CYNOPSISKIDS!
09.10.14 Good morning. It’s Wednesday, September 10, 2014, and this is your first early morning briefing.
Big Bird and friends are about to get a new boss. Jeff Dunn will step into the role of president/CEO of Sesame Workshop on Sept. 29. Formerly president/CEO of HiT Entertainment, Dunn succeeds Mel Ming, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Dunn currently serves as a 2014 Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow at Harvard University with a focus on media and education. He also recently served on the board of American Greetings and Sprout.
Nickelodeon ordered a 20-ep third season of its Tia Mowry-Hardrict-starring comedy Instant Mom for Nick at Nite and NickMom. Beginning Oct. 2, season two of the series will premiere in its new timeslot on Nick at Nite, Thursdays at 8p. The series also airs during the adult-targeted NickMom nighttime comedy block on the Nick Jr. channel.
The first project out of Splash Entertainment’s brand-new feature film division is animated movie Norm of the North, due for theatrical release in early 2016, with Lionsgate signed on to distribute the film throughout North America. International sales are being handled by Good Universe. Nicolas Atlan, Splash co-CEO, and Liz Young and Steve Rosen are producing. Norm of the North follows the exploits of a fun-loving polar bear, and his three ragtag lemming pals in their bid to save their Arctic home that includes a trip to New York to take on a maniacal land developer. Voice cast includes Rob Schneider (Saturday Night Live, Deuce Bigelow) as Norm, Heather Graham (The Hangover, Californication), Ken Jeong (Community, The Hangover) and Loretta Devine (Crash, Grey’s Anatomy).
Michael Palin is confirmed to narrate the new Clangers series, due for a spring 2015 launch in the UK from CBeebies, Coolabi Group, Smallfilms and Sprout. The stop-motion animated series is a contemporary version of the iconic British TV show, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Says Palin, “The world of the Clangers is delightful and irresistible. It’s a great privilege to be a part of its return to television.” The role marks the entertainer’s first foray into children’s animation; he previously authored a collection of children’s books. Coolabi has already inked licensing deals with Character Options as the master toy partner for the series, and Penguin has signed a publishing agreement.
Zodiak Kids’ UK production company The Foundation started animation on new mixed-media preschool show Floogals. The series has been commissioned by Sprout, which is also co-producing. Produced in conjunction with Nevision Ltd., Floogals is set to launch on Sprout in 2015. It follows the wild and comedic adventures of three tiny aliens from the planet Floog who’ve landed in a suburban house.
Technicolor, Nerd Corps Entertainment and A Stark Production are teaming for CG-animated series The Deep. A Stark Production and Nerd Corps will serve as co-production partners, and Technicolor will serve as the exclusive international distributor (excluding Canada, Australia and New Zealand). The Deep has been commissioned by Australia’s ABC Television and The Seven Network, and pre-sold to Germany’s Super RTL. The series targets 6-12 years olds and is based on the graphic novel series created by comic book author Tom Taylor (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Injustice: Gods Among Us), illustrated by James Brouwer (Justice League Beyond), and published by Gestalt Comics. Taylor will serve as head writer for the series, and Brouwer will serve as art director.
Cartoon Network is expanding its five-year bullying prevention campaign Stop Bullying: Speak Up in a new mobile video call-to-action. Cartoon is asking kids, parents, educators and others to create and share a video saying, “I speak up.” In return, the network will air select videos during Speak Up Week (Sept. 29-Oct. 3). In another twist, the network enlisted agency FullBottle to work with personalities across Vine to produce micro-video content that encourages young audiences to speak up when they witness or experience bullying. FullBottle is supporting the program for the third consecutive year, but this marks the first teaming with Viners to spread the message. “Micro-video is an effective way for advertisers to spur action from their target audience,” says Reed Berglund, FullBottle CEO.
CynKids would like to extend a big thanks to all of our moderators, panelists and keynote speakers who made the inaugural Kids Business Summit a tremendous success this past Monday. Some of the high points included our live teen panel (Snapchat is where it’s at, everyone) as well as Philippe Cousteau’s lunchtime keynote about how kids and education are our only hope to solve our environmental issues. And did you know that Disney interviews 100,000 kids every year about their products? That’s what Disney Media Sales & Marketing Research VP Marc Normand told us. And those are just three of the many other tasty and useful nuggets from the day. Special thanks, of course, go to all who came and spent the day with us. We couldn’t do it with YOU.
