Cynopsis: Kids!
01/04/10

Good morning. It’s Monday, January 4, 2010, and this is your first early morning Kids briefing. 

In a superhero-sized deal, Marvel Entertainment stockholders approved the company’s merger with Disney at a special meeting held last Thursday, December 31, 2009.  Under the agreement, which is valued at an estimated $4.3 billion, the 7o-year-old Marvel becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney.  Announced in August 2009, the deal was completed on New Years Eve.  In addition to acquiring Marvel, Thursday also saw Disney further its existing relationship with Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment (Purveyors of Wonder) by taking a 10% equity stake in POW! for $2.5 million.  Disney entered into a first look deal with POW! in 2007, and under the new deal includes enhanced rights to the creative output of POW! and certain exclusive consulting services.

With the weekend box office estimates ca-chinging in from around the world, James Cameron’s 3D movie Avatar zipped past the billion dollar marker, with an estimated $1.02 billion worldwide just 17 days after Fox released the movie, with North American total estimates at $352.1 million and international reports at an estimated $670.2 million.  As many have pointed out these numbers are bolstered by the higher cost of the 3D tickets and Imax tickets.  Avatar is the second biggest grossing movie released in 2009, coming in behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which Paramount/DreamWorks released in June 24, 2009 and had the summer to reach $402.1 million.

NEW PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Chorion is teaming with Frederick Warne & Co., owner and original publisher of Beatrix Potter‘s Peter Rabbit ( www.peterrabbit.com ) books and now a unit of Penguin, to develop a new animated TV series based on Peter Rabbit.  The deal came about through Frederick Warne’s relationship with its long-time licensing agent, The Copyrights Group, which is now owned by Chorion.  The series will feature Potter’s characters including Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-duck, Benjamin Bunny and Mr. Jeremy Fisher.  Together with Chorion, Frederick Warne will continue to develop the licensing and merchandise program for Potter’s characters. Frederick Warne will retain all publishing rights to the Beatrix Potter works.  There are 40+ million copies of The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) sold in 35+ languages, with 350+ licensees worldwide.  An earlier animated series based on the property, entitled The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends was produced in the early 1990s and is distributed by BBC Worldwide.

Disney XD picks up the new live-action comedy Pair of Kings starring Mitchel Musso (Hannah Montana, Phineas and Ferb) and Doc Shaw (The Suite Life on Deck, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne).  Set to debut worldwide in fall 2010, the series will begin production in LA this March.  Pair of Kings revolves around 16-year-old fraternal twins being raised by their aunt and uncle in Chicago, their real identities unknown to them … until one day they are called upon to re-locate and take on their responsibilities as successors (in this case co-kings) to the thrown of a small island.  The series is created/executive produced by Dan Cross and Dave Hodge, and is produced by It’s A Laugh Productions.  Matt Wickline also serves as executive producer, with Leo Clarke producing and Don Beck as consulting producer.

MORE KIDS STUFF

This weekend Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite will host Just Jennette, which will showcase Jennette McCurdy (Sam on iCarly), January 9 and 10 from 8-9p.  On Saturday, Jennette will in a new episode of iCarly at 8, followed by a reprise of her role as the mean girl Pinky on True Jackson, VP at 8:30p.  Then Sunday, Nick at Nite will feature back-t0-back episodes of Malcolm in the Middle with guest appearances by Jennette.

Disney Channel will host an evening of debuts with new episodes of Wizards of Waverly ace, The Suite Life On Deck, I’m In The Band, and Phineas and Ferb this Friday, January 15, 8-10p.  The night will also showcase the premiere of the new music video Starstruck, from the forthcoming eponymous original TV movie.  Additionally, I’m In The Band will premiere in its regular time period on Disney XD on Monday, January 18 at 7p.

Scholastic is set to publish a new original novel in The Baby-sitters Club book series by author Ann M. Martin.  The Summer Before, a prequel to the first book in the series, will be released in hardcover this April 2010.  Scholastic will also re-issue new paperback editions of the original The Baby-sitters Club books from April, beginning with Kristy’s Great Idea and Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls, followed in June by The Truth About Stacey and further titles in fall 2010.  Martin’s The Baby-sitters Club launched in 1986 and ran for 15 years with some 250 titles, and also generated a TV series and feature film.

