Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. Roughly 29% of the top 2018 holiday toys are licensed, according to lists created by Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Kmart. In 2017, retail sales of licensed toys/games sank -4.4% to $7.7 billion in the U.S./Canada, according to TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey. This was largely due to the impact of the Toys 'R' Us … [Read more...] about One-Quarter of Top 2018 Holiday Toys are Licensed
Spin Master
M&A: Publishing Has a New Face
Publisher Watch: News Shake-Ups Hearst’s King Syndicate Feature and Emerging Tech divisions launch the conglomerate’s first AI-voice enabled entertainment for Amazon Alexa. Trivia Treat is meant to offer a challenging and fun daily gameplay experience for players around the world with games and puzzles. The NYT is stepping up its content licensing game with the re-branding and … [Read more...] about M&A: Publishing Has a New Face
Who’s News—7/23/2018
Are you hiring—or being promoted, changing jobs, retiring, launching a new company, or otherwise changing your employment? Email the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com to announce the news in our next issue of Who's News. TSBA Group is expanding its team with the appointment of Richard Woolf as Intl. Licensing Director. Rainbow appoints a new CEO for its Bardel … [Read more...] about Who’s News—7/23/2018
Property Guys: Disney, Nintendo & Other Empires
By Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. The Walt Disney Co. signs a 99-year lease for $650 million at 4 Hudson Sq., New York. The media conglomerate is expected to build a new headquarters at the downtown Manhattan location taking up over 1.2 million sq. ft. The high-tech, energy-efficient project will consolidate production and studio spaces from the Upper West … [Read more...] about Property Guys: Disney, Nintendo & Other Empires
M&A: Toys & Entertainment Edition
Ubisoft acquires 1492 Studio, a French video game development house specializing in free-to-play episodic and interactive stories on mobile. eOne buys out the remaining 49% stake in The Mark Gordon Co. that it didn't already own in a deal worth $209 million. As part of the deal, founder Mark Gordon joins eOne as Chief Content Officer. Spin Master acquires plush manufacturer … [Read more...] about M&A: Toys & Entertainment Edition
Who’s News — 10/10/2017
Disney's new President Business Operations EMEA is Rebecca Campbell, based in London. She replaces Diego Lerner, who is moving to Argentina and takes up an unspecified international role at the company. In the U.S., Disney Channel hires Dina Hillier as VP Original Series. Universal Brand Development welcomes Ben Braun as CFO to manage the financial planning and analytics team, … [Read more...] about Who’s News — 10/10/2017
Who’s News — 10/2/2017
Walt Disney Intl. appoints Rebecca Campbell to serve as President of its EMEA business. Alpha Group expands into Latin America with the new appointment of Jose Antonio Espinoza as Head of Latin America operations. Tracy Griffiths joins Golden Bear as a Licensing Consultant. Spin Master-owned Toca Boca's CEO, Bjorn Jeffery, steps down. The Stockholm-based children’s mobile … [Read more...] about Who’s News — 10/2/2017
Toy Roundup: Top News & Trends
Retail sales of licensed toys and games grew 7.0% to reach $8.06 billion in the U.S./Canada in 2016, according to TLL's Annual Licensing Business Survey. Here are some of the latest developments in toy trends expected to impact the holiday season. Sales of hobby games in the U.S./Canada reached $1.44 billion in 2016, according to ICv2—growing 21% thanks to growth of … [Read more...] about Toy Roundup: Top News & Trends
M&A & Investments
Discovery Communications will buy Scripps Networks Interactive for $11.9 billion early next year. The deal includes the assumption of $2.7 billion of Scripps’s net debt. Hasbro ends talks to buy out Lions Gate Entertainment, reportedly because of price disagreements. This comes after ultimately failed negotiations to buy out DreamWorks Animation in 2014, which was ultimately … [Read more...] about M&A & Investments
Who’s News
Sony Pictures Entertainment’s consumer products division is establishing a Shanghai-based licensing office with Sabrina Gu leading direct deals in the territory as Director Consumer Products China. Gu continues to dual-report to Joseph Liao, CMO Beijing, and Jamie Stevens, EVP Worldwide Consumer Products. Disney Chairman & CEO Robert Iger resigns from the White House … [Read more...] about Who’s News