Follow the latest hires, promotions, and departures.
Featuring: CAA-GBG, Endemol Shine, Nickelodeon, Playboy, Hasbro, Toys ‘R’ Us, TIA and more…
TOYS & GAMES
The State of Girls’ Toys
January 22, 2016
This new year promises to be a success for licensed toys and games; category sales grew to almost $7 billion in 2014, according to TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey. But amidst this success, girls’ toys are seeing slumping sales, amidst a perceived bias against girls in the marketing and licensing of products. And while the focus of this story is toys, this trend applies to all gender-segregated categories—from bedding, to apparel to toothbrushes…
VIDEO GAMES
Activision Latest to Launch TV/Movie Studio
November 13, 2015
Activision Blizzard made its latest move in a series set to position the company as a multi-platform entertainment franchise power…
TOYS & GAMES
Mattel, Hasbro see Q3 Retail Sales Split Along Gender Lines
October 23, 2015
Reported third quarter (3Q) sales from toy giants Hasbro and Mattel exhibited an interesting break along gender lines, with boys’ toys outperforming girls’, amidst depressed…
The Next Big Thing?
Full Licensee Roster to Back N.A. Launch of Japanese Anime Hit
September 30, 2015
Yo-Kai Watch, the hottest kids’ property in Japan over the past 18 months, will land in North America on Oct. 5, when cable’s Disney XD will begin showing the animated half-hour five days a week. The TV premiere marks the beginning of a licensing campaign that will see a legion of mischievous Yo-kai spirits unleashed across videogames, comic books, toys, T-shirts, bedding and bean bag chairs over the course of the next year…
Movie Licensing
Disney Opens 15 Week Merchandise Window for Star Wars
September 4, 2015
When The Licensing Letter spoke to entertainment executives for our Annual Licensing Business Survey back in the spring, several sources predicted that movie-based licensed merchandise this fall would begin to appear in stores earlier than ever, with end-of-year movies loading merchandise into stores as soon as September. The expected leader of that trend: Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which competitors also predicted would mount the biggest licensing campaign in history…
CONTENT LICENSING
Digital Deals
August 5, 2015
New digital deals, partnerships, and promotions from Outfit7, Hasbro, Mattel, YouTube celebrities, Rainbow, and MLB…
June 15, 2015
Who’s News
July 29, 2015
Follow the latest hires, promotions, and departures.
Featuring: Disney, Global Brands Group, Xcel Brands, Vera Bradley, Hasbro, and more…
Toys & Games
Marvel Avengers’ Mission: To Get Kids Moving
June 15, 2015
Walt Disney Consumer Products and toy licensee Hasbro will appeal to families interested in both active play and tech toys with Playmation, a system of toys and wearable devices that uses motion sensors and wireless technology to encourage kids to run around while controlling smart action figure toys from wriststrapped gear…