Cynopsis: Kids!
03/09/10

Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 9, 2010, and this is your first early morning Kids briefing.

ABC Family picks up the network TV premiere rights to new Tim Burton directed and Disney's 3D Alice in Wonderland (PG) movie from Disney-ABC Domestic Television.  ABC Family's deal will see the movie, starring Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Crispin Glover, premiere on the network in 2012.  The movie opened last Friday, March 5, 2010 and has already grossed $116.3 million in domestic box office.  While the terms of the deal were not announced, Variety reports it the deal could be worth an estimated $30 million.

AT&T is launching a public awareness campaign called It Can Wait.   While aimed at all drivers and wireless users, It Can Wait is particularly targeted to young drivers.  Here's the concept  AT&T is asking wireless users to take a look at the most recent text message on your device and decide if reading and/or responding to that text so important that it couldn't wait for your attention until you are in a situation that won't potentially cause an accident.  The print/TV/radio/online/in-store campaign, which will rollout in the coming months, features real stories and the actual text message that was sent/received prior to an actual life altering traffic accident.  The tagline for the campaign is Txtng & Drivng ... It Can Wait.  AT&T is also supporting the campaign via a new Facebook application at www.facebook.com/att , and also plans to promote it via Twitter (@ShareATT).

MORE KIDS STUFF

Disney Channel premieres its new family-aimed sitcom Good Luck Charlie on Sunday, April 4, at 8:30p.  The Good Luck Charlie will debut directly after network's premiere of the feature film High School Musical 3: Senior Year at 6:30p, with simulcast on Sprint TV, MobiTV and FloTV.  The premiere episode of Good Luck Charlie will be available on Mobile VOD (AT&T, Sprint and Verizon).  The second episode of the series will sneak peek at www.Disneychannel.com , where fans can also get a tour of the family home, play games and the like.  A preview of the series is available from march 19 on iTunes, w Radio Disney Planet premieres the show's theme song on March 26  with the music video airing on Disney Channel.  Additionally, the debut episode of Good Luck Charlie will be available on Disney Channel on Demand on Sunday, March 28.  Produced by It's A Laugh Productions, Good Luck Charlie revolves around the Duncan family and their new baby, Charlie.  A new baby and two working parents means everyone has to help, including teen siblings PJ and Teddy and their tween brother Gabe.

CBS and Cookie Jar Entertainment will premiere the new animated series Doodlebops Rockin' Road Show on CBS' Saturday kid's programming block, Cookie Jar TV, beginning Saturday, April 3, 2010.  The music-based half-hour Doodlebops Rockin' Road Show is targeted to K3-8, with each episode featuring two original songs.  Additionally, rejoining the Saturday programming line-up is Strawberry Shortcake.  From April 3 the Cookie Jar TV Saturday line-up for the 2009-10 season (check local listings as schedule's day and time may differ from market-t0-market*):
7:00a   Noonbory & The Super 7
7:30a   Busytown Mysteries
8:00a   Doodlebops Rockin' Road Show
8:30a   Strawberry Shortcake
11:00a Sabrina, The Animated Series
11:30a Sabrina, The Animated Series
*In some markets CBS News' The Saturday Early Show broadcasts 9-11a.

Moonscoop enters into a major content deal with Chutti TV, Sun TV's Tamil kids animation channel in India, for 725 half-hours of kid programming from the Moonscoop catalog.  TV series featured under the new deal includes Geronimo Stilton (26x22), which is co-produced/co-distributed with Atlantyca Entertainment, Gasp (52x11) from SLR Productions, the 3D series Dive Olly Dive, Ava Riko Teo (65x7) and Bunny Maloney (52x13) as well as Code Lyoko (97x26) and Titeuf.  Several other Moonscoop series, such as Chloe's Closet and Flight Squad, are already featured on Chutti TV as part of a previous deal between Chutti TV and Moonscoop

