Including Start Licensing to handle Asterix in the UK and Lisle adding Bottersnikes & Gumbles.
Lisle International and The Fusion Agency have been appointed as the new agents for comedy series Bottersnikes & Gumbles in the UK & Eire, and Australia respectively. Based on the books by SA Wakefield, the series is a Netflix original title produced by Cake, Cheeky Little Media and Mighty Nice Productions. It is already airing on Seven Network in Australia, while CBBC will begin broadcast in July. It will also premiere on Netflix globally this year – with the exception of Australia and the UK which will be added to the service later on.
Start Licensing has been appointed to represent the iconic Asterix property for a further two years by Editions Albert René. The two companies have been working together for over five years, with Start securing a number of deals. Most recently, these include high-end plush company Steiff, which has produced a limited edition Dogmatix plush and will also develop further products featuring other characters from the book series. Start Licensing also works closely with Orion Books, the UK publisher of the Asterix book series.
Pam Lifford has been named as the new president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products. Pam joins from Quiksilver, where she served as evp of global licensing. She will take up her new role from February 1. In addition, Barry Ziehl has been named svp, public affairs and strategic initiatives at the company.
The Royal Horticultural Society has revealed a licensed range of RHS cushions from Welovecushions, illustrated with imagery from the brand new RHS licensing style guide.
Nickelodeon has secured a long-term partnership with The Football League to produce Nick Kicks, a live action football programme covering all 72 clubs. The show will launch on Nick Toons on February 6 and will run for 18 episodes, ending on June 4. In addition to covering the remainder of the 2015/2016 season, the series will air across the full 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons. Nickelodeon has committed to producing over 100 episodes of the series across three seasons.
Saban Brands has extended its US broadcast partnership for Power Rangers with Nickelodeon through to 2018. Power Rangers Dino Super Charge will premiere on January 30, while Power Rangers Ninja Steel has been named as the 24th season, beginning in 2017.
Knockout Licensing has enjoyed a busy week. The company has signed up Tanya Whelan to develop a licensing programme to bring her best selling fabric designs to other categories. In addition, Knockout will be working with Rita’s Italian Ice to manage the licensing across a wide range of products.
Hasbro Studios has confirmed that Transformers: Robots in Disguise will return to Cartoon Network in the US for Q1 2016 for a second season.
