Saban Brands

Last updated
Saban Brands
Company type Division
Industry
FoundedMay 12, 2010;14 years ago (2010-05-12)
Founder Haim Saban
DefunctJuly 2, 2018;6 years ago (2018-07-02)
FateAssets sold off to Hasbro
Successor Hasbro Entertainment
Headquarters Los Angeles, California,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Number of employees
9
Parent Saban Capital Group
Divisions
  • Saban Brands Lifestyle Group
  • Saban Brands Entertainment Group
Website Official website (archived)

Saban Brands was an American brand management and production company and a defunct subsidiary of Saban Capital Group based in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Israeli American media mogul Haim Saban as a successor to an earlier company he co-founded, Saban Entertainment (later BVS Entertainment), it was active from 12 May 2010 to 2 July 2018.

Contents

History

Foundation and expansion

On 5 May 2010, Saban Capital Group announced a formation of Saban Brands, a successor company to BVS Entertainment, previously known as Saban Entertainment, that is "dedicated to acquiring entertainment and consumer brands" with a starting investment of $500 million and Elie Dekel, a former licensing and merchandising executive of 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios). [1] On 12 May 2010, Saban Brands bought back the Power Rangers franchise including some related shows from the Walt Disney Company for $43 million [2] and produced a 19th season of the Power Rangers series that began airing on Nickelodeon on 7 February 2011, with the previous 700 episodes being rerun on Nicktoons. [3] [4] [5] It was also announced that Saban Brands is in negotiations to buy three other brands. On 17 August 2010, Saban Brands bought Paul Frank Industries, owners of the Julius Monkey brand. [6] [7] [8] [9]

On 1 May 2012, Kidsco Media Ventures LLC, an affiliate of parent company Saban Capital Group, placed a bid to acquire some of the assets of bankrupt production and syndication company, 4Kids Entertainment, including the US rights to the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and The CW4Kids block, for $10 million. [10] 4K Acquisition Corp, a subsidiary of Japanese entertainment media conglomerate Konami, then placed a bid. On 5 June that same year, 4Kids commenced an auction between Kidsco and 4K Acquisition which was then adjourned so 4Kids, Kidsco and 4K Acquisition could consider an alternative transaction. [11] [12] On 15 June 2012, 4Kids filed a notice outlining a proposed deal in which its assets would be divided between Kidsco and 4K Acquisition which was finalized on 26 June. The deal saw 4K Acquisition acquire the US rights to the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and Kidsco acquire other 4Kids assets including the US broadcasting agreements for Dragon Ball Z Kai , Cubix: Robots for Everyone , Sonic X and The CW4Kids Saturday morning programming block. [13] [14] On 2 July 2012, Saban Brands, via its Kidsco Media Ventures division, would begin a programming block for The CW to replace Toonazi in the autumn/fall, [15] [16] [17] [18] to be named Vortexx on 12 July and would ran from 25 August that year to 27 September 2014. [19] [20]

On 12 June 2012, Saban Brands reintroduced the Popples franchise with upcoming merchandise to be released the following year in the autumn/fall. [21] On 3 August the same year, it was announced that Saban Brands acquired The Playforge, the development team behind App Store success stories Zombie Farm and Zombie Life. [22] On 19 September 2012, Saban Brands acquired Zui, provider of online children's content. [23] On 25 September 2012, Saban Brands announced that they re-acquired the Digimon franchise and its most recent season, Digimon Fusion with licensing and distribution duties retained by Toei Animation for Asian and MarVista Entertainment for all other territories. [24] [25]

On 3 July 2013, Saban Brands signed a deal to manage the distribution, licensing and merchandising of Sendokai Champions in North America and Israel and be broadcast on Vortexx. [26] On 25 October 2013, Saban Brands shut down The Playforge because of poor game sales. [27] [28] [29]