In India, ESPN Star Sports (ESS) enters into a deal with Media Star Global to produce and air Super Soccer Star, a multi-platform reality football (or soccer depending where you live) property that aims to find the next young stars (tweens/teens 13-16) of the sport with the well-known Chelsea Football Club.  Media Star Global holds the rights to Galleon Holdings' Supper Soccer Star property in India.  Additionally, under the deal, ESS will broadcast the show around the 2010 FIFA World Cup football frenzy on Saturday and Sunday over five weekends during the tournament.  ESS is the official broadcast partner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

Program Call: Cynopsis Media will be producing our annual MIPTV Shopping Guide sent to all Cynopsis subscribers on Thursday, April 8, the week before MIPTV 2010 in Cannes. If your company is exhibiting and you'd like to have your programming included, please send us only the following info for your top 5 shows: title, availability date, number of episodes, length, type (i.e., movie, series, special, etc.), genre and your terms (barter, cash, etc.) as well as your company's stand/booth location. To be included in this free and highly-viewed special edition, please send details to lisa@cynopsis.com no later than Thursday, April 1, 2010. A confirmation email will be sent following each submission (if you don't get the confirmation, please resubmit).

MARKETING/LICENSING

Chorion appoints licensing agent AT New Media to serve as its worldwide interactive consultant for the Mr. Men and Little Miss brand.  Under the deal AT New Media's Brands Division unit will showcase Mr. Men and Little Miss to the interactive gaming industry and establish third-party platform licensing deals around the world.  Platforms will include PCs, games consoles, hand-held games and mobile phone devices.

In London Turner CN Enterprises acquires the licensing and merchandising rights to Fresh TV's tween/teen-targeted animated reality series parody Total Drama.  Turner CN Enterprises is developing a product licensing and home entertainment program for the Total Drama franchise, which includes Total Drama Island, Total Drama Action, Total Drama World Tour and Total Drama Season 4.  The initial merchandise program will focus on soft lines, publishing, DVD and promotions targeting tween boys and girls.

Chapman Entertainment is partnering with kid's music record label USM Jr. to launch a new Fifi's and the Flowertots album, Rock with the Tots, on March 15, 2010, on CD and deluxe digital download in the UK.  The album features extended versions of songs from the first two seasons of Fifi and the Flowertots series as well as the theme song.  Additionally, the album offers bonus content, including seven story scenes, two games and two sing-along videos.

4sight licensing solutions, a division of 4Kids Entertainment, inks new licensing pacts for the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) lines.  New deals include: Pet Brands  which will introduce a line of jerky and a selection of other natural chew products for dogs; red82  will launch two iPhone/iPod touch apps, AKC Dog Breeds and Cat Fanciers' Association Cat Breeds ($1.99/each) that allow users to search breed information; FotoGrafix USA  is set to release a line SKC and CFA-branded decals, window clings, magnetic greeting cards and door hangers, luggage tags and bookmarks in the US and Canada.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

John Collins is appointed Retail Marketing Director for EMEA, Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP).  Collins will report to Kate Scholmann VP/Brand Management International.  Collins will work with local consumer products teams and agents to help further relationships with multi-territory retailers including Carrefour, Auchan, Amazon, Tesco, MediaMarkt Saturn and Toys R Us for NVCP's portfolio.  He previously worked for Chorion and BBC Worldwide.

BBC names Katie Taylor as the new in-house Head of Entertainment & Events group.  Taylor, who takes over for Jon Beazley, will be responsible for a range of entertainment and factual entertainment and event formats (e.g. Strictly Come Dancing, Eurovision, Top Gear, Dragons' Den, and events such as Children in Need and Sport Relief).  She is currently Executive Editor, Comedy Entertainment and has been involved in strategy, development and production of new series formats for all four BBC channels, as well as commissioning and executive producing a wide range of series and events.  Taylor previously served as Commissioning Editor/Entertainment at Channel 4.  She will take up new her role later in the spring.