Program Call:   Cynopsis Media is producing our annual NATPE Shopping Guide sent to all Cynopsis subscribers on Thursday, January 21, the week before NATPE 2010.  If your company is exhibiting and you’d like to have your programming included, please send 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.). and location (hotel suite or booth number). To be included in this free and highly-viewed special edition, please send details to [email protected] no later than Friday, January 15, 2010. A confirmation email will be sent following each submission.

MARKETING/LICENSING

Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, picks up the rights to publish The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary, a new book by author/illustrator Jeff Kinney, which will be released on Tuesday, march 16, 2010.  The book offers a look at how Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the first book in his series, was adapted for the big screen, including movie stills, storyboards and early concept drawings and casting, table reads etc.  Fox is set to release the family-targeted Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie nationwide on April 2, 2010.

Pacific Entertainment Corporation appoints Battat as the master toy licensee for its Baby Genius brand.  Under the deal, Battat will continue producing a line of Baby Genius preschool-targeted learning and development based music, activity and role-play toys.  Baby Genius licensing agency The Joester Loria Group brokered the deal.

STONE SOUP

Weekend Box Office for kids/tweens/teens rated G, PG or PG-13; January 13, 2010:
Avatar (Fox) PG-13                                                            $68.3m-3 wk total $352.1m
Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.) PG-13                                $38.4m-2 wk total $140.7m
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (Fox) PG              $36.6m-2 wk total $157.3m
The Blind Side (Warner Bros.) PG-13                                    $12.7m-7 wk total $209.1m
The Princess and the Frog (Buena Vista) G                            $10.0m-6 wk total $86.1m
Did You Hear About the Morgans? (Sony/Columbia) PG-13     $5.2m-3 wk total $25.6m
Nine (Weinstein Company) PG-13                                         $4.3m-3 wk total $14.0m
Invictus (Warner Bros.) PG-13                                              $4.1m-4 wk total $30.8m
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit Entertainment) PG-13 $3.6m-7 wk total $287.8m
2012 (Sony/Columbia) PG-13                                               $1.1m-8 wk total $163.5m
Source: Rentrak ( www.rentrak.com )

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Clear Channel Communications has named Robert H. Walls, Jr. as EVP and General Counsel. Walls will report to Mark Mays, President and CEO.  Walls joins Clear Channel from Post Oak Energy Capital, a private equity firm, where he is a Managing Director and a founding partner.  Previously, Walls was EVP and General Counsel at Enron Corp., and a member of its Chief Executive Office, where he helped lead a restructuring of the company.  Prior to that, Walls was a lawyer at Vinson & Elkins LLP where he practiced energy, finance and international law.

RATINGS

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Friday, December 25, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
DISNEY CHANNEL:    K2-11 650; K6-11 411; TWEENS 9-14 322
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 602; K6-11 403; TWEENS 9-14 365
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11 451; K6-11 303; TWEENS 9-14 254
DISNEY XD:               K2-11 141; K6-11 102; TWEENS 9-14   68
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Saturday, December 26, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 1096; K6-11 702; TWEENS 9-14 508
DISNEY CHANNEL:     K2-11 1068; K6-11 649; TWEENS 9-14 465
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   387; K6-11 269; TWEENS 9-14 201
DISNEY XD:               K2-11   183; K6-11 152; TWEENS 9-14 98
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Sunday, December 27, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 1023; K6-11 666; TWEENS 9-14 452
DISNEY CHANNEL:     K2-11   885; K6-11 550; TWEENS 9-14 423
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   594; K6-11 376; TWEENS 9-14 245
DISNEY XD:               K2-11   172; K6-11 124; TWEENS 9-14   86
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Monday, December 28, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 1381; K6-11 873; TWEENS 9-14 645
DISNEY CHANNEL:     K2-11 1075; K6-11 702; TWEENS 9-14 537
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   624; K6-11 409; TWEENS 9-14 206
DISNEY XD:               K2-11   263; K6-11 192; TWEENS 9-14 136
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Today’s Trivia Question:   Who am I?  I enjoy playing the harpsichord; I’ve taking dancing lessons, I’ve recorded a song, and I’m color blind.  I don’t smile. It hurts.  Who am I?      (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: Only the second four correct answers from each time zone will be mentioned; and once you’ve been mentioned in any of the Cynopsis editions, you can’t be mentioned again that calendar week.)

Later — Gwen
 Gwen Billings for Cynopsis Kids!
01.04.10

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