Cyn opsis: Kids!

12/12/06

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, December 12, 2006 and this is your first early morning Kids! briefing.

4Kids Entertainment, Inc. is jumping into the world of trading card games, not as a licensor this time but rather as a co-rights holder to the card game, Chaotic, along with Chaotic USA Entertainment.  Slated to launch in spring 2007 the Chaotic trading card game is based on the animated TV series Chaotic, which is set to premiere on 4Kids TV on Fox, Saturday January 6, 2007.  4Kids has established two new divisions, TC Digital Games, LLC, a trading card company, and TC Websites, LLC, an online multi-platform gaming company; both will operate out of San Diego.  4Kids will be a majority owner of TC Digital and a 50% owner of TC Websites.  The corresponding Chaotic website was developed by Chaotic USA Entertainment Group, headed by company principle Bryan C. Gannon, who will also serve as President and CEO of the two new companies. A kids entertainment and merchandise and licensing, 4Kids provides these services for franchises including Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh.

NEW PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Weinstein Books, a unit of The Weinstein Company, has picked up the movie rights to two titles in a series of young adult books by new author Adrienne Kress, per the Hollywood Reporter.  The first title in the fantasy/adventure series is Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, which follows the story of Alex a 10-year-old orphan as she works to save her teacher from the pirates holding her on their ship, the Ironic Gentleman.  The book is slated to be published in fall 2006, and a year later for the second book.  The Weinstein deal also covers options on all sequels and prequels in the series.

MORE KIDS STUFF

Fox will air Acuvue Presents Celebrity Moments, a two-part special featuring a range of stars telling/discussing some of their personal moments and experiences of from their lives.  Targeted to teens, the two-part special premieres on successive Saturday mornings, December 23 and 30 at 11a (check local listings). Celebrities telling their personal stories include Will Smith, Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and Dakota Fanning, as well as JoJo, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Jesse McCartney and Joshua Jackson.  The show is being supported by an Acuvue sponsored newly launched website (celebrity.acuvue.com) that will include bonus footage of stars on the show as well as others.  The show will be hosted by Olympic/World Championship ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto and feature Carrie Keagan as interviewer.  Acuvue Brand is a product of VISTAKON, which is a unit of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

NOGGIN kicks off the second season of the live-action preschool series Jack’s Big Music Show beginning Saturday, January 6 at 12noon, and airing every Saturday and Sunday throughout January and February.  The new season includes appearances by Jon Stewart and Cheryl Hines as well as 20+ performances by artists including Lisa Loeb, Justin Roberts, Angelique Kidjo and a collaboration by Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips with Steve Burns (as in Steve from Blue’s Clues), and series regular The Laurie Berkner Band.  To support the new season:

• a sneak peek at a clip from the first episode, Snow Day, will be available on various wireless carriers beginning December 19;
• beginning January 8, broadband service Nick Jr. Video will feature an “Instant reply” of Snow Day;
• also from January 8, is the VOD window of Snow Day will be available on Comcast, Charter, Cablevision, Verizon FiOS and Cox. 

Jack’s Big Music Show is produced for NOGGIN by Spiffy Pictures.

MARKETING/LICENSING

Mattel has inked a licensing partnership with Jones Publishing, Inc., to produce the official Barbie Collector Magazine.  A quarterly publication, the Barbie Collector Magazine will launch with its first issue in February 2007 at the International Toy Fair in NY.

Six Flags has completed a five-year agreement with The Wiggles that will see the addition of Wiggles Worlds themed areas of its US theme parks over the next five years.  The first three Wiggles Worlds are set to debut at Six Flags for the 2007 season, including one at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ.  Wiggles Worlds will feature theme rides and attractions as well as retail stores and a restaurant and various walk-around characters from the show. 

Cartoon Network Enterprises has completed a multi-year licensing pact with Pressman Toys for the animated series Ben 10.  Under the deal Pressman will create games and puzzles based on the Cartoon Network series for release in the US and Canada beginning spring 2007 with DVD board games slated for fall 2007.

