A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM DISNEY ABC KIDS NETWORKS

Source: Nielsen (Galaxy Explorer), *9/12/05-1/22/06 vs. Kids WB, Nick on CBS, 4KidsTV and Disc. Kids
on NBC. **9/12/05-1/22/06 vs. 9/13/04-1/23/05.  Based on (000)s -Qualifications available upon request.

CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cynopsis: Kids!

02/16/06

Good morning. It’s Thursday, February 16, 2006 and this is your first early morning Kids! briefing.

Some good news for the toy industry as the market for toys for the very young is showing signs of growth. According to a new report from market researcher Packaged Facts called The US Market for Infant, Toddler and Preschool Toys, projected sales for this age group is expected to surpass $5 billion in 2010 .  ITP toy sales for 2005 brought in more than $4.5 billion in the US, up from $4.4 billion in 2004, which in turn was up by +7.7% from sales in 2003.  The study credits the recent overall success of licenses including SpongeBob SquarePants and Blue’s Clues, in conjunction with the re-introduction popular toy icons from the last century like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Strawberry Shortcake as well as getting a boost from the popularity of upscale educational toys. 

NEW PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Two Little Hands Productions will launch a new PBS television series called Signing Time!.  Signing Time! already has a series of DVDs and CDs that teaches American Sign Language and is hosted by Rachel Coleman who will also host the television series. The series has been picked up so far by 68 PBS stations nationwide.  In addition to music and stories the edutainment, series teaches American Sign Language to the audience.  The series is distributed by American Public Television.

MORE KIDS STUFF

Boomerang celebrates Presidents Day in the US this Monday by honoring its animated heroes in Toons in Tights, a nine-hour marathon (9a-6p) featuring episodes of super heroes and the not-so-super heroes like Fred Flintstone, George Jetson, Daffy Duck, Dexter, and Scooby Doo and their super hero alter egos among others.  Additionally, Boomerang will honor its Character of the Month, The Pink Panther, on February 18 and 25, 2-4p with a selection of 90 re-mastered theatrical shorts (1964-1977) as well as 84 episodes of the animated TV series (1978-1995).

Funimation Entertainment’s anime series Fullmetal Alchemist has been picked up by YTV in Canada in a deal set up by.  The youth targeted network will launch Fullmetal Alchemist on March 3 at 10p.

In other YTV news, Discovery Kids, in conjunction with the youth network YTV, will air Mega Monster March Break, a six day programming event this March 13-18, 4:30-6:30p, on Discovery Kids (Canada).  Mega Monster March Break features new episodes of Prank Patrol and a special sneak peek episode of Monster Warriors as well as creature-themed episodes of Mystery Hunters, CG Kids, Magic School Bus, Truth or Scare, Ocean Tales, Martin Mystery and Popular Mechanics for Kids.  Discovery Kids is a joint venture of Corus Entertainment Inc. and Discovery Communications Inc.

Harry Potter y el misterio del principe, the sixth chapter in the Spanish-language versions of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series will be released simultaneously around the world on February 23 by the Spain-based publisher Ediciones Salamandra.  On that date in the US, Lectorum, a division of Scholastic and a distributor of Spanish-language titles, will host an event in NYC at exactly 12:30p.  As they did with the previous five HP books, Ediciones Salamandra, will publish three additional versions of the same translation that reflect the idiomatic Spanish language differences for readers in Spain, Argentina, and the rest of Latin America.  Lectorum also publishes children’s books in Spanish.

VIZ Media, LLC. will release five new manga titles and a novel in the US during 1Q 2006 under its new Shojo Beat imprint, which publishes titles specifically for female readers.  The manga titles, Absolute Boyfriend, Baby & Me, Godchild, Kaze Hikaru and Kamikaze Girls, as well as the novelized version of Kamikaze Girls are all rated for teens.  Written by author Novala Takemoto the novel Kamikaze Girls was the basis for the movie of the same name and the new manga series. All of the new manga titles are currently serialized in Shojo Beat Magazine; an anthology magazine launched summer 2005 and is also targeted to older female teens.  The word Shojo indicates that the titles are for girls/young ladies.

Build-A-Bear Workshop will open a store at the Saint Louis Zoo on, March 16, marking its first housed inside a zoo.  The store will be called Build-A-Bear Workshop At The Zoo and will offer 10 animals and a range of outfits several that will be available exclusively at this store.  Choices include Humboldt Penguin, Tree Frog, Asian Elephant and Ring-Tailed Lemur.

