News ITVS GE to represent The Rubbish World of Dave Spud ITV Studios Global Entertainment has announced its appointment by The Illuminated Film Company as licensing agent representing the new property. With a colourful range of comedy characters, such as Gareth the starfish sidekick, sarcastic and two-faced Gran, cheerful cheapskate Dad, and a mangy one-eyed flea-ridden dog called Fuzzypeg, this is a new story for boys and girls aged 4-9. It’s never long before the world starts to misbehave around Dave Spud, an archetypal underdog and fighter against the odds. A magnet for disaster, Dave must use every one of his average abilities if he is to triumph during his adventures and restore normality in time for tea. Trudi Hayward, SVP global head of merchandise at ITVS GE, commented: “The Rubbish World of Dave Spud has fantastic potential in the market and we are thrilled to have been chosen to represent this original and hilarious property. We will be focusing particularly on publishing from illustrated graphic fiction to non-fiction activity books and annuals. Dave’s surreal world lends itself perfectly to publishing and it is the ideal property to target early readers. We are excited to discuss opportunities with potential publishing partners.” Coming to CITV in autumn/winter 2019, the comedy – created by Ed Foster (Little Princess) and produced by Iain Harvey (The Snowman, Father Christmas, Little Princess) – will consist of 26 11-minute episodes in the first run. The show features a star-studded voice cast including Jane Horrocks, Philip Glenister, Gina Yashere and Johnny Vegas as Dave Spud. Brit Awards-winning electronic music duo Basement Jaxx (Felix Burton and Simon Ratcliffe) will be providing the music and soundtrack to the series. The show has also already been pre-sold to Sweden and Australia with more countries to be announced.
Pokémon announces major new UK partnerships The Pokémon Company International has announced that it has signed two major new UK partnerships with Sony Pictures Television Networks’ (Pop, Pop Max and the PopFun app) and Sky UK Limited (Sky+, Sky Q, Sky Go, NowTV and the Sky Kids app). Both new partners have acquired multiple seasons and movies from Pokémon’s programming portfolio based on the video game franchise, significantly increasing the reach and availability of Pokémon animation in the UK. Sony Pictures Television Networks has acquired content from Pokémon the Series: Black & White, which kids can watch on Pop and Pop Max and via the Pop Fun app, whilst Sky subscribers can access content from Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl on demand, on various Sky platforms and via the Sky Kids app in a staggered roll out across the year. These latest deals are in addition to TPCI’s longstanding partnership with broadcaster CITV which recently launched the latest season in the growing Pokémon catalogue, Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon—Ultra Adventures. Emily Arons, senior VP international business at The Pokémon Company International, commented: “These latest deals are testament to Pokémon’s broad appeal and provide UK fans with even more ways to watch animation across the long lineage of Pokémon content.”
Smyths lead Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom consumer products launch Universal Brand Development (UBD) is celebrating the launch of the consumer products programme for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which made its UK retail debut in April. Official merchandise is rolling out across key categories in what Hannah Mungo, Universal country director for UK and Ireland, calls the company’s “most ambitious licensing push yet”. The campaign kicked off on 16th April as Smyths Toys Superstores delivered the first of many local consumer engagement initiatives that reflect the scale and theatre of the movie release. For one night only, a central London Smyth’s store was turned into a giant double cinema screen that showed exclusive Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom trailer content and a specially created consumer call to action message. The event was documented by a professional film crew who also created a time lapse sizzle reel of the installation process. Smyth’s will be using this bespoke content to promote Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom across all its digital and social media channels including Facebook & Instagram, as well as embedding the video within the online cross category Jurassic brand store. Sinead Byrne, joint head of marketing at Smyths Toys Superstores, commented: “We are excited to be working with Universal to bring the Jurassic World toy range, led by Mattel and Lego, to life in-store and online. The projection experience at our Staples Corner site was groundbreaking for us and is just one great example of how we are working with the Universal team to fully immerse our customers in the Jurassic brand this summer.” Further initiatives will be rolled out across numerous key accounts in support of the theatrical launch of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which makes its big screen debut in the UK on 6th June, in addition to the back to school period and the home entertainment window in October.
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