Brian Lacey

TV Kids Weekly, September 30, 2008

Executive VP of International

4Kids Entertainment

A longtime supplier of content to the kids’ market, 4Kids Entertainment is bringing to MIPCOM its biggest slate ever of new programming. Brian Lacey is delighted to have 178 new episodes for a total of 1,100 new and returning episodes to offer buyers.

This increase in product is due to a number of factors. 4Kids recently started programming the five-hour Saturday morning block on The CW in the U.S. while continuing to supply shows to FOX’s four-hour Saturday morning block. “In addition, because of the increased demand for our content by major broadcast groups around the world, 4Kids made the strategic decision to expand both our acquisition and our production budgets,” explains Lacey.

“With the explosive growth of new media and digital broadcast about to take off around the world, we want to be poised to take advantage of these opportunities,” he continues. “We enjoy a unique position as a broadcaster, a creator/producer, a distributor and a merchandise licensor, giving us a 360-degree perspective on the kids’ business. In addition, we have witnessed a rapidly increasing audience on our 4Kids VOD service, with over 3 million downloads a month, and our streaming portal www.4kidstv.com [is receiving] 15 million streams a month and estimated to be nearly 25 million by the end of 2009.”

Besides 4Kids’ popular brands Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, Chaotic: M’Arrillion Invasion, Dinosaur King and TMNT: Back to the Sewer, Lacey is especially excited about two new series. Rocket Monkeys, available as 26 half hours or 52 11-minute episodes, is a zany comedy featuring two hugely entertaining monkeynauts, Gus and Wally, who drift aimlessly in space, struggling to get home. And Gogoriki, available as 35 half hours or 104 six-minute episodes, is a fresh ensemble comedy adventure series that “could be the hottest new series at MIPCOM Junior,” says Lacey.

Gogoriki, called Smeshariki in Russia, its country of origin, is a unique entertainment opportunity for 4Kids, explains Lacey. “One area of business where 4Kids excels is in the sourcing, adapting and marketing of entertainment content from international markets. We had the Smeshariki series on our radar for some time, carefully following its tremendous performance in Russia, where it racked up huge audiences in prime time, earning multiple animation awards and generating a huge licensing program. We moved quickly to secure the U.S. broadcast, international distribution for key regions and select licensing rights. Since then, our creative team has been working carefully to bring these characters and series to life for the U.S. and global markets (outside of Russia and the former CIS states). The Russian creative team and Fun Game Media of Germany have been terrific partners in assisting us in our global launch plans. We expect some very big results from all of our creative and marketing efforts on the Gogoriki series.”

—By Anna Carugati