Saban Brands and Lionsgate Films announced on 7 May 2014 that they were planning to produce a new Power Rangers feature film, and would hopefully launch a Power Rangers film franchise. [30] Saban Brands sold KidZui to LeapFrog Enterprises on 4 August the same year. [31] With the acquisition of Macbeth Footwear, Saban Brands formed two divisions Saban Brands Lifestyle Group and Saban Brands Entertainment Group to expand their holdings. [32] On 6 January 2014, Saban Brands Lifestyle Group acquired Mambo Graphics. [33] On 24 March 2015, Saban Brands Lifestyle Group had acquired Piping Hot. [34] Saban Brands developed animated series based on its first two properties, Kibaoh Klashers and Treehouse Detectives , which were picked up by Netflix on 6 October 2016. [35]

Library sale and closure

On 15 February 2018, Saban Brands appointed Hasbro as the global master toy licensee for Power Rangers with a future option to purchase the franchise. [36] On 1 May 1, 2018 Saban agreed to sell Power Rangers and other entertainment assets to Hasbro for US$522 million in cash and stock, with the sale expected to close in that year's second quarter. Other properties in the deal included My Pet Monster , Popples , Julius Jr. , Luna Petunia , Treehouse Detectives and content/media libraries owned by Saban Brands [37] [38] (excluding Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty and other properties that were sold to different companies before the deal). Saban's Digimon and Pretty Cure licenses were also transferred to Hasbro, although were later left to expire, thus reverting to Toei Animation Inc. & Toei Animation Europe for its international distribution. Only nine existing employees out of sixty would be retained by SCG, and the Saban Brands subsidiary ended operations upon the closure of business on 2 July 2018. [39]

Libraries

These properties are now owned by Hasbro, via Hasbro Entertainment:

Related Research Articles

Digimon, short for "Digital Monsters", is a Japanese media franchise, which encompasses virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films, and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures that inhabit a "Digital World", which is a parallel universe that originated from Earth's various communication networks.

Power Rangers is an entertainment and merchandising franchise created by Haim Saban, Shuki Levy and Shotaro Ishinomori and built around a live-action superhero television series, based on Japanese tokusatsu franchise Super Sentai and currently owned by American toy and entertainment company Hasbro through a dedicated subsidiary, SCG Power Rangers LLC. It was first produced in 1993 by Saban Entertainment, which Saban sold to the Walt Disney Company and then brought back under his now-defunct successor company Saban Brands within his current company, Saban Capital Group, the Power Rangers television series takes much of its footage from the Super Sentai television series produced by Toei Company. The first Power Rangers entry, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, debuted on August 28, 1993, and helped launch the Fox Kids programming block of the 1990s, during which it catapulted into popular culture along with a line of action figures and other toys by Bandai. By 2001, the media franchise had generated over $6 billion in toy sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Kids</span> Childrens programming division of Fox

Fox Kids was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a joint venture between the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox) and its affiliated stations, it was later owned by Fox Family Worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4Kids Entertainment</span> Former American licensing company

4Kids Entertainment, Inc. was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English-dubbed Japanese anime through its subsidiary 4Kids Productions between 1992 and 2012; it specialized in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States. The first anime that 4Kids Productions dubbed was the first eight seasons of Pokémon that originally began airing in first run syndication, and then it later moved to exclusively air on Kids' WB! in the United States. The company is most well-known for its range of television licenses, which has included the multibillion-dollar Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Japanese anime franchises. They also ran two program blocks: Toonzai on The CW, and 4Kids TV on Fox, both aimed at children. The 4KidsTV block ended on December 27, 2008, while its Toonzai block ended on August 18, 2012, which was replaced by Saban's Vortexx, which in itself was succeeded by the One Magnificent Morning block by Litton Entertainment in 2014.

<i>Pretty Cure</i> Japanese magical girl anime metaseries

The Pretty Cure series is a Japanese magical girl anime franchise created by Izumi Todo and produced by ABC Television, ABC Animation, ADK Emotions and Toei Animation. Each series revolves around a group of magical girls known as Pretty Cures who battle against evil forces. Starting in February 2004 with Futari wa Pretty Cure, the franchise has seen many anime series, spanning nearly 1000 episodes to date, as well as spawning movies, manga, toys, and video games. Its most recent iteration, Wonderful PreCure!, began airing in February 2024 as part of TV Asahi's Sunday morning children's television block. As of December 2022, three series have received English adaptations.

