Entertainment Rights Notches Up New Global Deals

LONDON, October 22: Entertainment Rights (ER) has inked a
number of new broadcast, merchandising and distribution deals across its
portfolio of kids’ properties, following successful stints at Brand Licensing
and MIPCOM.

ER has licensed the new BBC-commissioned series Postman
Pat Special Delivery Service (SDS) to Super
RTL in Germany. Entertainment Rights is also in discussions with broadcasters
in territories such as Denmark, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Malaysia. Following the recent appointment of a
U.K. master toy licensee, Character Options, Postman Pat has also generated significant interest from
existing licensees, new potential licensees and retailers who are eager to
exploit new opportunities for the brand.

An extensive licensing program for Rupert Bear Follow the
Magic, currently airing on Five’s preschool
block Milkshake!, is also in
place. A complete toy range has recently launched across retailers in the U.K.
At the Brand Licensing Show, new licensees were secured with William Lamb for
footwear and H & A for toiletries. New TV broadcast agreements were also
inked at MIPCOM for Rupert Bear Follow the Magic with TVP in Poland and MBC in the Middle East,
joining a broadcast lineup that already includes France 5, Super RTL in
Germany, NRK in Norway and TVO in Canada.

The BBC has agreed to a five-year commitment to the animated
78×11-minute preschool series Finley the Fire Engine, which recently launched on CBeebies to strong
ratings. ER is in negotiations with four toy companies for the series. The
company has signed licensee Paul Lamond for jigsaw puzzles and board games that
will be launched at Spring Fair 2008. The publisher Titan has secured the
rights to produce a monthly magazine for the series, which is slated to launch
at retail in April 2009. Agreements have also been signed by a raft of
international broadcasters for Finley the Fire Engine, including ABC in Australia, NRK in Norway and C4U
in South Korea. There are also negotiations with new partners in the Middle
East, Thailand and Poland.

Harper Collins has signed a five-year agreement for the publishing
rights to The Basil Brush Show. Basil’s live events program, in partnership with Duo
Entertainment, has been extended with a new licensing agreement that sees Basil
Brush appearing in more theatrical venues
and cruise ships. The Basil Brush Show is now airing in more than 85 territories.

Magazines and books for Jim Jam & Sunny are now on the shelf in all retailers across the
U.K. The show is now airing on ITV, CiTV and GMTV in the U.K. A wide range of
new licensees were signed for the series at Brand Licensing Show, which will
see a range of plush product from Gosh launch at retail in January 2008. Recent
TV broadcast agreements for Jim Jam & Sunny include Al Jazeera in the Middle East and Astro in
Malaysia.

Additional deals have also been inked for kids’ properties
from Classic Media, an ER subsidiary, including further international broadcast
agreements for George of the Jungle with
ATV in Hong Kong and Cartoon Network in Italy. Pre-sales negotiations will also
continue on a new Casper’s Scare School animated television series, which is currently in production for TF1
and Cartoon Network Europe. A number of deals for Casper’s Scare
School are in negotiation across all major
European markets. Casper the Friendly Ghost also received widespread interest from a number of
retailers and licensees who are interested in exploiting the property for
Halloween 2008.

Other Classic Media broadcast agreements concluded at MIPCOM
include a variety of deals for Lassie.
In addition, a number of agreements were secured for classic animated movies
including Snow Queen, Pinocchio, Snow White Happily Thereafter, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin To Town and Frosty The Snowman.

ER is currently in discussions for presales with a number of
broadcasters for the series 3-2-1 Penguins!,
from ER subsidiary Big Idea, building on broadcast agreements already in place
with France 5 and Nickelodeon in the Netherlands, among others. 3-2-1
Penguins! airs on NBC as part of the qubo Saturday morning programming block.

ER’s digital business also continues to grow. During MIPCOM,
a video-on-demand agreement was reached with Canal J in France and Babelgum. A
number of VOD deals are in negotiation with major operators including BT
Vision, Joost, TF1 and MobiTV.

In terms of third-party distribution deals, ER has secured
worldwide distribution rights, excluding North America, to the series Toopy
and Binoo, from Canadian-based Spectra
Animation. Under the deal, ER has acquired two seasons of the series as well as
interactive TV segments that lend themselves to delivering multiplatform
content, and 6×25-minute thematic/holiday specials. Targeted at 2- to
5-year-olds, Toopy and Binoo is
consistently rated in the top five programs on both Treehouse and Telequebec.
Both broadcasters, in partnership with PBS, are developing the second season
for delivery in spring 2008.

Jane Smith, the chief commercial and creative director of
Entertainment Rights, commented: “We have been delighted at the response to the
enlarged group’s portfolio encompassing Entertainment Rights, Classic Media and
Big Idea at the recent key trade events. The television and licensing and
merchandising markets are extremely buoyant and there is strong demand for our
high-quality content and brands around the world. ER remains the global kids
and family media company of choice for key broadcast, consumer products, home
entertainment and digital media partners.”

—By Irene Lew