Cynopsis: Kids!
03/05/09
Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 5, 2009, and this is your first early morning Kids briefing.
Hit Entertainment looks to the big screen with the establishment of Hit Movies. The new movie division will initially develop family-targeted feature films based on its library of properties (e.g. Thomas & Friends, Barney, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina etc), but also plans to look for new stories and characters. Julia Pistor has been tapped to head Hit Movies. Most recently, Pistor was EVP, Nickelodeon Movies. Hit has also signed with United Talent Agency (UTA) as a strategic advisor, to help establish Hit Movies and its development slate, and create opportunities in film, TV and digital entertainment.
San Francisco-based Wildbrain, the folks behind Yo Gabba Gabba!, expands its Wildbrain Animation Studios by opening the doors to a new satellite studio in LA. Chris Staples and Michelle Papandrew have been tapped to head the new outpost. Wildbrain says the new studio is a reflection of the growth of 3D animation in TV. The San Francisco Wildbrain Animation Studios operation will continue to serve as the studio’s hub for commercial work, TV, movies and game animation, as well as original content development. Wildbrain Animation Studios’ TV productions include the CG animated Higglytown Heroes, which airs on Disney Channel, and the new 3D CGI animated Bubble Guppies, which is set to bow on Nickelodeon. The studio is also working on a Yo Gabba Gabba! feature film, as well as a live-action feature based on the Kidrobot toys with Paramount, and Team Smithereen, a short-form animated series written/directed by Dan Clark. Other projects including a Fox Television animated pilot featuring the voice of Jeff Foxworthy, a series of webisodes for companies such as Smith & Tinker, and its ongoing commercial animation.
NEW PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Singapore’s One Animation and Canada’s Amberwood Entertainment enter into a co-production deal for the 3D animated preschool series Rob the Robot (52×11). Schedule to head into production this spring, the series based on an Australian book series and follows the humorous adventures of Rob and his friends as they explore the planets of the Robot Galaxy. Rob the Robot has been developed for and commissioned by Canada’s TV Ontario. Both SRC and the Knowledge Network are also on board for the property.
India’s DQ Entertainment International (DQE) and France’s Moonscoop ink a co-production deal for the 2D animated fantasy/adventure TV series Tara Duncan. Based on the Tara Duncan books by Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian, the series is slated to go into production this June with a production budget of $8.32 million. M6 (France) and Disney are the broadcast partners for the animated series.
MIP TV Program Call: If your company will be attending and showcasing programming at MIP TV 2009 in Cannes, France, at the end of next month, Cynopsis will send out a special MIP TV Shopping Guide edition the Wednesday before the conference. 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, your terms (barter, cash, etc.) and names and contact info of those attending from your company. If your company is interested in being included in this free guide, please send the details to lisa@cynopsis.com by Friday, March 20, 2009.
MORE KIDS STUFF
New international home video deals for Dinosaur King (75×30). 4Kids Entertainment signs licensee deals ahead of MIP-TV for the property with home video distributors including: Imavision (Canada); Universal (France); Contender (UK); Magna Pacific (Australia and New Zealand); RTI (Italy); KSM GMBH (Germany); Prisvideo (Portugal); North Video (Czech Republic and Slovakia); Stars Entertainment (Bulgaria) and Interdomino (Romania and Hungary). Dinosaur King airs around the world including in the US for the last several years on Saturday mornings on TheCW4Kids, and more recently joined the lineups of RTE (Ireland), Animax (Central & Eastern Europe) and MNET (South Africa), among others.
Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana Enterprises makes the preschool series In the Night Garden available on DVD in Canada for the first time. The initial DVD title, Welcome to the Garden, is set for release under Nelvana’s Treehouse Presents label and distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment Canada on April 28, 2009. Further In the Night Garden DVDs are slated for release in 2009 and on. Produced by Ragdoll Productions (Teletubbies), In the Night Garden airs in Canada on Corus’ Treehouse. Nelvana acquired the Canadian home entertainment rights from BBC Worldwide Americas.