ABC Family Worldwide is a subsidiary of the Disney ABC Networks division of The Walt Disney Company that operates American basic cable channel ABC Family and manages the programming libraries of Disney's subsidiaries BVS Entertainment and Fox Kids/Jetix.

Studiopolis, Inc. is an American post-production studio located in Studio City, Los Angeles. It specializes in voiceover recording and dubbing for cartoon, anime, and video game projects. They were formerly known as Screenmusic Studios and then Studio E Productions until 2005. The studio is owned by Jamie Simone. It has another studio located in Burbank, California.

BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a dormant subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it slowly transitioned to or gravitated towards television production and distribution, where it is most known for producing and distributing children's programs for Fox Family/ABC Family and defunct channels Fox Kids and Jetix.

Noam Kaniel, also known as Noam, is an Israeli musician, singer and composer, who has sold over 8 million records, and is known for composing or performing the theme songs of many television series including X-Men, Goldorak, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats, Code Lyoko, Miraculous Ladybug, Digimon Fusion, Glitter Force, and Power Rangers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saban Capital Group</span> Entertainment investment company owned by Haim Saban

Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment company based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment and communications. Formed in 2001 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, and co-owns Celestial Tiger Entertainment.

<i>Digimon Fusion</i> Japanese anime television series

Digimon Fusion, known in Japan as Digimon Xros Wars, is the sixth anime television series in the Digimon franchise, produced by Toei Animation. The series was broadcast on TV Asahi between July 2010 and March 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toonzai</span> US Saturday morning cartoon block

Toonzai was an American Saturday morning cartoon children's television block that aired on The CW from May 24, 2008 to August 18, 2012. The block was created as a result of a four-year agreement between 4Kids Entertainment and The CW. The original name for the block from May 24, 2008 to August 7, 2010, The CW4Kids, was retained as a sub-brand through the end of the block's run in order to fulfill branding obligations per 4Kids Entertainment's contract to lease The CW's Saturday morning time slots. The name is a portmanteau of "toon" and the Japanese term banzai, reflecting the majority of anime programming on the block.

<i>Smile PreCure!</i> Japanese anime television series

Smile PreCure! is a 2012 Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation and the ninth installment in Izumi Todo's Pretty Cure metaseries, featuring the seventh generation of Cures. The series is written by Shōji Yonemura, best known as the head writer of Glass Fleet and Kamen Rider Kabuto. The character designs were done by Toshie Kawamura, who previously worked on character designs for Yes! PreCure 5. Like Yes! Pretty Cure 5, the team has five members with a color scheme of pink, red, yellow, green, and blue, but unlike it the team's members are classmates in their second year of middle school. There are no additional team members. The series aired on All-Nippon News Network (ANN)'s TV Asahi network between February 5, 2012, and January 27, 2013, replacing Suite PreCure♪ in its timeslot, and was succeeded by DokiDoki! PreCure. A film was released in Japanese theaters on October 26, 2012, and a novel was released in 2016, serving as an epilogue that takes place 10 years after the anime's events. An illustration book of Toshie Kawamura's works was released on February 12, 2014. The series' main topics are fairy tales and happiness.

Vortexx was an American Saturday morning children's television programming block that aired on The CW from August 25, 2012 to September 27, 2014. Programmed by Saban Brands, it replaced Toonzai, a block that was programmed by 4Kids Entertainment until its bankruptcy. The Vortexx block primarily featured animated programs, although it also featured several live-action series, including the Lost Galaxy installment of the Power Rangers franchise, and the WWE wrestling series Saturday Morning Slam.

