Hasbro opens a new film studio, Allspark Pictures, to be led by Greg Mooradian. Mooradian will begin overseeing the division’s film and television production in January.
Italian prodco Rainbow acquires a majority stake in entertainment media group Iven. The first collaboration is an untitled young adult TV series based on a graphic novel; the second a theatrical adaptation of YA novel The Girl in the Fog by Donato Carrisi. A third Carrisi novel-based project is expected to come.
Nickelodeon has a new CG-animated preschool series—Top Wing premiers in the U.S. on Nov. 6 and stars a team of eager young birds (a blue jay, penguin, rooster, and a puffin) as they work together to help their island community. The 26-episode series will roll out internationally in 2018.
Ken Faier leaves DHX Media to found a new company, Epic Story Media, after having acquired DHX’s Vancouver-based interactive division. Ties aren’t completely broken—Faier remains an executive producer on three current DHX productions, and his new venture is a licensee for DHX to develop and market mobile game apps for properties like Massive Monster Mayhem. Faier is looking at investing in original IP development for Epic Story Media.
Pocket.watch partners with Bruce Hartman to create and produce three new kid’s animated series. One idea is based on Hartman’s own creation, another is developed directly from an original idea from pocket.watch’s existing development slate, and the third features the kids from HobbyKidsTV, a YouTube family of channels.
North American manga publisher Seven Seas launches a new imprint for mature titles, Ghost Ship. New titles include licensed properties such as To Love Ru/To Love Ru-Darkness, Yokai Girls, Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, and World’s End Harem.
Mattel and Dash Robotics launch a build-it-yourself robotics platform, Kamigami. The Kamigami Robot is programmable with the help of a companion app interface and features a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, IR transmitter, two IR sensors and tri-color LEDS. The battery provides playtime of up to 30 minutes.
Experiential
Paddington Bear comes to Europa Park, a theme park located in South-Western Germany, thanks to a new long-term partnership between The Copyrights Group and MackMedia. Attractions include a VR ride, re-branding within the park’s England themed area, a dedicated Paddington shop, and an ice show to hit in Spring 2018.
FC Barcelona teams up with Parques Reunidos to open five leisure and entertainment complexes over the next five years. Each installation will be between 3–10,000 square meters and located in malls and downtown areas. Parques Reunidos will have the rights to create the leisure and entertainment complexes worldwide, excl. China, where the project has been acquired by Mission Hills Group.
In addition, FC Barcelona also partners with Prospect Sports Partners to open a FC Barcelona Academy in New York. The new facility will occupy 20,000 square meters in Kings Park (Suffolk) and will include eight artificial turf soccer fields as well as two natural grass and covered fields.