Monday, October 23rd, 2006

Cynopsis: Kids!

10/23/06

Good morning. It’s Monday, October 23, 2006 and this is your first early morning Kids! briefing.

Will you be spending more on toys this holiday 2006? According to The NPD Group’s newest holiday survey consumers say they intend to spend on average 12% more on toys this season. Last year they spent on average $137 on toys, putting this year’s average at $153. Toys rank second only to clothing on the list of holiday gifts consumers expect to buy this season. NPD found last year 45% of consumers bought toys as gifts for the holidays; this year 47% intend to buy toys. The NPD reports the core toy market geared to K0-7, represents 60% of total sales, and the latest survey finds that sales for that age group are $5.8 billion, up 2.3% for the year-to-date through August vs. the same time a year ago.

MORE KIDS STUFF

With the midterm elections upon us Nickelodeon will air Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Cheap Shots and Low Blows: How Debate Turns To Hate, on Sunday, November 5, 8:30p. The Nick News episode will look at how national debate and the various debate styles (civil, rude, etc), such as campaign ads and televised debates, affect kids, including a discussion with kids and adult guests, NBC host/author Chris Matthews, comedian/political pundit/author/Air America Radio host, Al Franken, and political pundit/author Ann Coulter. The show also includes several taped pieces as fodder for discussion.

French producer/distributor Marathon Media has completed a pack of deals at Mipcom earlier this month, with additional deals still in the various stages of negotiation:

Team Galaxy (52 x 26′) has been picked up GMTV (UK), La Forta (Spain), TV GLobo (Brazil), GMA (Philippines), TV12 (Singapore), with a deal currently under discussion in Germany. The series had already been sold to Cartoon Network Australia, Nickelodeon Asia, RTL TVI, LNK Lithuania.
Totally Spies Season 5 (25 x 30′) has been acquired for broadcast by Nickelodeon Australia, RTE (Ireland), TV 12 (Singapore), SBS VT4 (Belgium), Digi Turk (Turquie), Disney Asia, Mediaset (Italy), Oryx (Middle East), and GMTV (UK).
Monster Buster Club (52 x 26′), Marathon’s first full 3D animated series, produced for TFI, a deal with a German broadcaster is currently under way. The series was introduced this year at Mipcom Junior.
Saint-Tropez: The Series (seasons 1-7, all 182 x 52′ eps), the teen-targeted live action series has been sold to RTL Passion, Germany’s new pay-per-view channel that is scheduled to launch December 6, 2006.
Once Upon A Time, The Lemurs (1 x 52′), an animal documentary has been picked up by Rai (Italy) as well as by South Korea, Romania, Slovenia and Switzerland. The documentary comes from Marathon and Canal +, in association with Animal Planet.
Final Days of An Icon (14 x 52′), a documentary series, for teens+, produced by Sunset Presse for France 2 and France 5, has been sold to Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Canada, Finland, Belgium (French and Dutch speaking broadcasters), and The Czech Republic. Negotiations are currently under way with Germany.

MARKETING/LICENSING

Breakpoint Ltd., a developer/publisher of games for mobile phones, has signed a publishing deal with Capcom Entertainment Europe to publish its well known game titles such as the Street Fighter series, Meg Man, Final Fight, Resident Evil, as well as its upcoming Lost Planet game, among others. Under the deal Breakpoint will publish Capcom games throughout Poland, Russia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Romania, Bulgaria, Balkans and CIS countries.

Warner Bros. Consumer Products, PMW Retail Group Ltd, a subsidiary of Hutchison Harbour Ring Ltd, and Cartoon Matters Co. Ltd., a unit of Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., opened up the doors to the first Warner Bros. Studio Store in Macau, a southern region of China, at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center. The store is operated by Cartoon Matters, which has been granted the rights to open and operate Warner Bros. Studio Stores in Macau, through a sub-license from PMW. This marks the second WB Studio Store to open in China, by WBCP and PMW, which opened the first in Shanghai earlier this year.

VIZ Media, LLC will launch a national mall tour that will highlight Shonen Jump Naruto on November 4, 2006 in Atlanta, GA’s Cumberland Mall (12p-7p). Each stop on the tour will feature a range of anime and manga-related activities including: a Ninja Academy where an instructor will demonstrate moves and techniques; Chakra Challenge, sponsored by Mattel; sneak peeks of upcoming anime episodes; a Bandai collectible game card area; video game kiosks featuring Naruto game titles from Tomy/D3P and Namco/Bandai; a manga drawing area; and a green screen where fans can have their picture taken with various anime series backgrounds. The tour is currently set to make stops in Bloomington, MN and Cedar Park, TX on November 11 and 18 respectively, with additional stops to be announced. More information is available at www.naruto.viz.com .

