Cynopsis: Kids!
02/04/09
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, February 4, 2009, and this is your first early morning Kids briefing.
Lumenas Animation Studios, an indie film production/distribution company, has begun pre-production on its original family-aimed animated movie The Legend of Santa Claus. The first in a planned movie trilogy, The Legend of Santa Clause is set for theatrical release in fall 2010. Directed by Colin Brady (animation supervisor-Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Hulk, E.T.; animator-Toy Story, A Bugs Life etc.), and featuring a screenplay by Tab Murphy (story-Gorillas in the Mist, and screenplay-Disney’s Brother Bear, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Tarzan), The Legend of Santa Claus revolves around Nicholas, a young boy living in an 18th Century fishing village who finds himself in a struggle between good and evil, eventually becoming a hero. Mike Belzer (Bolt, James and the Giant Peach, Nightmare Before Christmas) will serve as animation director. The film is being produced with the help of strategic partners DLP Cinema and Technicolor. Lumenas plans to support the film with a licensing program, an in-school curriculum and a philanthropic campaign.
9 Story Entertainment jumps into 2009 with a strong production slate, including two new TV series and new episodes of existing series:
- Wibbly Pig (52×10) is a new animated preschool series. Based on Mick Inkpen’s books, Wibbly Pig is a co-production between 9 Story and Wish Films (UK) and set for delivery in fall 2009. The series is co-distributed by 9 Story and BBC Worldwide, with broadcast deals inks with Canada’s TVO and Knowledge Network.
- Survive This (13×22) is a new live-action kid-targeted series that focuses on eight teens as they head into the woods to survive on their own with the guidance of mentor and skill judge Les Stroud. Commissioned for YTV (Canada), Survive This is set to premiere in April 2009.
- New episodes for returning shows include:
- –Best Ed, new episodes of this original production for Teletoon (Canada) and Cartoon Network UK are scheduled for completion in April 2009, with presales of the series to Cartoon Network for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Korea, and ABC (Australia)
- –Peep and the Big Wide World returns for a fourth season with 6 new episodes for Canada’s TVO and Knowledge network and SRC.
- –Max and Ruby enters into a fourth season with 12 new episodes.
Correction: The name of actor joining the cast of the live-action movie The Last Airbender was misspelled here yesterday and should have read Dev Patel.
MORE KIDS STUFF
PBS Kids will premiere ten new episodes of the preschool series Sid The Science Kid ( www.pbskids.org/sid ) over the course of a two-week period beginning Monday, February 9 (check local listings). Each of the two weeks introduces a new scientific theme: the week of February 9 including five new episodes focusing on physical science and engineering of simple machines; the episodes debuting the week of February 16 will explore backyard science and nature as well as introducing Sid’s new friend, Philbert, a dog Sid’s Grandma adopts who will help Sid investigate animal communication. Sid The Science Kid is a co-production of The Jim Henson Company and KCET/Los Angeles for PBS Kids.
Sprout celebrates Valentine’s Day as Barney, the dinosaur, visits The Sunny Side Up Show for Sprout’s Super-Dee-Duper Valentine Party on Friday, February 13, 2009 9a-12n. Barney will also be featured in new segments on The Sunny Side Up Show for the next day, Valentine’s Day. Now through February 13, kids and parents can make Valentine’s Day cards, crafts and send in messages to friends/family at SproutOnilne.com ( www.sproutonline.com), some of which could be featured in an on air crawl throughout the Saturday, February 14. Parents can also enter Sprout’s We ‘heart’ Your Videos Contest at the site.
The Jonas Brothers will host special wrap-around promos along with 90210 star Jessica Lowndes on The CW during 9021 and Privileged on Tuesday, February 10, 8-10p. The group will offer a sneak peek at their new Disney feature film, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, which releases in theaters nationwide on February 27.
TV-Loonland picks up the worldwide distribution rights across all media for the 3D animated short-form series Mister Otter (52x 90 seconds). Produced by France-based La Station Animation in co-production with French terrestrial broadcaster France 3 and TV-Loonland, Mister Otter is directed by Ahmidou Lyazidi and set for full delivery in April 2009. In each episode a narrator helps follow Otter as he seeks answers to a range of questions (e.g. what is the origin of microwave ovens, what did Marco Polo have in common with pasta?).