Fox Licensing & Merchandising has inked a raft of deals for both TV and movie properties across a range of categories:

• Family Guy: American Greetings cards and stationery items; Harper Entertainment; M.Cornell Imports
• Jumper: Oni Press (4 issue mini-series and a trade paperback collection)
• Sound Of Music: Sanbox LLC (musical snow domes, musical figurines and music boxes)
• The Simpsons: JDK (talking pens – Homer, Bart, Apu and Krusty)
• Revenge of the Nerds: Jem Sportswear; MJC (loungewear, sleepwear & underwear)
• AVP: Survival of the Fittest: Rubies Costumes (Halloween costumes/accessories)

Specialty game retailer Game Crazy is looking to help parents/adults purchase appropriate games for kids during the holiday season by posting ESRB ratings and explanations as well as its own new brochure Parents’ Guide to Game Buying.  The brochure is available at all 650+ Game Crazy locations as well as on its website.  Game Crazy is a division of Hollywood Entertainment Corporation.

Entertainment Rights has inked several deals for some of its shows:

• ER has acquired the distribution rights for Finley the Fire Engine, a new animated TV series, from RHI International Distribution. Under the deal ER has holds the worldwide TV, home entertainment and licensing and merchandising rights, outside the US, India and France, to 78 eleven minute episodes of the series.
• ER has signed a pact with Player X Ltd, a UK wireless content publisher and distributor. Under the terms of the deal Player X has picked up the rights to She-Ra, Princes of Power and Bravestarr short-form content to be used as mobile video clips, ring tones and wallpaper.
• Brand Elite has been appointed as the licensing agent to represent Postman Pat in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Pamela Harris has joined Adventure Publishing Group as its West Coast Advertising Director.  In this new role Harris oversees ad-sales for The Licensing Book and The Toy Book.  A 20-year industry veteran, Harris has worked for several entertainment companies including Fox, Lorimar-Telepictures, Carolco Pictures, Sony Signatures and Hearst Entertainment.

The Walt Disney Internet Group has promoted two in its domestic mobile publishing group, which includes mDisney and Starwave Mobile:

• Trish Halamandaris moves up to VP/Marketing and Carrier Sales, from her previous role as Director of the group. Halamandaris will continue to head up the unit as well as oversee its consumer and partnership marketing and market research efforts, as well as working closely with other Disney divisions on cross-property product and marketing opportunities.
• Stan Liu has been upped to VP/Mobile Content Development.  He will continue to head the domestic publishing group’s creation and development of games, ringtones, graphics and applications.  Prior to his promotion Liu was Director/Mobile Content Development North America.  Previously he was Creative Director, Atomic Bullfrog LLC.

Jeffery D. Dunn has been added to the TVHead Board of Directors. Jeff, who is the former COO/Nickelodeon Networks Group and President, Nickelodeon Film and Enterprises, will be an active member in the network’s continuing development. TVHead will launch its games-on-demand television network early in 2007.

RATINGS

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Friday, December 8, 2006, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:            K2-11 1096; K6-11 559; TWEENS 9-14 435
DISNEY CHANNEL:       K2-11 911; K6-11   631; TWEENS 9-14 500
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   657; K6-11   479; TWEENS 9-14 344
TOON DISNEY:              K2-11   131; K6-11     62; TWEENS 9-14 41
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: Who am I?  I have really large chompers, and live in a zoo.  My best friend is a sarcastic well-dressed penguin.  CHUMLEY   Kudos to:  Randy Meredith-Brighter Minds Media/Worthington OH; Marc J. Beck-Major League Baseball/NY; Bruce Cohen-Mediaedge cia/NY; Sharon O’Donnell-Carat USA/Atlanta; Rita Silva-Disney ABC Kids Networks/Chicago; Kevin Schmidt-National Cable Communications/Chicago; John Harper-Keller Williams/Beverly Hills; David McDermott/Venice CA; Susie Singer Carter-Go Girl Media/North Hills CA; David Korduner-DGA/LA

Today’s Trivia Question: Jonathan Brandis is the voice of the evil villian Mozenraff in what cartoon? (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!
12.12.06

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JOB OPENING: FREELANCE WRITER/NY: Three years prior experience for a daily magazine show with heavy emphasis on spiritual topics. Res: [email protected] (12/19)

JOB OPENING: LIC. MGR/LeapFrog-East Bay, CA:  Responsible for securing licenses incl. research and deal negotiations.  Excel/Ppt. and 2+ yrs in entertainment and/or lic. pref’d.  MBA+.  Email: [email protected] (12/19)

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JOB OPENING: RESEARCH MGR/NYC:  Cablevision seeks research mgr 5 + years TV Rsrch exp.Working knwlg new media/digital industry.Exp. using online and traditional rsrch tools preferred. Visit www.cablevision.jobs apply to 1786BR (12/16)

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