Cynopsis: Kids!

08/06/08

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, August 6, 2008, and this is your first early morning Kids briefing.

18 days.  That is how long it took for Warner Bros.‘ The Dark Knight to set a new record for the fastest theatrical movie release to break $400 million in domestic box office sales according to the studio.  The Dark Knight topples the previous record holder, Shrek 2 (DreamWorks Animation, 2004), which reached the milestone in 43 days, per Box Office Mojo.  Additionally, as of Tuesday The Dark Knight steps up to become the 8the top grossing movie, knocking Star Wars: Episode III  Revenge of the Sith (Fox, 2005) out of the way as it prepares to overtake Spider Man (Columbia/Sony, 2002), which stands at number 7 with $403.7 million.  Only time will tell if The Dark Knight can whisk its way to knock Titanic (Paramount, 1997) from its perch as the biggest all time domestic grossing movie with $600.8 million.

NEW PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Mondo, an Italian animation studio, partners with comic book publisher Play Press to develop a tween-targeted CGI animated series titled, Angel Friends  The Secret World Around You (52×13), according to C21 Media.  A co-production between Mondo Home Entertainment, Play Press and Mediaset (Italy), the action/comedy series revolves around five tween angels enrolled in a school to become full angels.  The series is set to bow on Mediaset Italy from fall 2009.  Ahead of the premiere of Angel Friends, Play Press will launch a social networking website to support the property.  The series will be showcased at Mipcom Junior this fall.

MORE KIDS STUFF

Teens can now access The N content via their mobile phones as Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group launches The N Mobile Web.  Features include: the daily N’Sider blog showcases movie and music news, reviews and the like; personality quizzes; flipbooks and content related to various shows on The N; the network’s on-air schedule.

Meteor Games, the new indie game studio launched by Neopets founders Adam Powell and Donna Williams, is developing Twin Skies, a new 3D Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG).  Targeted to all ages, Twin Skies will allow users to interact through PC, web-based activities, mobile applications and advanced social networking capabilities.  Twin Skies is expected to enter into Beta testing later this year, with a full launch slated for 2009.  For more information about Twin Skies, to play the flash-based games, and to take part in the Beta release, check out www.twinskies.com.

Disney Online expands Club Penguin by launching the virtual world in Australia, where the Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) has a large following, which includes setting up an office in Sydney, Australia.  The new office and expansion of services will allow Australian players to pay in their local currency and support play with locally-based moderators, as well as providing better online safety.  Disney acquired the three-year-old Canadian-based Club Penguin about one year ago and went on to open its first international office this past April in Brighton, England.

B*tween Productions has launched the beta version of its tween-targeted social networking website for the Beacon Street Girls at www.beta.beaconstreetgirls.com.  The site, based on the Beacon Street Girls book series published by Simon & Schuster, is slated for a full launch this fall 2008.

JAG Entertainment launches Jr. Chefs of America, a new web-based kids cooking program, this week.  Hosted by kids, the series aims to get kids interested in cooking while educating them about food and healthy eating.

Empire Interactive, international publisher/developer of interactive software, will release the game title Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams exclusively for Nintendo DS this fall 2008.  Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams, based on Sanrio’s property Hello Kitty, follows Kitty in her new hometown, the Big City, where she will meet up with her Sanrio pals including Badtz-Maru, Pochacco and My Melody as well as making new friends.  The game can be played in two different modes: exploration mode allows Kitty to move around her apartment, explore the city and interact with other there; in mini-game mode, Kitty will play through a variety of mini-games and earn friendship points that will allow her to purchase costumes, ride the bus or train, and customize her apartment.  Empire Interactive is a unit of Silverstar Holdings.

Casting Call: Fitzroy Media, a new kid’s entertainment company, along with creator/executive producer Kathy Karwat and Generator, a Canadian multiplatform content producer, are looking to cast hosts for the pilot of the new tween-targeted auction game, BidZerk!, which will be filed in Toronto.  They are specifically looking for two hosts, a male and female, 17-21 years old.  Auditions will be held Wednesday, august 13 (2:30-6p) and Thursday, August 14 (10:30a-1:30p) in Toronto at the Metropolitan Hotel.  For further information or to submit applications contact Hamp Hampton at hamp.hampton@fitzroymedia.com.

Correction: Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is produced by Bolder Media for Boys and Girls, Inc. in association with Starz Media (f/k/a IDT Entertainment).