<i>Popples</i> (2015 TV series) 2015 multi-national TV series or program

Popples is a children's animated television series based on the Popples toy line produced by Saban Brands, Method Animation and Zagtoon, in co-production with Nexus Factory and Umedia, with the participation of Tiji, Gulli, and DQ Entertainment International, and in association with SOFITVCINE 2 and UFund. The series portrays the adventures of the comedic pals Bubbles, Sunny, Lulu, Izzy, and Yikes. It is an original series distributed by Netflix. The last Popples television adaptation to air was a 1986 animated series.

<i>Luna Petunia</i> Television series

Luna Petunia is a live action/animated television series co-produced by Saban Brands, BrainPower Studio and Cirque du Soleil Media. The series premiered on Netflix on December 9, 2016. It follows the adventures of a live-action little girl named Luna Petunia who receives a toy chest on her birthday where she is transported into the animated world of Amazia where she learns how to make the impossible possible. Season 2 was released on July 7, 2017. Season 3 was released on November 17, 2017.

<i>Power Rangers Beast Morphers</i> American television series

Power Rangers Beast Morphers is the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh seasons of the American television program Power Rangers. The first season premiered on Nickelodeon on March 2, 2019, while the second season premiered on February 22, 2020, and concluded on December 12, 2020.

Toei Animation Inc. is an American licensing and distribution company that operates as an international distribution arm of the Japanese animation studio Toei Animation. Originally founded in 2004 and based in Los Angeles, the company is responsible for licensing the studio's library across North America, Latin America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It holds partnerships with TV channels, DVD distributors, and streaming websites.

