Total Licensing Winter 2007 - (Page 47)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 TOTAL LICENSING EEMC REPORT BEST EVER YEAR Unprecedented levels of licensing activity in Central and Eastern Europe has given EEMC its best year ever. Revenues for 2006 are 35% ahead of 2005 which was itself a record year. Kalman KJ Istok of EEMC says a mixture of classic brands and exciting new properties is helping to drive the market to new heights in Eastern Europe. Strawberry Shortcake, NBA, and B-Daman have been big hits for us and our clients this past year and look like performing well for some years to come,” he says. EEMC has also increased its presence in the market with some high-profile signings this year. These include 4 Kids for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Target for Fifi and the Flowertots, EuropaCorp for Arthur and the Minimoys, Xilam for Shuriken School, and Big Tent for Domo. Eastern Europe is a territory of over 480million people, but the core markets of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, and the former Yugoslavia represent approximately 250 million people. Estimates of the market value range from $150 million to $250 million in licensed product retail sales. However the expansion of the EU has some analysts predicting that the market could quadruple to as much as $1 billion in retail sales. KJ Istok says EEMC’s business in Russia, for example, continues to outgrow the region and now currently accounts for more than 30% of gross revenues. That’s a trend that can only continue. “Looking ahead to 2007,” he adds, “we are expecting more high-growth record-breaking revenues driven by blockbuster projects such as The Simpsons Movie, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie, Surf’s Up, Mr. Bean’s Holiday, and the launch of SpongeBob in some new key markets.” KJ Istok says EEMC will continue to grow the market in this expanding area.They have increased support for marketing teams in Poland and Russia and they intend to step up promotions activities in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the former Yugoslavia. Properties such as Garfield,The Simpsons, Forever Friends and Lord of the Rings have performed very well throughout the region for a number of years. But this year they have been joined by some remarkable performers. Commented KJ Istok, “Ice Age 2 was the hottest property in CEE and Russia both in terms of box office and licensing and merchandising activity. Sony’s Open Season has also been huge, which is hardly surprising in Russia since the central character is a bear.” He added that this is good news in itself but what is really exciting is the success of brands that are new to the market in Eastern Europe. “As well as Ice Age 2 and Open Season, SpongeBob, NEW ONLINE STORE FOR SESAME STREET Sesame Workshop is offering a wide selection of educational and other Sesame Street products in the new online Sesame Store. The store is available through a link on the Sesame Workshop homepage. “Sesame Workshop’s priority is to create a first-rate educational destination - one that is interactive and encourages a love of learning for young children and their families,” said Terry Fitzpatrick, Executive Vice President of Distribution, Sesame Workshop. “Over time, we were seeing more and more visitors wanting to extend the Sesame experience through products. As a result, we are now offering a value added service that will help our users find DVDs, books, and music featuring the beloved Sesame Street characters they know and trust.” Because the site is focused on Sesame Street and because users can browse for products by either category or characters, it is easy to find what they want. Users may also find a broader selection of products than may be readily available in stores. Advertisements for the Sesame Store will not run in the kid’s areas of the site. Current products available in the Sesame Store include DVDs, music, books, clothing, and toys and plush. More products will be added over time. Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0 http://www.secretwings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Total Licensing Winter 2007

Total Licensing Winter 2007

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