As we enter into the new year, here are the latest new brands with licensing potential as well as ways to exploit them.
Hasbro is planning a new animated TV series for 2019 based on its Micronauts line of collectables. The mini superhero brand will see a live-action movie in 2020 following the TV series, which is aimed at 6–11 year-olds.
Hulu teams up with executive producer Steven Spielberg to revive the ‘90s cartoon show Animaniacs. New episodes will begin streaming in 2020. In the meantime, Hulu has begun offering all 99 episodes episodes of the original series as well as episodes of Pinky and the Brain; Pinky, Elmira and the Brain; and Tiny Toon Adventures.
On the other side of the pond, the U.K. government has pledged to give “free and widely available” broadcasters—including ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5—an extra £60 million (approximately $80 million) to help them make more home grown children’s programs. The money will be paid out over three years and can be used to pay for up to 50% of the production and distribution costs of original TV shows.
Board game publisher Game Salute launches three new board game imprints: Starling Games (hobby), Sparkworks (broad appeal), and Flying Meeple (family and children’s).
Meanwhile, Hasbro partners with Amazon for “Trivial Pursuit Tap,” an interactive version of the classic board gameadapted for Alexa with Echo Button capabilities. Players will be able to use Alexa’s voice-activated technology and the new Amazon Echo buttons to buzz-in and answer questions.
College football organization Fiesta Bowl and Blizzard Entertainment team up for a “high-level” college competition for Overwatch with the debut of the Fiesta Bowl Overwatch Collegiate National Championship. The esports partnership brings the top four collegiate Overwatch teams to Arizona for the semifinals and championship match of this year’s Tespa Overwatch Collegiate Series.
Media in Streaming
Amazon files a trademark application for the name “AmazonTube”—a provider of “non-downloadable pre-recorded audio, visual and audiovisual works via wireless networks on a variety of topics of general interest.”
On the original YouTube however, online video company Divimove revealed the top brands with the biggest channels in 2016. The top players are Warner Bros. (with 4.7 million subscribers), PlayStation (6 million), Red Bull (6.6 million), Ford (1.4 million), and Nike (700,000). The brands with the most subscriber growth were Bloomberg (50%), Tencent (247%), and Subway (173%).