supervision following his release. The sentencing came after the defendant pleaded guilty to selling and distributing upwards of $500,000 of ‘cracked console and PC games’ over the course of the last decade, in addition to his admission of guilt to multiple charges of copyright infringement, mail fraud this past summer.
Weekend Box Office Estimates for kids/tweens/teens rated G, PG or PG-13-February 13-16 50 First Dates (Sony) PG-13 Opening weekend $41.0m
Barbershop 2: Back in Business (MGM) PG-13 $15.6m-2 wk total $44.1m
Miracle (Disney) PG $14.0m-2 wk total $37.1m
You Got Served (Sony / Screen Gems) PG-13 $5.1m-3 wk total $32.1m
Along Came Polly (Universal) PG-13 $5.1m-5 wk total $81.6m
Catch That Kid (Fox) PG $4.4m-2 wk total $10.9m
The Lord of the Rings (New Line) PG-13 $4.2m-9 wk total $356.4m
Something's Gotta Give (Sony) PG-13 $2.6m-10 wk total $118.9m
Big Fish (Sony) PG-13 $2.5m-10 wk total $63.0m
Calendar Girls (Disney) PG-13 $942,000-9 wk total $28.5m Source: www.BoxOfficeMojo.com
Wizards of the Coast unveils two new, original trading card game (TCG) properties at the International Toy Fair this week, Duel Masters and Star Sisterz. Other 2004 products include new expansions for its Neopets and Magic: The Gathering games, a G.I. Joe TCR and the MLB Showdown 2004 sports card game. If you never got the whole Dungeons & Dragons role playing game thing, this Wizards celebrated the 30th anniversary of D&D with a box set that they say is designed to introduce players to the game.
-Duel Masters is based on the popular Japanese anime and manga property of the same name. The TCG has been a top seller in Japan for nine+ months, according to Toy Weekly magazine. Other Duel Master products coming out this year include action figures from Hasbro, a Gameboy game from Atari and an online Duel Masters club. The Duel Masters TV series will premiere on Cartoon Network with a 90-minute special, February 27, 5:30p, with the series taking its regular place on the programming grid beginning March 13, as part of the networks action/adventure block, Saturdays at 7p. Duel Masters, co-owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc, Mistui Kids Station and Shogakukan.
-Star Sisterz is targeted to tween girls. The game poses girls with dares and challenges (the fun stuff like singing out loud in the middle of the mall for 30 seconds). Building on the girls’ attraction to fashion as well as collection players who complete their task are awarded a silver charm that can be added to, you guessed it, a Star Sisterz charm bracelet. The first collection includes a total of 100+ charms and will be available in three different theme packs each containing 7 cards and 4 charms, all randomly selected and in a Deluxe Box Set, but the bracelets are sold separately. Star Sisterz will be available at Limited Too stores from March 1.
Electronic Arts has acquired NuFX,a developer of basketball and other sports games including the NBA Street franchise, the upcoming EA Sports spring release Fight Night 2004, and as a partner with EA on versions of NCAA March Madness, NBA Live and FIFA Soccer. NuFX and its employees will remain in its Illinois headquarters. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Brio Corporation announced it has entered into an exclusive North American distribution agreement with Automoblox, a new wooden toy building system. The Automoblox line features three wooden cars, each breaks-down into three parts that are joined by shape specific connectors inside the main block. All of the parts from the three cars are compatible with one another.
Jeffrey Katzenberg principle, DreamWorks Pictures and Walter F. Parkes co-head/DreamWorks announced several executive changes at the movie studio:
-Adam Goodman has been appointed Head of Production, DreamWorks. Goodman, who has served as a Production Executive for the studio since 1996, will take over the post from Michael De Luca who will exit the company this June, having served as the studio’s Head of Production for the last two years.
-Parkes and co-head of DreamWorks Pictures, Laurie MacDonald, will be resuming a more hands-on role in the day-to-day operations of DreamWorks Pictures. MacDonald has recently focused on producing several movies for the studio including Lemony Snicket and The Terminal.
Kids Cable Network Averages in thousands (000) for Thursday, February 12, 2004 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON: K2-11 1219; K6-11 537; TWEENS 9-14 318
DISNEY CHANNEL: K2-11 766; K6-11 434; TWEENS 9-14 327
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11 662; K6-11 375; TWEENS 9-14 271
ABC FAMILY: K2-11 112; K6-11 87; TWEENS 9-14 100
TOON DISNEY: K2-11 110; K6-11 55; TWEENS 9-14 27 Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data
A MESSAGE FROM CYNOPSIS: Kids!
YOUR UPFRONT IS COMING! ... YOUR UPFRONT IS COMING!
Time to make someNOISE!
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Answer to Friday's Trivia Question:The July 13, 1995 Rolling Stone cover featuring Jim Carrey an a dog, with the headline "Bare Facts and Shocking Revelations" was a take off of what well known print ad? COPPERTONE (the same ad mentioned in last Friday's Kids Fun Fact!) Kudos to: Kerry Hughes-ABC Kids Networks/NY; Mindy Bloom-WTWB/Greensboro; Jordan Breslow-Mediacom/NY; Chris O'Reilly-ITN Networks/NY; Siobhan Vivian-Playhouse Disney/Burbank, Grace Benn-Sony/LA; Kirstien Brada Thompson-TOKYOPOP/LA; and Chris Kealey-Nelvana Int'l/Toronto.
Today's Trivia Question: Much like American Bandstand (also a dick clark prod), this musical series was directed to teenagers, hosted by Sam Riddle and Cass Elliot. Sadly it only ran one season. What was the name of this short-lived music showcase series? (To answer the trivia, click hereand please remember to include your name, company, city and time zone. Only the second four from each time zone will appear in tomorrow's kudos list.)
Later -- Gwen
Gwen Billings for Cynthia Turner's Cynopsis Kids!
Publisher/Editor Cynthia Turner
02/16/04 5:34am Free Subscriptions-- SubjectKids! Searchable Archivewww.Cynopsis.com Cynopsis Kids! Ad Sales 203-526-8978 Submit Press Releases to Gwen Billings at
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