Jakks Pacific, Inc. has entered into a licensing agreement with MGA Entertainment to develop and market girls’ art activity items based on the Bratz, and new Bratz Babyz properties. The deal covers products marketed under Jakks’ Flying Colors brands including roll desks, clip art desks, doodle activity mats, sequin/jewel/paint-by-numbers, stampers, magnetic kits, Blopens activities and others. The products are expected to begin rolling out nationwide in 2007.

STONE SOUP

The Association of Japanese Animations, a partnership of some 50 anime production companies, has launched a new initiative designed to promote and cultivate the development of particularly talented animators and allow them to skip over the traditional multi-year training programs. Those aspiring animators who pass the first aptitude test, of which there will be two administered this November, will be invited to participate in a range of courses through the end of the year, and come January/February each will be assigned an internship at anime production studios working under the tutelage of top animators, animation directors etc. The project, which debuted this month, is operated with the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. Companies participating in this new project include: Tezuka Productions; TOEI Animation; Pierrot; TMS Entertainment; OLM; Gonzo; Telecom Animation Film; amongst others.

Weekend Box Office Estimates for kids/tweens/teens rated G, PG or PG-13; October 2022, 2006:
The Prestige (Buena Vista) PG-13                   Opening Weekend $14.8m
Open Season (Sony / Columbia) PG                 $8.0m-4 wk total $69.6m
The Grudge 2 (Sony / Columbia) PG-13            $7.7m-2 wk total $31.4m
Flicka (Fox) PG                                             Opening Weekend $7.7m
Man of the Year (Universal) PG-13                   $7.0m-2 wk total $22.5m
Marie Antoinette (Sony / Columbia) PG-13        Opening Weekend $5.3m
The Marine (Fox) PG-13                                  $3.7m-2 wk total $12.5m
The Guardian (Buena Vista) PG-13                   $3.6m-4 wk total $46.5m
Employee of the Month (Lionsgate) PG-13         $2.9m-3 wk total $23.9m
One Night with the King (8X Entertainment) PG $2.2m-2 wk total $7.5m
Source: Box Office Mojo

RATINGS

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Thursday, October 19, 2006, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 1108; K6-11 501; TWEENS 9-14 356
DISNEY CHANNEL:     K2-11   811; K6-11 520; TWEENS 9-14 499
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   565; K6-11 366; TWEENS 9-14 262
TOON DISNEY:          K2-11   120; K6-11   49; TWEENS 9-14   33
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: It lived in England in a Red Pillar box, located on Baker Street. This little guy had a boss that was a walrus. What was the boss’ name? COLONEL K WAS THE BOSS TO DANGER MOUSE Kudos to: Cassel Kroll-The Lexicomm/NY; Bryan K. Mullen-Nickelodeon/Nicktoons/Noggin/NY

Today’s Trivia Question: Chelsea and Eddie are best friends to the main character in what show? ( click here) 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!
10.23.06

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Cynopsis CLASSIFIEDS – For more classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here

JOB OPENING: DOCUMENTARY EDITOR/FREELANCE/Lou Reda Productions/Easton, PA: Needs seasoned long form editor that possesses strong directorial, solid creative thinking in editorial process. Contact [email protected] (10/28)

JOB OPENING: MEDIA ANALYST/MPMA – Media Performance Monitor America: Analyze media plans on both a cost and quality basis. Front-line access to top clients; Be part of a great, growing team. Please send resume to [email protected] (10/28)

JOB OPENING: STRAT PLAN’G SR ANALYST/Turner Broadcasting/NY: Develop fin’l planning models for DIGITAL Division. 4-5 yrs in Sales/Strat Plng.Manage invntory, pricing, rev forcsting, etc. [email protected] (10/28)

JOB OPENING: FREELANCE WRITER/PRODUCERS, ON-AIR PROMO DEPT/COURT TV/NYC: Court TV is looking for freelance promo producers at all levels. Submit Demo reels Tina Evans @ Court TV 600 Third Ave. NY NY 10016/EOE (10/28)

JOB OPENING: ASSOC MEDIA DIR/Interactive Agency/NY: ID new media oppty. Dir media plan’g&buying. Execute media plans to deliver a high ROI. New Bus. Dvlpmnt. Knwldg of Emerging/Digital Media a must: Apply: [email protected] (10/28)