MARKETING/LICENSING

Decode Entertainment has inked a new deal with OLC/Rights Entertainment, an intellectual property rights company, for season II of the preschool series Franny’s Feet (26 x 11 min) for air in Japan, as well as the DVD/Video and publishing rights to the second season.  Under the previous deal, season I is currently airing on Cartoon Network Japan.  Serving as the licensing agent for the brand in Japan ORE has signed a number of merchandising deals including Petit Grand Publishing (books, sticker albums), Geneon Entertainment (DVD/Video) and Warner Music (CD including the theme tune performed by Daisuke Mori).  This year ORE also plans to license the brand in toys and plush, stationery and house ware categories and plans to build the character with the young adult 20+ market.  Additionally, Nippon Airways is also set to feature the series on its in-flight service.

Stone America Licensing, LLC has been appointed the North American licensing agent for the Bobble the Little Blue Owl by Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd.  Stone America will be responsible for establishing a full licensing program for the popular UK property, with initial categories including: Greeting Cards, Plush, Apparel & Accessories, Stationery, Party Paper, Gift/Novelty, Toys/Games, Plush, Publishing, Home Video & Computer Software.

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. in conjunction with Disney Publishing Worldwide will offer TeleStory mini-books cartridges and products with content based Disney characters.  Targeted to preschoolers, The TeleStory interactive books connect directly into a standard TV using JAKKS’ Plug & Read technology.  JAKKS plans to launch the Disney TeleStory titles for spring 2006.  Characters to be featured include Disney Princesses, Winnie the Pooh, Power Rangers as well as characters from Disney and Disney/Pixar films and direct-to-video films.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

The BBC has appointed David Bainbridge, Managing Director, YooMedia PLC, where he will lead the marketing of its digital and new media services.  Bainbridge’s responsibilities will include driving the BBC’s Building Digital Britain.  He will also play a key role the BBC’s involvement in Freeview and Digital UK and the development of a free satellite offering by the BBC and other industry partners.  Bainbridge will join the company in May 2006 and will report to Tim Davie, Director/Marketing, Communications and Audiences and will work with the New Media & Technology team.  Previously he ran YES (YooMedia Enhanced Solutions).

RATINGS

Weekly Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported networks, Total Day and Primetime Rankings among K2-11 (000) 2/6-2/12/06:
Total Day             (000)   Primetime          (000)
NICK:                    1267   DSNY*:               1254
DSNY*:                   817   CARTOON:          874
CARTOON:           650   NAN**:                  584
NAN**:                    584   TOON DIS:           133
TOON DIS.:            118   DISCOVERY:       119
NOG/THE N:          115   ESPN:                     92
MTV:                        60   MTV:                        70
DISCOVERY:          55   ANIMAL PLANET:    70
ESPN:                     51   COMEDY:                57
BET:                        50   BET:                         50
Source: Disney Research from Nielsen Media Research Data  Live + SD Data
*Disney Channel is not an ad supported cable network, unlike the others in this listing.
**Denotes a network that broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24hr day.

Weekly Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Networks, Total Day and Primetime Rankings among K6-11  (000) 2/6-2/12/06:
Total Day             (000)   Primetime          (000)
NICK:                     659    DSNY*:                880
DSNY*:                  494    CARTOON:         570
NAN**:                   465    NAN**:                 465
CARTOON NET:   394    DISCOVERY:        74
MTV:                        44    TOON DIS:            67
TOON DIS:              51    MTV:                      56
BET:                        32    ESPN:                    54
DISCOVERY:          32    ANIMAL PLANET:  46
ESPN:                     32    COMEDY:              45
NICKTOONS:          26    BET:                       38
Source: Disney Research from Nielsen Media Research Data – Live + SD Data
*Disney Channel is not an ad supported cable network, unlike the others in this listing.
**Denotes a network that broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24hr day.

Weekly, Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Networks, Total Day and Primetime Rankings among Tweens 9-14 (000) 2/6-2/12/06:
Total Day             (000)   Primetime           (000)
NAN**:                   510    DSNY*:                 699
NICK:                     485    NAN**:                  510
DSNY*:                  380    CARTOON NET:  442
CARTOON NET:   284    MTV:                    180
MTV:                      142   COMEDY:             122
COMEDY:               65    DISCOVERY:         97
BET:                        56    BET:                       73
DISCOVERY:          47    ESPN:                    70
ESPN:                     43    THE N:                   51
TOON DIS.:             30    ANIMAL PLANET:  46
Source: Disney Research from Nielsen Media Research Data  Live + SD Data
*Disney Channel is not an ad supported cable network, unlike the others in this listing.
**Denotes a network that broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24hr day.

Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Tuesday, February 14, 2006, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:            K2-11 1117; K6-11 466; TWEENS 9-14 358
DISNEY CHANNEL:       K2-11   699; K6-11 427; TWEENS 9-14 403
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   683; K6-11 360; TWEENS 9-14 263
TOON DISNEY:              K2-11   126; K6-11   57; TWEENS 9-14   40
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data, Live + SD Data

Answer to Friday’s trivia question: Where would you find Choo Choo ready to attire visitors in leather?  SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE     Kudos to:  Mike Liebowitz-Grey Worldwide/NY; Betsy Bozdech-Common Sense Media; Shaun Harrison-MMT/Chicago; Ethan Collings-Jakks Pacific Inc/Malibu; Kevin Gentry-C A Walker Research Solutions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question: The three cute little elves with three distinct sounds scampered about through the kitchen promoting what breakfast item?  (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 Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis Kids!
02.16.06 – 3:46a
Ad Sales – Barbara Shapiro – 203-583-1224 / [email protected]
Classifieds – Trish Pihonak – 203.926-9878 (new number!) / [email protected]

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Copyright Cynthia Turner 2006

Cynopsis  CLASSIFIEDS —

JOB OPENING: DIR MEDIA STRAT/Nat Geo Chan/DC: Dvlp/impl media strat & drive ratings. Tech savvy indv.-interpret ratings & dvlp strat. 7+yrs exp/media planning, off/on-air strat/TV/cable. BA deg. www.foxcareers.com. (#fng1108) EOE (2/23)

JOB OPENING: NETWORK RESEARCH ANALYST/LA Studio-Network or studio exp A+. Proficient w/Galaxy, Excel. Team player, ability to juggle many projects with attention to detail. Email: [email protected] RE: UCTC/53224 BR (2/23)

JOB OPENING: INTEGRATED SALES MGR/A & E TV NETS/NY: Create integrated ideas/proposals. Execute & mng after sales. BA Mktg/Bus 2 yr exp cable sales/mktg or prog mgmt. Min 5 yr mktg exp. E-mail res & sal reqs: [email protected] (2/23)

JOB OPENING: SR RESEARCH ANALYST/Burbank. Process ratings & provide analysis of data. Retrieve & manage research reports. Knowledge of TV industry, software & media math. BA with two yrs exp in TV research. [email protected] (2/23)

JOB OPENING: DIR/VP ACCTS/IAG Research/NY: Mng Ntwrk client accts, provide res. insights to drive effective media strategies. 5+yrs Acct Mgmt/Consulting Mktg/Res. Apply: http://www.iagr.net/jobs/departmentjobs.do?departmentID=7 (2/23)

JOB OPENING: JUNIOR/RESEARCH ANALYST/IAG Research/NY: Develop research reports & analyses to support network advertising sales. 1-5+yrs Media Research background. Apply: http://www.iagr.net/jobs/departmentjobs.do?departmentID=10 (2/23)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/National CineMedia-NY Media research & sales support. MRI, Scarborough. Deadline-driven environment. Strong analytic & comp skills. Bach deg & 1-3 yrs exp. Include salary req. [email protected] (2/22)

JOB OPENING: SCHEDULING COORD/Lifetime/NY: A smart indv. to handle all post prod. scheduling needs for creative team. 1 yr + TV w/ knwldg of prod. process. ScheduleALL is a +. Apply: http://www.lifetimetv.com/about/jobs.html (2/22)

JOB OPENING: AD SALES TRAINING SPEC/Discovery/NY: Train ad sales staff on sys/process, new hire trng, sys rollouts/upgr, create & maint. trng docs. 2yrs+ trng exp, ind exp/knwldg of Gabriel a+ Apply: www.discovery.com  Job req#3367 (2/22)

JOB OPENING: FREELANCE INTERACTIVE PRODUCER/SCHOLASTIC MEDIA/NY:  Manage the production of two IDVD products. Creative, interactive, and project mgmt. exp. reqd. Position is approx. 5 mos, full-time.  Resume: [email protected] (2/22)

JOB OPENING: NATIONAL SALES MANAGER/WB20/Hartford: 5+ yrs TV or Radio Sales exp.; 1-2+ yrs Mgmt exp.; National Rep Firm exp. Resume: WTIC/WTXX-TV, HR, One Corporate Center, Hartford, CT 06103; e-mail [email protected] EOE (2/22)

