A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM RADIO DISNEY

Cynopsis: Kids!
09.11.13

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, September 11, 2013, and this is your first early morning briefing.

TODAY’S TOP NEWS

Saturday Night Live funnyman Kenan Thompson has been tapped to host Hub’s two-hour live-to-tape Halloween Bash, airing Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8p. Sponsors of the event include Activision’s Skylanders SWAP Force, Hasbro’s Furby Boom! and Party City.

October’s always a big month for Hub, which minted the “safe scary” programming formula and continues to run with it. Next month will see the premiere of two original Hub series the animated Sabrina Secrets of a Teenage Witch, on Saturday, Oct. 12, noon ET/9a PT; and live-action Spooksville, Saturday, Oct. 26, at 10p ET/7p PT, right after the Halloween Bash. Hub will also return the hit ’90s show Step by Step, to TV on Monday, Oct. 7, at 7p. Here’s what network chief Margaret Loesch recently told CynKids about fan love for Sabrina and other nostalgic characters: “I’m astonished at the intensity and passion they have for the characters… There seems to be a thirst for looking back, but re-imaginings programs for the future.” And why they make good business sense: “Because we’re small and we’re coming up in this highly competitive arena, going with pre-sold brands [is the way to go]. These characters have built-in audiences and fandom.”

PROGRAMMING PICKS

The Monday, Oct. 7, premiere of Disney XD live-action sitcom Mighty Med won’t be the first opportunity for kids to sample the series. The net is premiering a tie-in game, Heroic Healers, on Sunday, Sept. 15, and offering a free download of the first Med episode on iTunes on Monday, Sept. 23, followed by VOD access on Monday, Sept. 30, for WATCH Disney subscribers. The stepped, multi-distribution rollout is becoming par for the course for Disney premieres. Series features Disney Channel stars Bradley Steven Perry (Good Luck Charlie) and Jake Short (A.N.T. Farm) as two teens who land after-school jobs at a secret hospital for superheroes, sci-fi and fantasy characters.

The first of Nick at Nite’s new original series, the Tia Mowry Hardrict-starring and produced Instant Mom, drops Saturday, Sept. 29, at 8:30p. The scripted half-hour series features Mowry-Hardrict as Stephanie, a party girl who trades in Cosmos for carpools when she marries a man who already has three kids. The show will air regularly on Sundays at 8:30p on Nick at Nite and on the adult-targeted NickMom comedy block on the Nick Jr. channel at 10p.

PRODUCTION NOTES

Season two of Coolabi’s animated preschool show Poppy Cat is in production and expected to wrap for delivery to broadcasters next spring. The series’ first season has been sold to almost 150 territories worldwide including the U.S., where it airs on Sprout; U.K., where it’s featured on Nick Jr.; France and Poland.

Australia’s SLR Productions green-lit the animated series Captain Flinn and The Pirate Dinosaurs for production with local broadcast partner Nine Network along with international partners ZDF Enterprises, Telegael and Top Draw Animation. The series is based on award-winning picture books of the same name by the author/illustrator duo Giles Andreae and Russell Ayto.

MORE KIDS NEWS

Disney will host the Veterans Institute at Walt Disney World on Thursday, Nov. 14. The daylong free workshop is designed to help small- and mid-sized companies build effective veteran-hiring programs of their own. “Our Heroes Work Here program not only helps us find and hire highly qualified veterans, it also supports veterans and their families as they transition out of the military,” Bob Iger, Disney CEO, said. “We’re happy to share what we’ve learned with other organizations.”

Who’s the kindest kid in the country? Sprout aims to find out with its Kindest Kid Contest. To enter the competition, sponsored by ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy, families provide a photo and describe how their child helped the family, a friend, the community or any other positive everyday contribution. Contest runs through Sept. 30 and the winner will be announced live on Saturday, Dec. 21, in a three-hour special hosted by The Chica Show stars Kelly and Chica. The child named Sprout’s Kindest Kid will win a trip to Sprout’s Philly HQ to be Sprout’s honorary Chief Kindness Officer for the day and record segments about kindness, which will air in 2014 and be featured on sproutonline.com. Voting is open to the public; for each vote received, Sprout will donate $1 up to $25,000 to a national kids charity. Additionally, the net will make a $5,000 donation to a national kids charity in the winner’s name.

Oriental Dreamworks is digging deeper into China. The partnership between DreamWorks Animation and three Chinese partners was originally envisioned as a feature animation company, but Head of Production Joe Aguilar announced that plans have expanded to include animated TV, live action films and live action TV, including reality shows.

Lionsgate acquired the home entertainment distribution rights to Britt Allcroft’s Magic Adventures of Mumfie, the series created by Thomas the Tank Engine creator Allcroft. Mumfie initially premiered on TV in the U.K., then on the Fox Kids Network for five seasons in the ’90s. Lionsgate will serve as the exclusive home entertainment distributor of Mumfie programming for all packaged media and digital platforms, which includes 79 episodes of the series as well as the Mumfie’s Quest Movie and Mumfie’s White Christmas, the first release under the new partnership which is out Nov. 12 on DVD, digital download, VOD and PPV.

