Contact the editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com Straight from the floor of New York Toy Fair, TLL brings you the latest and greatest in toy trends. They just happen to be the same as last year's—only more nuanced, thoughtful, and developed. The good news this year: No one's freaking out about the ability of America's largest toy retailer to actually pay its vendors. More … [Read more...] about What’s the [Toy] Story? Same as Last Year, Just Better!
Warner Bros.
Marvel, DC Grow Market Share in Weak Comics Year
Contact the editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com Disney’s Marvel is expected to outshine Warner Bros.’ DC Comics in retail sales both in the comic book and licensed merchandise sectors this year as the comics market continues to battle flattish growth. Marvel Comics and DC Entertainment nabbed a combined 68.3% share of all comic book and graphic novel sales in 2018, up from … [Read more...] about Marvel, DC Grow Market Share in Weak Comics Year
Who’s News—January 2019
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. 1/14/2019 Margie Cohn, currently President of DreamWorks Animation Television, takes on the additional role of President of DreamWorks Animation. Cohn … [Read more...] about Who’s News—January 2019
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%