The Licensing Letter

Warner Bros.

Upcoming 2019 Flicks With Licensing Potential Dominated by Comics & Sequels

By: Karina Masolova, with additional research by Susan Adams. Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. Of the upcoming films that TLL has identified as having licensing potential, 27% are based on comics while 28% are original works. And 56% are sequels or reboots. See the full list of 189 films being released through 2025. Just over one-third of films on the list … [Read more...] about Upcoming 2019 Flicks With Licensing Potential Dominated by Comics & Sequels

One-Quarter of Top 2018 Holiday Toys are Licensed

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

Roundup: M&A, Experiential & Media

Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. TLL rounds up the top news impacting licensing this week. Experiential Procter & Gamble strikes a deal with franchised house cleaning service The Maids for the use of its Mr. Clean brand in promotions, advertising, and sales materials. Omaha, Neb.-based company The Maids has locations in over 40 states and 3 Canadian … [Read more...] about Roundup: M&A, Experiential & Media

Who’s News—September 2018

Are you hiring—or being promoted, changing jobs, retiring, launching a new company, or otherwise changing your employment? Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com to announce the news in our next issue of Who's News. 9/17/2018 Pam Lifford is promoted to President of Warner Bros. Global Brands & Experiences (WBGBE), with responsibility for Warner Bros. Consumer … [Read more...] about Who’s News—September 2018

Comic-based, Original Films Lead Films With Licensing Potential

By: Karina Masolova, with additional research by Susan Adams and Michelle Odinyayeva. Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. TLL identified 213 upcoming films through 2025 as potential source material for licensed consumer products. Comic book-based properties lead the count, with 39% of films on the list, followed closely by original works (37%). Rounding off the … [Read more...] about Comic-based, Original Films Lead Films With Licensing Potential

Experiential Watch: Stage Shows, Events & Attractions

Discovery Consumer Products collaborates on a line of apparel and accessories with British pop artist Philip Colbert of The Rodnik Band. Labelled Discovery Shark, the dedicated pop-up shop opened at Old Spitalfield's Market in the U.K. leading up to the Discovery Channel's week-long event of shark programming. Zag Heroez Entertainment partners with Mills Entertainment to … [Read more...] about Experiential Watch: Stage Shows, Events & Attractions

Supercharge Me! Hero-based Merch Sales Down 7%

By Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. Retail sales of licensed merchandise based on the top superhero properties from Marvel and DC Comics dipped 7% to reach $4.4 million in 2017, according to TLL's latest edition of the $100 Million Entertainment/Character list. From the 2017 list, Marvel's top two properties are Spider-Man ($1.4 billion in licensed retail sales) … [Read more...] about Supercharge Me! Hero-based Merch Sales Down 7%

Content Watch: New Series & Activations

Differential Brands Group will acquire the majority of Hong Kong-based Global Brands Group Holding Ltd.’s North American licensing business for $1.38 billion in an all-cash deal expected to close Q3 2018. The acquisition is expected to boost Differential Brands’ annual revenues up to more than $2.3 billion. The assets at stake comprise all of GBG's North American children’s … [Read more...] about Content Watch: New Series & Activations

Experiential, Content & Alternative Initiatives

FC Barcelona is ending its 17-year partnership with Nike where it ceded its retail and licensing rights to FCBMerchandising. The football club forms a new company to manage its retail, licensing, and merchandising activity. The newly formed Barça Licensing and Merchandising will take over its rights on July 1 and oversee a $77 million merchandising business spanning three of … [Read more...] about Experiential, Content & Alternative Initiatives