Toys R Us in the U.K. made headlines this week with its decision to end its practice of marketing products as gender-specific. The topic of gender behaviors, and stereotyping, has come up a lot recently. Here’s what some kids entertainment execs have told CynKids:
— “Really young kids are not as affected by peers – they’ll watch what’s appealing to them. But into their 5s, certainly when they start school, they get pressured by the other children into ‘That’s a girls show’ or ‘That’s a boys show.’ … In my experience girls will buy into a boys show better than a boy will buy into a girls show.” Keith Chapman, founder of Keith Chapman Productions and creator of new Nickelodeon series Paw Patrol
— “Girls and boys do gravitate to different play patterns, though there is a lot of push toward not following classic gender stereotypes. Lego has come out with girls’ products, though they’re different from the boys’ products. The girls’ products have a more social aspect.” Charles Albert, founder, Creativity Inc.

Join me at our October 17 Cynopsis Future TV Summit! This daylong conference will bring together expert speakers on topics including Measurement, the Second Screen, New Networks, a unique “People on Chairs” guerilla Focus Group, and much more! Register here: http://www.cynopsisfuturetvsummit.com/

DIGITAL UPDATE

Oh the places you’ll go… Random House Children’s Books is making its library of Dr. Seuss print titles available in eBook format for the first time. A total of 15 titles will make their way to the digi-sphere beginning Sept. 24. First wave includes The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and Horton Hears a Who! Next up will be How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and On Beyond Zebra! on Oct. 22; additional titles including Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?, McElligot’s Pool and Bartholomew and the Oobleck arrive Nov. 5. The eBooks will also be published simultaneously as Read & Listen editions featuring new audio recordings of the full text. Children’s eBook reading is gaining momentum. U.S. children’s and young adult eBook category hit $469 million in 2012, a 117% rise over the prior year, according to The Assn. of American Publishers and Book Industry Study Group.

Popular app iStoryTime is introducing a monthly all-you-can-read subscription service, a la the binge-viewing option at Netflix and other digital services. The new rate enables young readers to interact with every book in the app’s library for $5 a month. The app, developed by tech company zuuka, is also experimenting with a system that lets parents who interact with ads on the site to earn points toward downloading a free book.

GAMES & APPS

Those little minions are chalking up some big numbers. Apps Playground reports the Despicable Me: Minion Rush game has been downloaded 100 million times on iPhone, iPad and Android, according to its publisher Gameloft. The game has been out less than three months, and Gameloft says that people have played it for more than 260 million hours.

Wee Sing Productions released the Wee Sing & Learn 123 app on the iTunes store. It’s the second app out from the company and distributor zuuka and builds on the 65 million children’s books, albums, live-action videos and apps Wee Sing has sold.

V&S Entertainment, the producer and licensor of Everything’s Rosie, nabbed licensee Daredevil Development to produce a gaming app to complement the preschool show. 

LICENSING NEWS

Toys R Us is launching the first toy range based on Zodiak Kids’ Nick Jr. preschool TV series Tickety Toc this week. The toy line from Just Play includes interactive trains and playsets, huggable talking dolls and plush and figurines.

Novel Entertainment inked a deal with U.K. toy wholesaler H Grossman for products based on the Horrid Henry brand. The deal covers toys, outdoor vehicles and camping equipment. Horrid Henry, based on the characters created by Francesca Simon and illustrated by Tony Ross, has his own hit animated TV series that’s been airing in the U.K. since 2006.

AG Properties is extending Strawberry Shortcake‘s domain in Brazil, where she is fondly known as Moranguinho, with new lines from J & A Moveis Ltda, Vulcan Material Plastico and Pernambucanas, all brokered by AGP’s territory licensing agent Exim Licensing.

Hoho Rights will launch a girls’ fashion brand based on Mimi & Bibi, the polar-opposite twins who star in the iPad interactive storytelling app.

RESEARCH & DATA

Looking to track your teen on social media? You can skip Pinterest. Although 15% of adults now use Pinterest, only 1% of teens spend time on the social platform, according to NextAdvisor based on recent Pew Research data. According to the research, teens still hover around Facebook, with 81% of those surveyed noting Facebook is the network they use most often. Twitter use among teens is on the rise: In 2011, only 12% of teens were using Twitter; that share more than doubled in a year.