JOB OPENING: SPORTS AE/Fox61/WB20/Hartford: 1+ yrs sales exp, excellent negotiation skills, strong work ethic, passion for sports. Resume: WTIC/WTXX-TV, HR, One Corporate Center, Hartford, CT 06103; e-mail [email protected] EOE (2/22)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES/Discovery Nets, NY: DIRECTOR/MGR/STRATEGIST. Exp w/quantitative & qualitative data req (Nielsen/MRI/primary research design);TV Exp a Must. Apply: www.discovery.com . Job req #’s 3360/3358/3368 (2/21)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/Channel One Network/NY. Develop research reports/analyses & program online surveys. Galaxy Explorer/TNS/MRI a plus. 2 yrs media research. Details: ChannelOne.com . Res/salary: [email protected] (2/21)

JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC ANALYST/Channel One Network/NY. Log/process/schedule commercials, database/contract mgt, coord/record/monitor airing. 1-2 yrs admin/media/traffic exp. Details: ChannelOne.com . Res/salary: [email protected] (2/21)

JOB OPENING: SUPERVISOR PROD/NY: 2d/3d animated pre-school ed Tv show. 5+yrs exp super/exec prod pre-school req’d. 2d/3d animation prod a must & process/detail orient/strong mgmt/deadline orient/oversees studios  [email protected] (2/21)

JOB OPENING: VP, CONSUMER MARKETING/NGTV/LA: Dev/execute multi-pltfrm on-demand ntwrk brand launch/build campaigns. Sig online + 10 yrs cable ntwrk consumer mktg exp req’d. www.ngtv.com Res/salary: [email protected] (2/18)

JOB OPENING: AE/CABLEVISION FUSE: Digital Media/NY: Min 3-7 years digital/web sales-Integrated Marketing exp a +. Established relationships at interactive agencies a must. res to [email protected] (2/18)

JOB OPENING: INTEGRATED AFFILIATE SALES COORD/LIME/NY:  New media comp w/ green, health & wellness prgrmng on cable, satellite radio, internet, VOD & DVD. 3 years media sales support experience req’d. Resumes: [email protected]   (2/18)

JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC COORDINATOR/ CABLEVISION FUSE: Digital Media/NY: 1-3 yrs web traffic exp.Knowledge of DART, Rich Media,3rd party ad implementation a +. res to [email protected] (2/18)

JOB OPENING: VP, CONSUMER MARKETING/Nat Geo Channel/DC. Lead all aspects of consumer mrkting dept .to build awareness, dist/promote the ntwrk. Mng 5pers team.10+yrs Cons. Mar exp. Apply on-line@ www.foxcareers.com job#fng1848. EEO (2/17)

JOB OPENING: SALES PLANNER/NBC Universal/Chicago. 1-2 yrs planning exp at cable net or agency; prep/exec sales proposals, oversee/maintain accounts, liaison btwn AE & client. Exc. comm skills. Apply www.gecareers.com job # 490244 (2/17)

JOB OPENING: NATL ACCT MGR/Oxygen/LA: create co-branded mktg campaigns for cable operators, dev & customize events. 80% natl travel. 3 yrs exp mktg, sales & event planning. [email protected] (2/20)

WINTER 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] .

WINTER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: RESEARCH/PRODUCTION INTERNS/NY: Established Content development company needs 3 qualified interns to help launch new streaming initiatives.  Media/Biz Majors. Bilingual a +.  Resumes to:  [email protected]   (2/22)

WINTER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: AIM TELL A VISION/NYC, awarding winning English Speaking Latino TV Producer, seeks interns ALL DEPARTMENTS. Cvr Ltr & Res to [email protected] (2/18)

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

SITUATION WANTED: MOTION GRAPHICS DESIGNER:  Looking for FT staff position at network, cable channel or post house in NYC area.  Years of experience in broadcast.  Talented, knowledgeable, fun, team player.   http://www.dacktyl.com (2/21)

SITUATION WANTED: ADMIN/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT/NYC: Recent BA grad seeking FT entry-level opportunity. Solid intern & PA experience on 4 national shows. Great references, creative mind, detailed, organized. CONTACT: [email protected] (2/21)

SITUATION WANTED: ASSOCIATE PRODUCER/NYC. Previously worked as an associate producer on reality type programs for E! and Fox. Contact [email protected] (2/18)

SITUATION WANTED:  POST PRODUCTION MGR/NYC: Currently seeking a full time position.  10yrs exp in Video/Audio post.  Currently employed and managing over 50,000 square foot facility. [email protected] (2/17)

SITUATION WANTED:  SR. ART DIRECTOR/ DESIGNER: Looking for big opp. To produce work with passionate, creative people. Experienced in youth marketing. Willing to relocate. E-mail for resume/portfolio: [email protected] (2/17)

E-mail [email protected] for rates and specs for Job Openings.

Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.