JOB OPENING: MANAGER, INTEGRATED SALES & MKTG/Fox Cable/NYC: Develop new bus opport & new promo concepts; present mktg progs; oversee prog execution; 3+ yrs in mktg/ad in tv/media sales env; strong comm. Skills; www.foxcareers.com (10/28)

JOB OPENING: SR RES. ANALYST/TNT, TBS, Court TV, Ad Sales/NY: Provides daily res.support & creates sales positioning.Strong analytical/writing skills. 3+yrs exp req’d. [email protected] – www.turnerjobs.com req #67541BR (10/28)

JOB OPENING: RES. PROJ MGR/ TNT, TBS, Court TV/Ad Sales/NY: Supports ad sales effort w/ dvlpmnt of effective analyses/positioning. Strong analytic, prjct mgt. [email protected] – www.turnerjobs.com req #68720B (10/28)

JOB OPENING: RES. ANALYST, Cartoon Ntwrk/Adult Swim Rsrch/ATL:1 + yrs related media exp, Nielsen software exp req; strong analytical skills, comm skills; info www.turnerjobs.com 68090br; resume [email protected] (10/28)

JOB OPENING: A/P ACCOUNTANT/Int’l animation prod. & dist. Co/LA: Minimum 2 yrs ent. experience. Need computer savvy team player. Benefit Pkg. Send resume & salary requirements to: [email protected] (10/26)

JOB OPENING: SALES MGR/Wizard Entertainment/NY: Seeks salespeople to sell advertising space for magazines conventions and website. 2 years min sales experience req. Base+ comm+benefits. Email sal req: to [email protected] (10/26)

JOB OPENING: MGR, PR/CORP COMM/Wizard Entertainment/NY: Shape and drive PR strategy and execution for pop-culture dynamo with mags, events and website. 5+ years exp min. Email sal req: [email protected] (10/26)

JOB OPENING:SALES PLANNER/Fox Cable/New York, NY: Day-to-day management of accounts; assist in RFPs & proposal development; 2-3 yrs sales/agency experience; strong communication skills & attention to details; www.foxcareers.com (10/26)

JOB OPENING: SR. WRITER/PRODUCER/National Geographic Channel/Washington, DC: Concept, write & produce promotional spots for shows, short form content, vignettes, on-air interstitials; 5-7 yrs in tv mktg/promo, www.foxcareers.com (10/26)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/ LIFETIME TV NY: support LFT Networks prgmng and mkting functions; analyze LFT Networks ratings perf; BS/BA ; exp. using Nielsen a plus Apply at: http://www.lifetimetv.com/about/jobs.html (10/25)

JOB OPENING: SALES ASST/LIFETIME NY: Assist in all facets of the ad sales process; interface with clients/media and advt agencies. Strong math, writing and Excel skills BA/BS Apply at: http://www.lifetimetv.com/about/jobs.html (10/25)

JOB OPENING: SALES PLANNER/Galavision/NY: Generate upfront/scatter plans. Handle all aspects of ongoing deal maintenance/stewardship. Dealmaker/VCI/media experience & Spanish a plus. Apply: [email protected]. EOE (10/25)

JOB OPENING: PT ASSISTANT/Galavision/NY: Exc. comm./organizational skills, prioritize proj’s & team player. MS Office a must. Quantitative skills& Spanish a plus. Apply:[email protected]. EOE (10/25)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED MRKTG/CMT/NYC: 5+yrs exp in TV/Adv/Media Mrktg, Strng presentation & creative writing skills. Mgmt exp. Required. Strng knwldge TV/Sales, BA/BS req, EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (10/25)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT/VH1/NYC: 7+yrs exp development/production, Strng knwldg 1980s-presnt, Strng relationships w/agents/prodco’s/writers, Strng knwldg VH1 brand & progrmng EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (10/25)

JOB OPENING: MANAGER, INTEGRATED MARKETING/MTV2/NYC. 4+yrs exp TV/Adv/Promo Mrktg, Strng knwldge Male Teens/VidGames/Xtreme sports, Exp mrktng online&digital, Strng writ/present skills EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (10/25)

JOB OPENING: VICE PRESIDENT, SPORTS & SPECIALS/SpikeTV/NYC. 8+yrs Prod in content, Strng knwldge Sports&Ent/Male18-35/SpikeTV brand, Strng Writ/Negotiation skills, LiveSports exp A+ EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (10/25)