MarVista Entertainment heads to MIP-TV where it will debut several new series including the tween-targeted reality series In Real Life. From the team behind shows/formats such as Prank Patrol and Mystery Hunters, In Real Life features 18 contestants (12-14 years old). Split into two teams the tweens race across North America competing in a range of real-life job challenges. In Real Life premiered last night on YTV (Canada) at 7p.
MARKETING/LICENSING
Roary the Racing Car teams with the 2009 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix ( www.grandprix.com.au ), which will be held March 26-29 in Melbourne. The four day event will feature Roary-themed kid/family activities including the Roary Pit Zone, which will offer interactive games, races, face painting, treasure hunts, and a photo op, and on Saturday a concert. In addition to kids under 12 be admitted to the four-day event for free, the first 10,000 kids will get a free Meet Roary DVD. Nick Jr. ( www.nickjr.com.au ), in partnership with The Australian Grand Prix Corp. and Roary the Racing Car, is running a promotion through March 7. Nick Jr. will also host a Roary Marathon on Sunday, March 22 10a-2p.
STONE SOUP
marblemedia and The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf (CCSD) have teamed to create the first kid’s mixed live-action and animated American Sign Language (ASL) dictionary. Targeted to K5-7 and their families, deaf and hearing alike, the interactive dictionary site is designed to allow kids to look up vocabulary according to ASL sign along with the English vocabulary counterpart. The site will is made possible in part by funding from the Inukshuk Wireless Learning Plan Fund. More information will be available at www.deafculturecentre.ca.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Some senior management changes at DHX Media to tell you about.
- Decode Entertainment’s President Steven DeNure, Becomes President and COO/DHX Media. DeNure will oversee operations for all DHX divisions, in addition to heading up its three kid-centric production units as well as distributor Decode Enterprises.
- Charles Bishop, currently President/Halifax Film, becomes President/Production and Development, DHX Media. Responsible for the creation and distribution of DHX’s comedy, drama and factual content, Bishop reports to Chairman and CEO, Michael Donovan.
- Neil Court, President/Decode Enterprises, announces he will step down this May. Court will continue in an advisory capacity for the company, he will also remain on the DHX Board of Directors. Court and DeNure served as two of the co-founders of Decode in 1997.
- John Scherba, VP/Distribution, Decode Enterprises, will expand his role and will now report to DeNure.
The BBC appoints Richard Deverell as COO of its new broadcasting/production center at Salford Quays. Currently Controller/BBC Children’s, Deverell will be based at Salford when the facility opens and will report directly to Peter Salmon, Director/BBC North. In addition to his new responsibilities, including developing and implementing strategic and operational infrastructure for BBC North, Deverell will continue as Controller/BBC Children’s until 2010. No word on a successor to head BBC Children’s.
RATINGS
Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON: K2-11 1090; K6-11 525; TWEENS 9-14 373
DISNEY CHANNEL: K2-11 844; K6-11 502; TWEENS 9-14 351
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11 493; K6-11 315; TWEENS 9-14 237
DISNEY XD: K2-11 107; K6-11 66; TWEENS 9-14 49
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data
Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: The Midnight Society where scarey stories were told around a campfire, was an integral part of what series? ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? Kudos to: Daniel Errico-FreeChildrenStories.Com/New York; Dusty Ratledge-Scripps Networks/Knoxville; Meg Ross-Just 4 Fun Kids & family Marketing/Atlanta; Wendy Louie-Lam–Cartoon Network/NY; Jessica Scholti-Turner Broadcasting/Detroit; Margot Lockridge-Cartoon Network/LA; David McDermott/Venice; Carol Monroe-SD Entertainment/Los Angeles; Rebecca Rodriguez-Disney Channel/LA; Stephanie Watsa-Canwest Broadcasting/Toronto
Today’s Trivia Question: Bradley Bolke voiced this animated character, and while he didn’t have a full Tuxedo, he did have a lovely yellow tie and hat. Who was this loveable guy? (Email Cynthia@cynopsis.com 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!
03.05.09
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