New Kids? Programming Block to Air in Fall
CBS and DIC Entertainment are joining forces on a new Saturday morning kids?programming block, CBS? Secret Saturday Morning Slumber Party. Slated for theairwaves in fall, the three-hour programming block will feature series fromDIC?s animated library including Madeline and Where on Earth Is CarmenSandiego; Sabrina: The Animated Series; Strawberry Shortcake; Liberty?s Kids;Trollz; Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century; Archie?s Weird Mysteries; TheLittles; Inspector Gadget?s Field Trip; and Sonic Underground.

Pacific Entertainment Adopts Baby Genius Brand
Genius Products, Inc., sold its Baby Genius brand to Pacific EntertainmentCorporation, a newly formed company headed by Klaus Moeller. The $3 milliondeal includes all worldwide rights and existing licensing agreements for BabyGenius and Wee Worship preschool brands, along with a production deal forLittle Tikes music and DVD series. Genius Products will continue to distributeBaby Genius, Little Tikes, and Wee Worship DVDs and music CDs and all newproducts under these brands. Pacific Entertainment plans to release two newBaby Genius DVDs and two new Little Tikes DVDs this year in addition to newmusic CDs.

Wal-Mart and Sesame Workshop Support Military Families
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., donated nearly $1 million to help Sesame Workshopdevelop an outreach program to help young children of the United States ArmedServices, National Guard, and Reserves deal with the stresses of military life.The New York State Office of Mental Health also will serve as a partner. Theproject launches in July with a bilingual (English/Spanish) kit with a DVD forchildren and adults featuring the Muppets and a print guide and poster forchildren, parents, and caregivers. Sesame Workshop will produce and distribute125,000 of these kits at no cost to schools, child-care programs, familysupport centers, and other organizations serving the needs of militaryfamilies. A particular effort will be made to reach families of the Reservesand National Guard.

4Kids Entertainment in on the Ground Floor with New Property
4Kids Entertainment, Inc., will align with Microsoft Corp. on the developmentof a children?s entertainment property. Under the agreement, 4KidsEntertainment will serve as the licensing agent for a Microsoft Game Studiosproperty on a global basis. The exclusive representation agreement encompassesall broadcast, home video, music, and merchandise licensing rights. In other4Kids news, the company finalized a UK free TV broadcast agreement with ITVNetwork for Season 4 of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles due in early 2006.

Superman Flies Into Consumer Electronics
Warner Bros. Consumer Products extended the Superman franchise into consumerelectronics, signing a deal with Kids Station Toys Int?l. for a line of TVs,DVD players, MP3 players, personal CD players, phones, and two-waycommunication devices. Two separate lines will hit shelves in June, onefeaturing Superman for men and boys and another featuring Supergirl for womenand girls. In addition, Kids Station will launch new Batman items in May 2006,including a 256MB Batman MP3 player, a new CD player, and a new portable BatmanDVD player.

Cartoon Network Airs New CG Series
Mainframe Entertainment, Inc., began airing its CG-animated/live-action hybridtelevision series, Zixx, on Cartoon Network January 21. The show is produced byThunderbird Films in association with YTV Canada. Zixx chronicles theadventures of an unlikely team of heroes who join forces in a quest to save theuniverse from evil. Mainframe also appointed Al Ovadia of Al Ovadia andAssociates its worldwide licensing agent with plans to roll out the licensingprogram simultaneously with the launch of the show.

Granada Ventures to Rep World Poker Tour in Europe
WPT Enterprises Inc. named Granada Ventures its European licensing agent forWorld Poker Tour merchandise. Granada Ventures will be charged with expandingthe growing base of regional licensees with products in stores by spring 2006.Granada also will participate in the marketing of WPTE?s global online gamingplatform, WPTonline.com.

Hymowitz Named to VP Spot at Scholastic Media
Scholastic Media appointed Gary Hymowitz vice president of consumer products.He will oversee the strategic development, direction, and implementation of allconsumer products based on properties including Clifford The Big Red Dog,Clifford?s Puppy Days, The Magic School Bus, I SPY, His Dark Materials, Maya& Miguel, Goosebumps, and Counting in the Garden, as well as the Scholasticbrand line of products. He also will be responsible for creating innovative andstrategic licensing campaigns targeting Scholastic?s retail and licensingconstituents.

Graziano Tapped for Director Spot at FRV Media
Mary Graziano was named director, sales and acquisitions, FRV MediaInternational Inc. In her new post, the ex-Cookie Jar exec will be responsiblefor TV sales to broadcasters, DVD partners, and others for the company?s TVtitles, ranging from family films to series and documentaries.

LIMA Seminar Program
The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers? Association (LIMA) willhold seminars for licensing, financial, and accounting professionals;attorneys; and business executives March 15 and 16 at the Williams Club in NewYork City and March 27 and 28 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The sameclasses will be offered on both coasts with different moderators. The seminarsare co-sponsored by LICENSE magazine and Aspen Publishers. Visit http://www.licensing.org/ for feeinformation and a registration form.

Licensing International Webinar
Licensing 2006 International Show organizers are offering a free Webinar,entitled ?Maximize your Licensing International ROI: Best Practices for SavvyExhibitors,? Wednesday, February 1, from 12 to 12:45 p.m. An optional Q&Awill follow. This event will provide insights into how to use the industry?sannual gathering to grow licensing revenue and develop new promotional partnerships.Participation is limited. For details, visit http://www.licensingshow.com/webinar.

Upcoming Industry Events
American International Toy Fair, February12-15, 2006, Toy District and Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York, NY, http://www.toy-tia.org/AITF
New York Comic-Con, February24-26, 2006, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York, NY, http://www.nycomiccon.com/
Youth Marketing Mega-Event 2006,March 27-29, 2006, Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa, HuntingtonBeach, CA, http://www.youthmarketingmegaevent.com/

Are You on the List?
Submissions for LICENSE?s Leading Licensors list are due February 6. Licensorswith $25-plus million in 2005 worldwide sales of licensed merchandise areeligible for the list. You must submit your 2005 sales figure (can beestimated); licensing executive contact name, title, and phone number; and a100-word blurb about 2006 initiatives. Submissions should be e-mailed to DawnWilensky at [email protected].

Submit Licenses Granted & Available Now Online
LICENSE?s License! Finder allows you to submit licenses granted and availablenow online, which will be published on the LICENSE Website (http://www.licensemag.com/) on a weeklybasis once approved by an editor. Go to http://www.finder.licensemag.com/to fill out the verification form and submit your licenses granted or availablenow. Highlights from each month?s online submissions will be published inLICENSE magazine. Any questions, contact Alyson Grala at (212) 951-6743 or viae-mail: [email protected].

For more information on licensing news and features, visit LICENSE magazine?sWebsite, http://www.licensemag.com/.