Are you hiring—or being promoted, changing jobs, retiring, launching a new company, or otherwise changing your employment? Email Jen at jen@plainlanguagemedia.com and we'll announce the news in our next issue of Who's News. ZAG appoints Marlin Prager as COO & CFO, David Ribardo as Chief Accounting Officer, and Cindy Elfenbein as VP Retail Business … [Read more...] about Who’s News — 11/27/2017
Warner Bros.
Guess Who’s Back
By: Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com Nostalgia remains strong for retro brands—and it's not just '50s and '60s-inspired designs, icons, and goods. The '90s counts, too. We review the top retro announcements this week. Epic Rights signs *NSYNC, one the bestselling bands of all-time with over 70 million records sold, in time for the 20th anniversary of the pop … [Read more...] about Guess Who’s Back
Entertainment/Character Roundup
Disney's Star Wars will see a new film trilogy from The Last Jedi frontman Rian Johnson, separate from the episodic Skywalker saga. The media giant is also planning a new live-action Star Wars TV series for its SVOD service to launch in 2019. Also headed to SVOD are original TV series adaptations of Pixar’s Monsters Inc., Disney Channel’s High School Musical franchise, and … [Read more...] about Entertainment/Character Roundup
Experiential & Social Activations
Hasbro and Cityneon bring interactive exhibition Transformers Autobot Alliance to China in December 2017. The launch follows years of R&D—the walk-through exhibit is the first of its kind to showcase the larger-than-life robots, as well as special effects, reflex tests, virtual reality, motion sensing, and other features surrounding the Transformers brand. It will debut in … [Read more...] about Experiential & Social Activations
Looking Back: A History of the $100M+ Entertainment/Character Brand List
By Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com As we update our annual list of entertainment/character properties that generate over $100 million in licensed retail sales in the U.S./Canada, let's take a moment to look back through the history of the list and its major trends. Namely: The $100 million club is getting bigger, and The immense staying power of brands … [Read more...] about Looking Back: A History of the $100M+ Entertainment/Character Brand List
M&A & Promotions
CORRECTION: On Sept. 9, we reported a new “patent cross-licensing” deal between Scientific Games and Intl. Game Technology (IGT). The agreement only covers "game features" patents, and does not, as our earlier story might have suggested, cover other types of intellectual property such as brand licenses. Learfield and IMG make their union official, formally announcing a … [Read more...] about M&A & Promotions
Who’s News — 9/18/2017
Julia Jensen is SVP, Publicity & Communications for Warner Bros. Entertainment Consumer Products. Nickelodeon names Jose L. Castro as SVP Softlines. Castro will manage existing partnerships and develop new business opportunities across all categories including apparel, accessories, and home goods. He will also serve as the liaison for all global fashion collaborations and … [Read more...] about Who’s News — 9/18/2017
Who’s News
Lionsgate promotes Kerry Phelan to President Global Franchise Management. Phelan is tasked with managing upcoming projects including Lionsgate Movie World in Korea, the Lionsgate Entertainment World indoor theme park in China, and the Lionsgate Entertainment City centers set to bow in the U.S. and Europe. Warner Bros. Consumer Products U.K. & Ireland appoints Rachel Wakley … [Read more...] about Who’s News
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
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