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Licensing Show deals up girl power
CONSUMER PRODUCTSThanks to the blockbuster success of a little IP called Monster High, catering to girls has become a top priority for retailers, licensees and licensors – and there’s a whole new crop of properties set to pop at this week’s Licensing Show to fill the gap.
19 hours ago
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LIMA honors the year’s top licensed properties and products
CONSUMER PRODUCTS / GEAR / iKIDSWith more than US$1 billion in retail sales under its wing, Activision’s Skylanders took home the award for overall best licensed program at yesterday’s Excellence Awards hosted by the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA). Read on for a list of this year’s winners.
19 hours ago
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Expand and contract: The US children’s digital book industry continues to change shape
iKIDS / INTERACTIVE / MOBILEThe US children’s digital book industry is growing exponentially with the help of more consumable content. In fact, the children’s and young adult eBook category drew US$469 million last year, a 117% rise over 2011. But while the numbers seem big, developers and publishers are still thinking small.
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Netflix commits to more than 300 hours of DreamWorks original content
iKIDS / INTERACTIVE / TV / WEBThe biggest original content deal in Netflix’s history is for the little ones. A new multi-year deal will see DreamWorks develop more than 300 hours of original content based on properties like Shrek and Madagascar exclusively for subscribers of the Internet streaming service.
Saban unveils consumer products reorganization
CONSUMER PRODUCTS / PEOPLE MOVESSaban Brands has launched a brand new global consumer products division led by Kirk Bloomgarden, who has stepped into a new role as SVP of global consumer products.
Kidscreened
- Steven Spielberg gets a lot of things right, so is the film industry really on the cusp of imploding? (The Hollywood Reporter)
- Apple scores a major iPad deal with the second-largest school system in the US (All Things D)
- Nonprofit organization First Book sets out on a new mission to supply more diverse children’s literature (Publishers Weekly)
- Not surprisingly, walking while texting is becoming a real hazard for kids (The Guardian)
Tim Brooke-Hunt to leave ABC TV in September
PEOPLE MOVES / TVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Television children’s content controller Tim Brooke-Hunt, who’s been instrumental in extending ABC TV to new genres and platforms, will be leaving the broadcaster in September to pursue new opportunities in children’s entertainment.
Octonauts finds US DVD partner in NCircle
TVSilvergate Media has appointed US children’s home entertainment distributor NCircle Entertainment as a DVD and download-to-own partner for the Octonauts property.
Lucasfilm and Disney to focus on the consumer
CONSUMER PRODUCTS / RETAILAnd so it begins. In an exclusive presentation at Licensing Show, Lucasfilm has been officially welcomed into Disney Consumer Products’ vast franchise portfolio.
Kindle’s FreeTime service continues to grow kids content slate
iKIDS / INTERACTIVE / MOBILEThe latest announcement in a week packed with children’s SVOD news comes from Amazon, which has added 1,000 kids titles from companies like Disney, Warner Bros. and Electronic Arts in the past six months to its Kindle FreeTime Unlimited service.
HIT ratchets up Thomas, Mike US licensing sales
CONSUMER PRODUCTS / INTERACTIVE / RETAILIn line with its broadcast, online and consumer products growth strategy, Mattel’s HIT Entertainment has secured new US partners for its preschool properties Thomas & Friends and Mike the Knight.
Changing hearts, minds and games
BLOGS / Out of the SandboxThe Games for Change Festival got me thinking. Is it better to be smart or sexy? Today’s innovators don’t see them as being mutually exclusive.
Kidscreened
- UK entertainment execs form Wildseed Studios and will make up to 50 content investments over the next three years (Wired)
- Nearly a quarter of the world’s population is social networking – that’s a whole lot of status updates (eMarketer)
- Disney is leading the licensing game, but it’s interesting to see by how much and because of which properties (Variety)
- Apple’s iOS 7 mobile operating system will come with a curated kids gaming category (Polygon)
Netflix set on solving the summer slump
iKIDS / INTERACTIVE / MOBILEWith the influx of new movies and shows hitting Netflix in the past number of weeks – and upticks in kids content viewing occurring in the summer months – the Internet streaming service has now launched a Families page designed to help parents better find entertainment options.
The definitive kids ent resource.-
McDonald’s, General Mills among Despicable Me 2 marketing minions -
Nick brings new preschool series Shimmer and Shine to light - Netflix commits to more than 300 hours of DreamWorks original content
- LIMA honors the year’s top licensed properties and products
- Licensing Show deals up girl power
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MGA Entertainment launches Mooshka
Photos
MIPCOM 2012 - Jake Manion of Aardman Digital