PARTNERSHIPS & PROMOTIONS

Follow the yellow brick road… Lots of promos in the works for the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz. Simon Malls’ Simon Kidgits Club is partnering with Warner Bros. on a Wizard of Oz 75th anniversary children’s promotion at mall properties across the country. Select malls will have Oz-inspired activities through Thursday, Sept. 26. Beginning Friday, Sept. 20, The Wizard of Oz 3D will be shown on the big screen for an exclusive one-week engagement in IMAX theaters across North America. On Tuesday, Oct. 1, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release a limited and numbered The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition in Blu-ray, DVD and UltraViolet versions.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The Road to MIP Jr.: Spanish kids-focused production and distribution house Imira Entertainment is now representing Spanish broadcaster TVE’s original and co-produced content for distribution internationally. The catalog, which includes content for kids ages 4-12 including The Lunnis, Asha, Club Pizzicato and Pizzicato, will launch next month at MIP Jr… HIP (Henson Independent Properties), the Jim Henson Co.’s third party media distribution and licensing banner, acquired media distribution and consumer products rights to the new animated preschool series Elias: Rescue Team Adventures from Animando in Norway. HIP will debut the series; currently in production at Caoz Animation in Iceland, at MIP Jr.

They’re baaack… Remember the Wombles? The eco-friendly British critters are returning to television in 2015 on Channel 5’s Milkshake in the U.K. thanks to a deal struck with rights holder Mike Batt and his Dramatica label.

Paris-based Indie Sales acquired new animated film Moomins on the Riviera, the Scandinavian brand based on Tove Jansson’s classic 1940s comic strip, for international distribution.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Indie studio Mercury Filmworks appointed industry veteran Marianne Culbert to the post of Vice President of Production. She previously was Supervising Producer and Vice President of Production with Nelvana and is a Gemini Award winner and four-time Daytime Emmy nominee. Mercury’s library includes animated television and film properties Jake & the Never Land Pirates and Fish Hooks.

Entertainment and media PR agency The Lippin Group promoted Donald Ciaramella to President of Corporate Communications. He previously served as the company’s EVP, corporate communications.

Multiplatform music network Vevo named Jonathan Carson its Chief Revenue Officer. Carson previously headed Nielsen’s digital division.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

REGISTER TODAY – ONLY 1 WEEK LEFT!

Cynopsis Webinar  09/18/13 @ 1:30-3:00pm EST
Reaching Millennials: New Ways to Activate Viewership & Revenue

Moderator: Roberta Caploe, Editorial Director – Cynopsis Media
Speakers:
MTV: Joe Ortiz (SVP Marketing)
Fitzgerald + Co: Noel Cottrell (Chief Creative Officer)
Pivot/Participant Media: Kent Rees (EVP Marketing, Scheduling & Operations)
Turner Broadcasting’s Young Adults Group: Patty Gillette (SVP, Integrated Marketing)

TRIVIA

Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: Jack Hanna is director emeritus at a zoo in which city? Columbus. Kudos to: Jimmy Huynh, Toon Goggles, LA.

Today’s Trivia Question: What sketch comedy series did Kenan Thompson appear in before SNL? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone.)

BY THE NUMBERS

Top 10 Basic Cable Ratings for the week of Sept. 2-8, 2013

K2-11 Total Programming Day

K2-11 Prime (Monday – Sunday 8-11p.m.)

K2-11  (Monday-Sunday 6 a.m.-11 p.m.)

K6-11 Total Programming Day

K6-11 Prime (Monday – Sunday 8-11p.m.)

K6-11  (Monday-Sunday 6 a.m.-11 p.m.)

K9-14 Total Programming Day

K9-14 Prime (Monday – Sunday 8-11p.m.)

K9-14  (Monday-Sunday 6 a.m.-11 p.m.)

Source: Disney from Nielsen Media Research National MIT, ranked on coverage ratings

Viewing Type: Live +SD

K2-11  Top 10 Programs for the week of Sept. 2-8, 2013

K6-11  Top 10 Programs for the week of Sept. 2-8, 2013

Source: Turner Research from the Nielsen Co. data, Viewing type = Preliminary Live + SD

Weekend box office estimates for the 10 top-grossing kids/tween/teen movies rated G, PG or PG-13, provided by Rentrak for Sept. 6-8, 2013:

Lee Daniels The Butler (The Weinstein Co.) PG-13 $8.9 million (weekend)  $91.9 million (4-week cume)
Instructions Not Included (Lionsgate) PG-13  $8.1 million (weekend) $20.3 million (2-week cume)
Planes (Disney) G  $4.3 million (weekend) $79.3 million (5-week cume)
One Direction: This Is Us (Sony) PG  $4.1 million (weekend) $24 million (2-week cume)
Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures) PG-13 $2.7 million (weekend) $25.4 million (7-week cume)
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (20th Century Fox) PG $2.5 million (weekend) $59.8 million (5-week cume)
The Mortal Instruments-City of Bones (Sony) PG-13 $2.2 million (weekend) $27.8 million (3-week cume)
Getaway (Warner Bros.) PG-13  $2.2 million (weekend) $8.7 million (2-week cume)
Despicable Me (Universal) PG $1.4 million (weekend) $357.5 million (10-week cume)
Smurfs 2 (Sony) PG $925,000 (weekend) $68.2 million (6-week cume) 

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Cheers — Cathy
[email protected] for Cynopsis Kids!
09.11.13

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