Google is paying a hefty bill as a result of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges it unfairly billed parents for purchases kids made while playing games on mobile devices. The Internet behemoth agreed to refund at least $19 million. In March the company altered its billing practices in an attempt to ensure parents are made aware of, and must agree to, in-app purchases their kids make. The FTC settled a similar case with Apple in January, with Apple agreeing to refund customers a minimum of $32.5 million in unauthorized charges, and change its billing practices. An FTC suit against Amazon.com was filed in July.
Scholastic is launching a new campaign encouraging kids to read. Called “Open a World of Possible,” Grammy-winning wordsmith Usher will help with the cause. On Nov. 6 at 1p ET/10a PT, Scholastic will host a live webcast called “Bigger than Words” featuring Usher: Registration opens today at www.scholastic.com/worldofpossible. Usher founded charitable organization New Look to assist young people in becoming leaders. “I’m excited to demonstrate to kids how reading frequently, and being a reading mentor to their friends and others in their community, can open doors to endless possibilities,” he said.
Poptropica is adding a soundtrack to its world of virtual islands. Literally. The company this week debuted Poptropica Music for download on iTunes and Amazon, a soundtrack to 12 popular islands including Poptropica Overture, Mythology Island and Time Tangled Island.
Guinness World Records is celebrating a big anniversary with the 60 Years/60 Words Challenge. Kids 712 can enter this national competition by selecting their favorite Guinness World Records record by sharing it in exactly 60 words by mail or at www.guinnessworldrecords.com/60words. The entries can be poems, raps, videos, posters and/or short essays. The winner will earn a $500 scholarship, a copy of the Guinness World Records 2015 book, their photo in the 2016 book, and a $500 grant for his/her school. Entries are due by Dec. 1.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
Join us on September 24, for a deep dive into how to read and understand the latest changes in TV ratings. Viewing habits change by the day, it’s more important than ever to be up to speed on state-of-the-art ratings data.
Featured Speakers
Brian Fuhrer, SVP, Product Leadership & Cross-Platform Audience Meas., {Nielsen}
Bruce Goerlich, Chief Research Officer, {Rentrak}
Mainak Mazumdar, Chief Science Officer, {Simulmedia}
Disney Channel will begin airing new segments showcasing young people who have made a positive impact on their community, across the country and around the world on Friday, Sept. 12, as part of the Emmy-winning interstitial series Make Your Mark. The series is designed to reach kids ages 6-14 with an array of relevant stories.
Netflix acquired the French animation and video game cartoon series Wakfu from Ankama yesterday. The first two seasons of the fantasy-adventure series, or 52 half-hour episodes. have been a hit on French broadcast networks, and will hit the streaming service on Sept. 14.
New series The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation is joining CBS’ three-hour Saturday morning educational block “The CBS Dream Team, It’s Epic!” The block returns for its second season on Sept. 27, 9a-noon. Hosted by CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Mo Rocca, the new series will tell the stories behind historic innovators of the past and the visionaries of today. The series is being co-produced by Litton Entertainment and targets 13-16-year-olds. The entire CBS Saturday morning lineup for the 2014-2015 season includes: Lucky Dogs, Dr. Chris Pet Vet, The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation, Recipe Rehab, All iI With Laila Ali and Game Changers.
Toon Goggles now has its own button on Seki-branded remotes. The Toon Goggles app’s animated and live-action kids’ shows will be available pre-installed on entry-level Seiki Muse Streaming Media connected HD TVs and on future Seiki 4K Ultra HD TV models, which will also feature a Toon Goggles button on the remote.
Oznoz entered a partnership with Nelvana Enterprises that brings more than 400 half-hour episodes of Nelvana’s properties to U.S. consumers in Arabic, Hindi, Mandarin, Japanese, French, German and Korean exclusively on Oznoz. The deal with the online channel for bilingual kids marks the first time the Nelvana libraryincluding Babar, Franklin, Beyblade and Scaredy Squirrel–will be available to U.S. audiences in so many languages.
UMIGO, the free online world that helps early elementary-age children discover the fundamentals of math, will touch down in libraries and children’s museums across the country on Saturday, Sept. 27, for National You Make It Go Day. The events will mirror the Umigo.com online engagement, via interactive kiosks, featuring characters Bit, Bean and Dizzy, that will be stationed at many of the local venues; art projects and the Umiball Tournament. UMIGO is now streaming on batteryPOP.com, and beginning in October, its music videos will be available on Ziosk tabletop tablets at more than 1,000 restaurants.
National Geographic Kids partnered with Imangi Studios on a Temple Run book, which encourages learning by introducing readers to the natural sciences, history and archaeology through the game’s world.
