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
Disney
Entertainment in Experiential & Social
Sanrio joins forces with Snapchat to bring over 30 character stickers to the app, including Hello Kitty, My Melody, Badtz-Maru, Chococat, and Keroppi. The month-long partnership coincides with Sanrio Character Ranking 2017, an annual competition where fans get the chance to vote for their favorite Sanrio character. Each sticker used will count as a vote for the chosen … [Read more...] about Entertainment in Experiential & Social
Licensing Litigation
Hollywood Reporter reports that Disney "narrowly preserved" a win against author Royce Mathew in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals over its Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The legal battle has been on-and-off for over a decade, but the current controversy centers around a release Mathew signed when he withdrew a 2005 complaint alleging that Disney had used his work. Mathew … [Read more...] about Licensing Litigation
Licensed Nominations Make Up a Quarter of Nominations for Daytime Emmys
This year's list of nominees for the 44th annual Daytime Emmy Awards are out, and 23 TV shows with current licensing programs have a strong showing—snagging one-forth of nominations overall. The winners in top categories will receive their awards on April 30 from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Here are the highlights: DreamWorks leads with 18 … [Read more...] about Licensed Nominations Make Up a Quarter of Nominations for Daytime Emmys
Who’s News
Open call Looking to hire or be hired? Contact our business development team to feature your listing on TLL. Just want to feature your new hires? Contact editorial. John Louie is Warner Bros. Consumer Products' new SVP Intl.; he is responsible for development and management of Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Canada across all categories of business. Ben Pyne, Disney’s … [Read more...] about Who’s News
M&A and Legal
Macy's and (now Sequential Brand Group's) Martha Stewart make up with a renewal of their 10-year partnership. Macy's is the exclusive retailer for the Martha Stewart Collection brand that covers over 1,000 SKUs. The partners were previously embroiled in a 5-year legal dispute after JCPenney made a deal for Martha-branded bed, bath and kitchen products as its exclusive deal with … [Read more...] about M&A and Legal
Collectibles, Preschool Snag Top Toys of the Year
Congrats to the winners of the 17th annual Toy of the Year Awards, hosted by the The Toy Industry Association (TIA). LEGO and Spin Master snagged three awards this year, while Funko and Mattel had two each. The Toy of the Year went to LEGO Friends Amusement Park Roller Coaster from LEGO, while the People’s Choice award went to Pop! from Funko. Seven out of the 14 total … [Read more...] about Collectibles, Preschool Snag Top Toys of the Year
Star Wars Rules Pop Culture Collectibles
The growing action figures and collectibles market has Star Wars to thank for its success these past few years. The NPD group estimates that the property was the top-earner in toys sales for 2016 (at nearly $760 million in the U.S.)—while TLL ranked Star Wars as No. 2 for overall licensed retail sales in 2015 at $1,327 million in the U.S./Canada. Entertainment Earth, the … [Read more...] about Star Wars Rules Pop Culture Collectibles
M&A & Marketing
Disney looks to raise its ownership stake in Disneyland Paris to 85.7% after cutting a deal to buy the interest held by another Euro Disney investor, Kingdom Holding Co. The company plans to buy out remaining shares and invest up to $1.6 billion in the park to improve conditions, which has been struggling with attendance figures following the Nov. 2015 terrorist attacks in … [Read more...] about M&A & Marketing
M&A & Marketing
Disney looks to raise its ownership stake in Disneyland Paris to 85.7% after cutting a deal to buy the interest held by another Euro Disney investor, Kingdom Holding Co. The company plans to buy out remaining shares and invest up to $1.6 billion in the park to improve conditions, which has been struggling with attendance figures following the Nov. 2015 terrorist attacks in … [Read more...] about M&A & Marketing