JOB OPENING: ACCT SVC REP/Univision/LA: Create upfront/scatter plans. Handle all maintenance/stewardship.Excel written/verbal/quantitative skills a must. Dealmaker/VCI/media & Spanish a +. [email protected](EOE) (10/25)

JOB OPENING: MGR, PROMOS MKTG/Nick & Nick Jr,/ NY: Mng, dev, execute Nick/NickJr on air/off-air ad sales promos, cre8tve conception execution, strng client interaction, sales/negotiation skls.EOE/M/F/D/AAP. www.mtvncareers.com (10/24)

JOB OPENING: COORDINATOR, PORT. MRKTNG & PARTNER APPS/NY: Manage daily online content & comm. needs for MTVN AS&M, focusing primarily on mtvn.com & related activities. Apply : www.mtvncareers.com EOE (10/24)

JOB OPENING: FREELANCE MANAGER/Integrated Marketing, MTV/NYC: 4+yrs esp marketing in TV/Agency & Online/digital, Strng comm. skills & client skills, Exp w/ events&prod. a+. EOE/M/F/AAP. Send resume to [email protected] (10/24)

JOB OPENING: PRINT MEDIA BUYER/Pearl River, NY (15 miles from NYC): Min 4 yrs exp. in both magazines and newspapers buying req’d. Resumes to: Rgoodman @activeinternational .com or call 845-732-8943 (10/24)

JOB OPENING: WRITER/PRODUCER/EDITOR EMERG NETWORKS/NBC UNIVERSAL/LA: Conceive, write, edit & finish cable on-air promo spots & campaigns (SD & HD). 3 yrs on-air promo & AVID edit exp reqd. www.nbcunicareers.com job # 553844 (10/24)

JOB OPENING: MGR, PROD/MTV TR3S/NY: Prod. Plan’g for newly launched Hispanic themed ntwrk. Dvlpng green lit shows, strategizing, fin. Plan’g/budgeting. Run Prod. Mgmt & Prod. Ops. Knwldg Latino mus/culture, huge+. [email protected] (10/24)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM RESEARCH/NYC: Provide high level ratings support. Knowledge advanced Nielsen data. Strong analytical skills/detail oriented/writing skills a must. 6+ yrs exp. Resume to: [email protected] (10/24)

JOB OPENING: DEPT COORD, FREELANCE/MTV/NY: Track pitches, maintain databases, devo slate, coord 360 content, clear titles, acq websites.1-2yrs exp coord’g on devo/prod team. Extremely det oriented. [email protected] (10/24)

FALL INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. They are posted for free, and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at [email protected] .

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED —

SITUATION WANTED: Motivated and Eager College grad, seeks entry-level position in entertainment/news. Willing to start from the bottom and work extremely hard in NY/ Philly area . Contact Stephanie at [email protected] (10/28)

SITUATION WANTED: PR/Plnr/Byer/Entmnt- 6yrs exp in finance field looking to move to LA from DC. Exp planning road shows/interacting with high net worth clients. Please contact Kristen 202-379-6730 [email protected] (10/28)

SITUATION WANTED: Recent UCLA grad seeks PR position in Orange County. I currently work at a large LA PR/Entertainment Marketing firm. Excellent verbal, writing, & interpersonal skills. Contact Christina at [email protected] (10/28)

SITUATION WANTED: 17+ year BROADCAST PROFESSIONAL in research, programming and marketing seeks lucrative work from home. Excellent reputation. Fast, efficient,creative. Worth your while. [email protected] or 716-439-4464 (10/25)

SITUATION WANTED: EXPERIENCED NATIONAL TV MEDIA BUYER seeks position with NYC agency. 5+ years negotiating Broadcast, Cable, and Online for $100MM+ brands. Experience with Pharmaceuticals, CPG, Sports & Kids. [email protected] (10/21)

SITUATION WANTED: MKTG/AD/BRAND DEV – SF Hi-level creative exec team looking to move from ent. to new challenges in marketing/advertising/branding. Successful, 20+ years combined experience. Email [email protected] (10/21)

SITUATION WANTED: HIGHLY REGARDED SR CREATIVE DIRECTOR/NY: 15+ yrs creative/mktng exp in film/TV and music. Worked w/David Chase, Dick Clark, Simon Fuller & Clive Davis. A strong leader with passion to win. Contact: [email protected] (10/21)

E-mail Trish Pihonak for rates and specs for Job Openings.

Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email Trish Pihonak for specs.