Hasbro’s Entertainment One (eOne) studio, is gearing up for the much-anticipated debut of Ricky Zoom’s season two through ViacomCBS Networks UK, Nick Jr. and Channel 5’s multiplatform pre-school brand, Milkshake!. The CGI animated series follows Ricky, a speed-loving, adventure-seeking, little red rescue bike who loves to zoom around the fictional British town of Wheelford, where the inhabitants get around on two wheels, rather than two feet. “We are thrilled to bring Ricky Zoom back to the number one channel for pre-schoolers in the UK with Milkshake! and Nick Jr.,” said eOne’s Monica Candiani, EVP of Content Sales, Family & Brands. “The show has had such strong success in the UK among young viewers, allowing us to secure a number of licensing partners across a variety of categories. We can’t wait… . . . read more
Franklin Hits Home Run With NERF Sports Line
Franklin Sports is working with Hasbro to launch a collection of new NERF Sports products, after the American toyco granted licensing rights to produce and sell these items across a range of sports. The resulting lineup of NERF Sports products is now available at both Target and Walmart and several other retailers in North America. “We’re proud to join forces with Hasbro to create such an exciting set of NERF-branded products because NERF is a beloved brand that has provided so much fun and entertainment to families over the years,” says Adam Franklin, president, Franklin Sports. “For decades, our company has been built on manufacturing high-quality sporting goods that deliver tremendous value to customers, and with our experience making products across so many different sports, we were able to work… . . . read more
Wizards Of The Coast Leads Hasbro Revenue Segments
By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief A lot of people still think of Hasbro primarily as a toy company, but the firm’s financial results tell a different story. As of Hasbro’s Q1 financial results, Hasbro is now a broader entertainment and play company, with a strong accent on gaming through its Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment, which generated 75 per cent of the company’s operating profit in Q1. WOTC is primarily made up of the wildly popular gaming franchises Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. This is also the first time Hasbro has reported its income after restructuring its operating divisions, making direct comparisons with previous financial reports more difficult. However, that restructuring of its business units happened precisely because the nature of Hasbro’s business… . . . read more
Video: Transformers Get Real With Hasbro/Robosen Partnership
The idea behind The Transformers—of giant robots that transformed into vehicles in just a few seconds—always seemed cool, but ultimately completely unrealistic. Until now. Hasbro has released the first product of its partnership with robotics company Robosen, that being a large version of Transformer’s boss Optimus Prime that can autonomously convert from a robot to a semi-trailer truck, and back again. It also walks, talks, and carries out a wide variety of actions that are either pre-programmed or can be programmed by the user. As you can see in the video below, the way Optimus transforms from truck to robot and back again, smoothly and within a few seconds, actually makes the idea of a transforming robot far more realistic. To create this highly realistic Transformer, Hasbro partnered with one of… . . . read more
Hasbro Bringing Roblox Into The Real World With New Toys and Games
Partnership will bring official NERF Roblox Blasters and MONOPOLY: Roblox 2022 Edition Board game to fans worldwide. The global play and entertainment company Hasbro, Inc. has launched a partnership with Roblox Corporation to introduce a range of Roblox-inspired NERF blasters representing some of the most popular experiences on the Roblox platform. In addition, Hasbro has developed a Roblox version of its iconic MONOPOLY board game, which is available now for pre-order on Hasbro Pulse for fans aged 16 and older in the U.S. and Canada, and at Big Bad Toy Shop. Roblox is a video game company that built a fascinating “human co-experience platform” that enables shared experiences among billions of users. Every day, more than 32.6 million people around the world have fun with friends as they explore millions of… . . . read more
Special Report: The Future of Hasbro
By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief The ‘Play and Entertainment’ conglomerate Hasbro has for the first time outlined its future plans in a live investor event, and as expected, the news will be game changing for the company and for its licensing partners worldwide. Sit down and grab yourself a coffee or tea, because it’s a LOT. At the core of the announcement, Hasbro has outlined its “strategic growth drivers” for the near and medium term, and has unveiled new product segments aligned to these drivers. In other words, the company is restructuring, and it’s doing so in ways that it feels will better prepare Hasbro for a rapidly changing environment. The new financial reporting segments are: Consumer Products, including toys and games; Wizards of the Coast (Wizards) and… . . . read more
Peppa Pig Theme Park To Open at LEGOLAND Florida
Thanks to the soaring popularity of Peppa Pig, families will squeal with delight in 2022 as they jump into the playful world of Peppa Pig for an unforgettable day of adventure at the World’s First Peppa Pig Theme Park, built out as part of the LEGOLAND Florida Resort. Designed to be the ultimate day trip for little ones, the all-new standalone theme park will feature multiple rides, interactive attractions, themed playscapes and water play areas — complete with “muddy puddles” of course — and live shows daily, all based on instantly recognizable locations from the globally popular brand. Families will meet Peppa and her friends as they snort, giggle and play to build their family’s first theme park memories together. The project to build a Peppa Pig theme park within… . . . read more
Hasbro Not Toying Around With Gina Carano
By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief Talk about a rough week at the office. Toy giant Hasbro says it will no longer produce any toys featuring former Mandalorian star Gina Carano, who plays the part of the popular character Cara Dune. Carano was fired from her role in the hit Disney+ series after posting a series of controversial social media messages, she was dropped by her agents at United Talent Agency, and now licensed toy merchandise is also being discontinued. “The Star Wars Black Cara Dune figure was released in 2020 and sold out not long after the inventory was received,” a spokeswoman for BigBadToyStore told The Hollywood Reporter in a Monday email. “Hasbro planned for another production run and we were accepting preorders from that production run. Due to recent events,… . . . read more
A Tale of Two Toymakers Influences Their Content Goals
Hasbro Restructuring Eone, Mattel Creating More Content By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief The toy industry enjoyed a surprisingly strong year in 2020, despite and partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean toymakers haven’t faced serious challenges in their operations. Despite the strong year for toy sales overall, Hasbro has seen a drop in their share price this week after the company forecast a decline in its operating cash flow this year. As well, Hasbro has announced cuts to its newly acquired Entertainment One film and TV division. Entertainment One is known for highly successful children’s programming like the Peppa Pig and PJ Masks children’s shows, which it sells to media outlets. Hasbro bought out Entertainment One a little over a year ago for $4 billion,… . . . read more
My Little Pony Riding High With Hasbro
The My Little Pony franchise is ending its popular The Friendship is Magic series, but don’t expect to see the brand riding off into the sunset any time soon. Hasbro has big plans for the franchise after acquiring Entertainment One in 2019, including a wide range of new consumer products, the release of a CGI film, a cross platform mashup with The Transformers, and a new animated series called My Little Pony: Pony Life. eOne is now Hasbro’s global entertainment arm, and will now air Pony Life, which debuted in late 2020 on platforms like Disney Channel and Cartoon Network. The upcoming film is currently slated for release in September, with a newly developed CGI look. “The final season [of Friendship is Magic] brought that storytelling to a satisfying conclusion, and it felt… . . . read more