References

  1. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (5 May 2010). "Haim Saban Goes Into Brand Management". Media Decoder. The New York Times . Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  2. ↑ Bond, Paul (10 August 2010). "Disney's Q3 boosted by TV operations profit; Power Rangers sale added $43 million to coffers". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Nakashima, Ryan (12 May 2010). "Mogul Saban buys back Power Rangers from Disney". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 16 May 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  4. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (12 May 2010). "Saban re-acquires rights to 'Rangers'". Variety . Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  5. ↑ "Power Rangers morph back into Haim Saban's hands, will air on Nickelodeon". Los Angeles Times . 12 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Billionaire Saban buys Julius monkey brand". Associated Press. 17 August 2010. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  7. ↑ "Saban Acquires Leading Lifestyle Company Paul Frank Industries". License Global. Informa. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  8. ↑ Lodderhose, Diana (17 August 2010). "Saban Brands buys Paul Frank". Variety . Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Call It a Comeback! Saban Brands Reunites Its Paul Frank Industries™ Brand with Original Founder, Paul Frank". Business Wire . 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  10. ↑ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (1 May 2012). "4Kids to Sell Yu-Gi-Oh! Assets to Kidsco for US$10 Million (Updated)". Anime News Network . Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "4Kids Entertainment Adjourns Section 363 Auction". 4Kids Entertainment . 8 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  12. ↑ Whittock, Jesse (11 June 2012). "4Kids bidders tussle over assets". C21Media. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  13. ↑ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (16 June 2012). "Konami to Get 4Kids' Yu-Gi-Oh! Assets Under Proposed Deal". Anime News Network . Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  14. 1 2 "4Kids Sells Yu-Gi-Oh!, CW Network-Related Assets Jointly to Konami, Kidsco". Anime News Network . 26 June 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  15. ↑ Wallenstein, Andrew (2 July 2012). "Saban Brands to rebuild CW toon block". Variety . Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  16. ↑ Marcucci, Carl (3 July 2012). "The CW signs Saban Brands for kids block". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  17. ↑ "Saban builds CW kids' block". C21Media. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  18. ↑ Dickson, Jeremy (3 July 2012). "Saban and The CW launch kids TV block". Kidscreen. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  19. ↑ "'Power Rangers' Backer Saban to Reenter Kiddie TV" . Advertising Age. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  20. ↑ "Saban Brands to launch Vortexx kid shows on The CW". Los Angeles Business Journalaccess-date=2 October 2012. 12 July 2012.
  21. ↑ Jeremy, Dickson (13 June 2012). "Saban brings back the Popples". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications . Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  22. ↑ "Topgrossing Zombie-Farm dev acquired by Saban". Gamasutra . 3 August 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  23. ↑ "Saban Brands buys Zui". L.A. Biz. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  24. ↑ Crowe, Deborah (25 September 2012). "Saban Brands Acquires Digimon Anime Brand". Los Angeles Business Journal . Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  25. ↑ Dickson, Jeremy (27 September 2012). "Saban Brands acquires Digimon franchise". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications . Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  26. ↑ "Saban Takes on Sendokai". License!. Advanstar Communications. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  27. ↑ Kerr, Chris (28 October 2013). "Layoffs hit The Playforge as studio 'winds down' on game development". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  28. ↑ Ligman, Kris (25 October 2013). "Report: Playforge to shutter, entire staff facing layoff". Game Developer . Informa . Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  29. ↑ Kawamoto, Dawn (31 October 2013). "Will Layoffs Turn Playforge Into a Zombie?". Dice.com . Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  30. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 7, 2014). "Lionsgate, Saban Brands Reboot 'Power Rangers' As Pic Franchise". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  31. ↑ Perez, Sarah (4 August 2014). "LeapFrog Buys Kid's Web Browser Maker KidZui". TechCrunch . AOL . Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  32. 1 2 3 Padovano, Joanna (12 December 2014). "Saban Brands Expands with New Lifestyle & Entertainment Units". World Screen. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  33. ↑ Traill-Nash, Glynis. "Surfwear label Mambo bought by US company Saban Brands". The Australian . Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  34. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Saban Brands. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. 1 2 3 Petski, Denise (6 October 2016). "Netflix Orders Six New Kids Series Including 'Lego Elves' & Avi Arad's 'Super Monsters'". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  36. ↑ Sorrentino, Mike (15 February 2018). "Power Rangers toy maker is moving on after 25 years". CNET . Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Hasbro buying Power Rangers, other brands in $522M deal". ABC News . AP. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  38. ↑ "Saban Brands Sells Power Rangers to Hasbro for $522M". Los Angeles Business Journal. May 2, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  39. ↑ Blake, Matthew (23 May 2018). "Saban Brands Plans Layoffs Following Hasbro Acquisition". Los Angeles Business Journal . Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  40. ↑ "Coloring outside the lines". Kidscreen. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  41. ↑ "Home".
  42. 1 2 3 "Search the name "SCG Power Rangers"". United States Copyright Office Public Catalog.
  43. 1 2 3 "Cynopsis: Kids! 09/19/11". Cynopsis. September 19, 2011. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  44. 1 2 3 Pickard, Michael (September 16, 2011). "MarVista picks up live Turtles". C21Media. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  45. ↑ "Screening Room". World Screen. March 9, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Saban Listed as Promoting Smile Precure to Licensees as Glitter Force". Anime News Network . September 24, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Saban Brands Gives Glitter Force Trademark to Toei Animation - The Tokusatsu Network". tokusatsunetwork.com. May 25, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  48. ↑ "Glitter Force Brand's Rights Move to Hasbro". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  49. ↑ "peg on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  50. ↑ Hasbro. "Glitter Force – a legendary superhero squad". www.glitterforce.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  51. ↑ "Glitter Force". July 6, 2018. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  52. ↑ Dickson, Jeremy (September 11, 2012). "MarVista to rep new Paul Frank series Julius Jr". KidScreen. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  53. ↑ Whittock, Jesse (September 11, 2012). "MarVista to rep Paul Frank toon". C21Media. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  54. ↑ "Screening Room".
  55. ↑ "Programming Catalog: Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation". MarVista Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  56. ↑ "First impressions: the new age of licensing is about "digital" (whatever that means), portfolios, logistics. - Free Online Library". Licensing Letter. Plain Language Media. June 18, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2018– via thefreelibrary.com.
  57. ↑ "Hasbro to acquire Power Rangers, other franchises from Saban". CNBC. May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
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