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! joins new networks, inks renewals and has new DVD releases. Last month the preschool series launched on Hop! TV (Israel) and Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (Middle East). Meanwhile, Discovery Kids Latin America, Nick UK, Nick Australia and ABC (Australia) have all picked up the second season (26 episodes) of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Additionally, Anchor Bay Entertainment releases new Wubbzy DVDs, A Little Help From My Friends this week, followed by Pirate Treasure on March 24 and Wubbzy’s Big Movie on May 12, with a fourth release due later in the year. Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is produced by Bolder Media, Inc., in association with Starz Animation’s Film Roman.
MARKETING/LICENSING
4Kids Entertainment, Inc. and Chaotic USA Entertainment Group, Inc., names Spin Master Inc. as master toy licensee for the Chaotic brand. Under the deal Spin Master has the exclusive worldwide license to design, develop and manufacture Chaotic toys, including action figures and collectables. Spin Master also has the exclusive rights to market and distribute toys (excluding plush) in North America, the UK, France and Mexico. 4Kids Entertainment will grant toy distribution rights to distributors for all other territories. Spin Master’s first Chaotic products are scheduled to hit retail in late 2009 or early 2010.
Mega Brands Inc. enters into a global licensing pact with Microsoft Game Studios to develop construction toys based on the new real-time strategy game Halo Wars. Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising, the licensing agent for the Halo franchise, brokered the deal. Halo Wars releases this March 2009 and will carry an ESRB rating of T (for Teens). Mega Brands will develop the first-ever construction toy sets based on the key characters and vehicles of Halo Wars under the Mega Bloks umbrella, which will be released in summer 2009.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Dorothea Gillim joins WGBH Boston as an Executive Producer/Children’s Programming. Gillim created and produced the animated series WordGirl for PBS and toiled for 15 years for the animation studio Soup2Nuts. She also worked with WGBH on kid-targeted shows including Between the Lions and Time Warp Trio. Additionally, Gillim created and produced the comedy Hey Monie (which is not for kids) for BET.
KidsCo appoints Robert Mackenzie as Sales Director. Mackenzie will be responsible for new business opportunities for KidsCo, including driving advertising and sponsorship revenue. He will report to Managing Director, Paul Robinson. Mackenzie joins KidsCo from Webswappers Ltd, where he was part of its senior management team and was specifically responsible for advertising and sponsorship revenue in the UK for its site SwapitShop.com. Previously he served as Fox Kids’ Head of Sales Online & Interactive UK.
Corus Entertainment makes changes in the management structure of Corus Kids. These appointments follow Corus Entertainment’s reorganization last year of its kids business to integrate Corus Kids, Nelvana Enterprises, Nelvana Studio and Kids Can Press lead by Doug Murphy in an expanded role as President/Nelvana and EVP and GM/Corus Kids.
- Dale Hancocks expands his role to SVP/Operations and Associate General Counsel, Corus Kids and Nelvana Enterprises. He continues to oversee Rights Clearance and Permissions and adds oversight of Corus’ international kid’s ventures, qubo and KidsCo, as well as responsibility for Kids Can Press with Lisa Lyons reporting to Hancock in her role as President, KCP.
- Jocelyn Hamilton becomes VP/Programming and Production, Corus Kids.
- Colin Bohm becomes VP and MD/Nelvana Enterprises. In this newly created role, Bohm leads the Nelvana Enterprises team to grow its worldwide broadcast sales, home entertainment and merchandise licensing businesses.
- Lynn Chadwick, VP/Worldwide Sales and Distribution is responsible for building the worldwide sales and distribution business for Corus Kids, working in tandem with Nelvana and Corus Kids’ networks. She is also responsible for overseeing the partnership with Teletoon.
- As VP/Worldwide Home Entertainment and Digital Media, Peter Maule is responsible for the division’s digital and home entertainment business globally. He is also now responsible for strategic account planning and working with the Corus Kids sales execs to integrate sales opportunities for Corus content.