MARKETING/LICENSING

LeapFrog Enterprises releases two new educational game titles based on Lucasfilm’s upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars and one game based on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  Moving forward, LeapFrog extends its deal with Lucas Licensing to developing two additional Star Wars learning game titles for release in 2009.  LeapFrog developed these games for use with its two new gaming platforms, the Leapster2Learning Game System (K4-8), and the Didj Custom gaming System (K6-10).  Additionally, the new games will connect to the proprietary LeapFrog Learning Path, a free online tool that will show parents what kids are learning with these titles.

RATINGS

Weekly Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported networks, Total Day and Primetime Rankings among K2-11 (000) 7/28-8/3/08:
Total Day     (000)   Primetime       (000)
NICK~:           1275    DSNY*:             1386
DSNY*:            996    CARTOON:          821
CARTOON:       696    NAN**:               482
NAN**:            348    NOGGIN:            276
NOGGIN:          248    DISCOVERY:       194
ADSM**:          228    TOON DIS:         158
TOON DIS.:      138    BET:                   132
DISCOVERY:       96    NICKTOONS:      112
NICKTOONS:      94    TLC:                    77
BET:                  64    ESPN:                  64
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.
~Nickelodeon Total Day 6a-11p

Weekly Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported networks, Total Day and Primetime Rankings among K6-11 (000) 7/28-8/3/08:
Total Day        (000) Primetime        (000)
NICK~:              780    DSNY*:              1112
DSNY*:             726    CARTOON:           568
CARTOON:         468    NAN**:               351
NAN**:             269    DISCOVERY:        145
ADSM**:           165    BET:                     97
TOON DIS.:         80    TOON DIS:            83
NICKTOONS:       62    NICKTOONS:         70
DISCOVERY:        76    TLC:                     59
NOGGIN:             52    NOGGIN:              47
BET:                   46    ANIMAL PLANET:   45
                                 ESPN:                   45
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.
~Nickelodeon Total Day 6a-11p

Weekly Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Networks, Total Day and Primetime Rankings among Tweens 9-14 (000) 7/28-8/3/08:
Total Day  (000)   Primetime    (000)
DSNY*:        621     DSNY*:           946
NICK~:         587     NAN**:           480
NAN**:        406     CARTOON:       424
CARTOON:    339     DISCOVERY:    164
ADSM**:      248     BET:                131
DISCOVERY: 102     MTV:                 86
MTV:              89     COMEDY:           77
BET:               69     ESPN:               70
TOON DIS.:     52     TLC:                 65
COMEDY:        50     THE N:              55
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.
~Nickelodeon Total Day 6a-11p

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Saturday, August 2, 2008, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 1287; K6-11 832; TWEENS 9-14 569
DISNEY CHANNEL:     K2-11   890; K6-11 604; TWEENS 9-14 470
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   527; K6-11 367; TWEENS 9-14 286
TOON DISNEY:           K2-11   126; K6-11   72; TWEENS 9-14   38
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Sunday, August 3, 2008, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 1238; K6-11 747; TWEENS 9-14 529
DISNEY CHANNEL:     K2-11 1132; K6-11 798; TWEENS 9-14 580
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   673; K6-11 464; TWEENS 9-14 300
TOON DISNEY:           K2-11   183; K6-11 110; TWEENS 9-14   51
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Monday, August 4, 2008, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 1378; K6-11 896; TWEENS 9-14 697
DISNEY CHANNEL:     K2-11 1329; K6-11 896; TWEENS 9-14 739
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   715; K6-11 462; TWEENS 9-14 326
TOON DISNEY:           K2-11   220; K6-11 136; TWEENS 9-14   68
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  Characters Shnitzel, Panini, Ms. Endive and Kimchi can be found on what animated series?  CHOWDER (Cartoon Network) Kudos to: Jonathan Meath-MeathMedia/Boston; Alex Mullen-Nickelodeon/NY; Bridget Brady-WETA/Washington, DC; Kevin Gamble-Classic Media, Inc./NY; Kelly Lawer/PST; Al Ovadia-Al Ovadia & Associates/Hidden Hills, CA; Meryl Alper-Nickelodeon/Burbank; Heather Kenyon/Brazil

Today’s Trivia Question: What was the first name of the latch-key kid that was hired to do errands and odd jobs on the classic TV series The Facts of Life? (Email Joanne@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!
08.06.08

Cynopsis Kids Ad Sales:
Jennifer Franko – 203-583-9796 / jennifer@cynopsis.com
Classifieds – Trish Pihonak- 203-926-9878 / trish@cynopsis.com

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