The award winning kids animated series Bluey is crossing the English Channel to thrill a generation of children in France, as France Television has secured the rights to the show and BBC Studios has appointed France TV Distribution as its licensing agent in the country. Beginning this week, Bluey will be broadcast daily in the prime spots of 8:45 a.m. on weekends, and from Monday to Friday at 8:20 a.m. Julie Kekwick, senior licensing manager, BBC Studios, said: “Building on the success of Bluey in Australia, New Zealand, the US and of course the widely anticipated launch in the UK, I am delighted that we have expanded our pre-school portfolio with France TV Distribution, as our licensing agent for Bluey alongside Hey Duggee and in turn strengthening our partnership with… . . . read more
Augusta Partners on EA Sports PGA Tour
Licensing Deal Will See EA SPORTS PGA TOUR As The Exclusive Home of All Four Majors — the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open Championship and The Open Championship EA Sports has unveiled EA SPORTS PGA TOUR: Road to the Masters as the exclusive video game home of the historic Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, one of the most prestigious golf events in the world, with some of the most recognizable traditions in sports. The Masters made its first-ever virtual appearance with EA SPORTS in 2011, and its return to video games has been highly requested by golf fans. Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, unveiled the new cover of EA SPORTS PGA TOUR today during his annual press conference before the… . . . read more
Big Week For Dr. Seuss: Three New Deals And An Anniversary
You just can’t keep Dr. Seuss out of the news lately. After getting political conservatives into a fluster last month after cancelling certain Dr. Seuss books for images now considered racially offensive, the children’s book brand has seen sales increases and this week announced three new deals. The first slate of deals, announced April 6, celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Dr. Seuss classic The Lorax, with a lineup of sustainable brand partnerships to further enhance the book’s strong message of environmental activism. “The Lorax has always been a beloved Dr. Seuss story and introduces children to why we need to protect our planet through a beautiful story,” said Susan Brandt, President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises. “We are proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the book in 2021 and… . . . read more
Brands Taking A Deep Dive Into NFT Market
By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief As many have predicted, the licensing industry and in particular companies involved with collectibles like comics and trading cards, have dived headfirst into the world of Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs. Some of the examples include DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Funko, and the collectible giant Topps Company, which has been into NFTs for close to a year now. Among them, Funko has likely taken the biggest step yet, as the company announced on April Fool’s Day that it has acquired a majority ownership stake in TokenWave, LLC, the developer of TokenHead, a leading mobile app and website for showcasing and tracking Non-Fungible Token (NFT) holdings. TokenHead is available on iOS and Android, and currently displays over 10 million NFTs and has more than… . . . read more
Sanrio Partners With Nintendo on Animal Crossing
Items, clothing and new characters inspired by Sanrio brands are coming to the Nintendo hit video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Sanrio owns several popular character brands, the most famous being Hello Kitty (pictured), which have been licensed in everything from apparel, to gifts, to home products. Now Sanrio’s suite of adorable characters will be setting up camp in the Animal Crossing world as well. Last week saw the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons welcome new residents and items inspired by a number of popular Sanrio characters, with the launch of the Animal Crossing Sanrio Collaboration Pack. The pack includes all six amiibo cards from the unique Sanrio Collaboration Series. The cards are compatible with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and each comes with a different… . . . read more
Paul Simon Latest To Sell Music Catalog
Legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon has become the latest star musician to cash in on his lifetime body of work, selling his entire music catalog to Sony Music Publishing for an undisclosed amount. “I’m pleased to have Sony Music Publishing be the custodian of my songs for the coming decades,” said Simon after the deal was announced. “I began my career at Columbia/Sony Records and it feels like a natural extension to be working with the publishing side as well.” The deal is just the latest to be announced in a continuing trend that began in 2016. Prior to that year, investments in music catalogs never exceeded $200 million, and were usually much less, but in 2016 and the years since the sector has seen rapid growth. In that year sales… . . . read more
Songwriters Demand Musicians Stop Taking Credit For Their Work
By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief A group of the world’s top songwriters are launching a rebellion of sorts against “a growing number of (recording) artists” who they say are taking credit—and royalties—for songs they had no hand in writing. Called The Pact, the group includes writers who have penned massive hits for Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, One Direction, Lorde, Michael Bublé, Shawn Mendes, and Selena Gomez, but it’s worth noting the The Pact has not named any of those artists as being part of the problem. This week the new advocacy penned an open letter, which we’ve reprinted in its entirety below, demanding a fair share of publishing royalties and full credit for songs they’ve written. They say music labels and artists alike have… . . . read more
Topps Releases the Monster of All NFTs
Collectibles Leader Topps Digital Issuing Godzilla NFT Collectibles on March 31 If you’ve been reading a lot about NFTs and were wondering when it would hit the world of licensing … it already has, as collectibles firm Topps Digital continues to introduce exciting new products on the WAX Blockchain. Tomorrow, on March 31, Topps will conintue to build on its reputation as one of the first innovators in digital collectibles, celebrating Toho’s iconic franchise by bringing the studio’s classic monsters, including the King of the Monsters, Godzilla, to the modern platform of NFTs via the WAX blockchain. Topps has been the preeminent creator and innovator of physical cards and digital collectibles for more than 70 years,. Generations of fans have enjoyed the pleasure of collecting, trading and showing off their card collections,… . . . read more
Video Game In Development For John Carter: Warlord of Mars
The classic sci-fi adventure series John Carter: Warlord of Mars is coming to a video game console near you, as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc,. announced its team is working with FNCPR to develop and publish a first person action game, starring the “world’s oldest interplanetary warrior.” Over 27 years FNCPR has worked on some of the biggest games in the industry, including long-lasting classics like World of Tanks, World of Warships, Medieval Dynasty, Skyforge, Armored Warfare, Warface, Conqueror Blade, Blizzard (Diablo II, Warcraft III, and Starcraft Ghosts), Sierra (Homeworld and Homeworld II, Halflife and Halflife II), Fox (No One Lives Forever II, Simpsons, and Buffy), Black Label (Lord of the Rings and The Thing), and NDA (Die Hard Vendetta and Judge Dredd v. Death). John Carter is the planet-hopping hero who… . . . read more
Forbidden Planet Releasing New Merch Based on Classic Paramount Films
Forbidden Planet, a pop culture product developer, has partnered with ViacomCBS to release new merchandise featuring several of Paramount Pictures classic films, including Forrest Gump, Top Gun, and the hilarious cult classic Galaxy Quest. In total seven Paramount films are included in the new range of apparel and giftware that will be released through Forbidden Planet’s online retail portal. Those include: The Godfather, Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, Forrest Gump, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Anchorman, Sleepy Hollow, and Galaxy Quest. “I’m genuinely thrilled to be working on the Paramount Films library,” said Anthony Garnon, licensing and special projects manager at Forbidden Planet, “These are some of the most well known and beloved films of all time. Because of its ties to the world of Sci Fi and science fiction fan culture,… . . . read more