- Mark Northwood becomes VP/Worldwide Licensing, responsible for the worldwide merchandise licensing business through the management of the core brands and building opportunities for new properties.
- Jane Harrison, VP and Associate General Counsel, takes on responsibility for all legal affairs within the Corus Kids organization.
- Laura Baehr expands her current role to VP/Marketing, Corus Kids and Nelvana Enterprises, making her responsible for all marketing activities in Canada and internationally.
- As VP/International Development, Corus Kids, Irene Weibel continues to identify new content from around the world as well as leverage existing co-production treaties between Canada and 44 other countries.
- John Cvecich becomes Director/Treehouse, a newly created position.
RATINGS
Weekly Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported networks, Total Day and Primetime Rankings among K2-11 (000) 1/26-2/1/2009 :
Total Day (000) Primetime (000)
NICK°: 1122 DSNY*: 1155
DSNY*: 799 TOON: 808
TOON: 582 NOGGIN: 392
NOGGIN: 307 NAN: 362
NAN: 200 TOON DIS: 164
ADSM**: 197 DISCOVERY: 97
TOON DIS: 139 TLC: 80
NICKTOONS: 88 BET: 74
DISCOVERY: 59 ESPN: 70
MTV: 49 THE N: 68
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) 1/26-2/1/2009 :
Total Day (000) Primetime (000)
NICK°: 580 DSNY*: 868
DSNY*: 517 TOON: 552
TOON: 386 NAN: 279
NAN: 154 TOON DIS: 84
ADSM**: 114 NICKTOONS: 81
TOON DIS: 72 DISCOVERY: 72
NICKTOONS: 54 THE N: 60
NOGGIN: 47 NOGGIN: 55
DISCOVERY: 45 ESPN: 52
THE N: 41 BET: 47
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) 1/26-2/1/2009 :
Total Day (000) Primetime (000)
NICK°: 409 DSNY*: 694
DSNY*: 408 TOON: 384
TOON: 265 NAN: 347
NAN: 227 DISCOVERY: 111
ADSM**: 159 MTV: 98
NICKTOONS: 43 THE N: 93
MTV: 62 BET: 78
DISCOVERY: 62 COMEDY: 71
THE N: 54 ESPN: 70
TOON DIS: 49 NICKTOONS: 58
TLC: 58
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, January 31, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON: K2-11 1312; K6-11 843; TWEENS 9-14 622
DISNEY CHANNEL: K2-11 1146; K6-11 751; TWEENS 9-14 543
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11 668; K6-11 463; TWEENS 9-14 290
TOON DISNEY: K2-11 293; K6-11 168; TWEENS 9-14 95
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data
Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Sunday, February 1, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON: K2-11 1171; K6-11 753; TWEENS 9-14 560
DISNEY CHANNEL: K2-11 1001; K6-11 607; TWEENS 9-14 403
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11 716; K6-11 491; TWEENS 9-14 332
TOON DISNEY: K2-11 226; K6-11 115; TWEENS 9-14 64
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data
Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Monday, February 2, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON: K2-11 1052; K6-11 491; TWEENS 9-14 388
DISNEY CHANNEL: K2-11 905; K6-11 532; TWEENS 9-14 390
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11 482; K6-11 277; TWEENS 9-14 168
TOON DISNEY: K2-11 191; K6-11 122; TWEENS 9-14 54
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data
Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: Josie, Valerie, Melody and Alexandra were the members of the ’70s Saturday morning cartoon band, Josie and the Pussycats. What then soon to be popular actress provided Melody’s singing voice? CHERYL LADD (known then as Cherie Moor) Kudos to: Ben Taylor-Hit Entertainment/NY; Gary Shinn- Metrovision Production Group/NY; Jim Salicrup-Papercutz/NY; Joe Swaney-Cartoon Network/GA; Rick Zieff-Yellowbird Productions, Inc./CA
Today’s Trivia Question: On what animated children’s series would you find a Sheepdog named Bitzer? (Email [email protected] 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!
02.04.09
Cynopsis Kids Ad Sales:
Chuck Bolkcom – 646-468-6180 / [email protected]
Mark Bohn- 203-583-1224 / [email protected]
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