Hasbro and Bazooka Candy Brands are joining up for a cross-promotion that extends into merchandising/retail, digital and social media. The campaign, which launches this month and runs through the end of the year, touts classic candies like Juicy Drop, Baby Bottle Pop and Jumbo Push Pop and includes the rebranding of Candymania.com, Bazooka Candy Brands’ site, to feature Hasbro game themes showcasing the integration, and in-store and online contests.
Genius Brands International appointed Small Screen Distribution to handle sales throughout Asia of GBI’s animated content.
Saban Brands appointed Doug Finberg to the newly created role of SVP of marketing. Finberg most recently served as EVP of marketing at MGM Studios, where he oversaw marketing for Skyfall and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Guru Studio hired Terry Rotsaert as Director of Operations and Technology, and promoted Brandon Scott James to Art Director. Both appointments are part of the animation company’s push to strengthen operational and creative oversight. Rotsaert has helped bring to life properties including Arthur, Caillou, Franklin and Magic School Bus. He most recently served as Head of Production for Cookie Jar Entertainment and DHX Media. James joined Guru in 2007.
9 Story Entertainment named Natalie Dumoulin to the newly created position of VP, Creative Affairs. She most recently served as Creative Producer for Shaftesbury and Director of International Youth Development for Montreal-based independent production company Pixcom. Dumoulin also was instrumental in the production of PBS series Caillou, which she wrote and executive produced.
K2-11 Top 10 Programs for the week of Sept. 1-7, 2104
Date/Program/Network/Time/000s
9/6/14/Brave/DSNY/11a-12:40p/1726
9/5/14/Brave/DSNY/8-9:40p/1723
9/7/14/Tangled/DSNY/8-9:45p/1481
9/7/14/The Princess and the Frog/DSNY/9-10:45a/1414
9/4/14/Another Cinderella Story/DSNY/8-9:40p/1344
9/4/14/Amazing World of Gumball/TOON/7-7:30p/1275
9/6/14/SpongeBob SquarePants/NICK/10-10:30a/1267
9/4/14/Steven Universe/TOON/6:30-7p/1224
9/4/14/Teen Titans Go!/TOON/6-6:30p/1192
9/6/14/SpongeBob/NICK/9:30-10a/1191
K6-11 Top 10 Programs for the week of Sept. 1-7, 2014
Date/Program/Network/Time/000s
9/6/14/Brave/DSNY/11a-12:40p/1168
9/5/14/Brave/DSNY/8-9:40p/1121
9/4/14/Another Cinderella Story/DSNY/8-9:40p/1060
9/4/14/Amazing World of Gumball/TOON/7-7:30p/1010
9/7/14/Tangled/DSNY/8-9:45p/981
9/4/14/Steven Universe/TOON/6:30-7p/925
9/4/14/Teen Titans Go!/TOON/6-6:30p/920
9/4/14/Uncle Grandpa/TOON/7:30-8p/893
9/3/14/A Cinderella Story/DSNY/8-9:40p/884
9/3/14/Teen Titans Go!/TOON/6-6:30p/849
Source: Turner Research based on Total US Television Universe of 115,800,000 homes.
Weekend box office estimates for the top-grossing kids/tween/teen movies rated G, PG or PG-13, provided by Rentrak for Sept. 5-7, 2014:
Guardians of the Galaxy (Disney) PG-13 $10.36 million (weekend) $294.77 million (6-week cume)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Paramount) PG-13 $6.51 million (weekend) $174.65 million (5-week cume)
If I Stay (Warner Bros.) PG-13 $5.55 million (weekend) $39.47 million (3-week cume)
The Giver (The Weinstein Co.) PG-13 $3.42 million (weekend) $37.67 million (3-week cume)
When the Game Stands Tall (Sony Pictures) PG $3.41 million (weekend) $23.2 million (3-week cume)
The Hundred-Foot Journey (Disney) PG $3.15 million (weekend) $45.61 million (5-week cume)
The Expendables 3 (Lionsgate) PG-13 $1.82 million (weekend) $36.72 million (4-week cume)
The Identical (Freestyle Releasing) PG $1.59 million (weekend) $1.59 million (1-week cume)
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
Cynopsis Sports Webinar
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REGISTER TODAY! | Wednesday, September 17, 2014 | 1:30 PM – 3PM
Answer to last week’s Trivia Question: Who was the only original Saved By the Bell cast member still in high school during the series’ final season? Dustin Diamond, who was only 12 when the series started filming. There was some confusion, and almost all answers were about the characters, not the actors. So we’re going to reset the clock with a new question, below…
Today’s Trivia Question: Who created and narrated the original Clangers series? Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone.)
Cheers — Cathy Applefeld Olson
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09.10.14
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