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Saban Brands

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Saban Brands
Company typeDivision
Industry
PredecessorSaban Entertainment(laterBVS Entertainment)
FoundedMay 12, 2010;14 years ago(2010-05-12)
FounderHaim Saban
DefunctJuly 2, 2018;6 years ago(2018-07-02)
FateSplit up, assets sold off
Successor
HeadquartersLos Angeles,California,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Number of employees
9
ParentSaban Capital Group
Divisions
  • Saban Brands Lifestyle Group
  • Saban Brands Entertainment Group
WebsiteOfficial website(archived)

Saban Brandswas an Americanbrand managementandproduction companyand a defunct subsidiary ofSaban Capital Groupbased inLos Angeles,California.Founded byIsraeli Americanmedia mogulHaim Sabanas a successor to an earlier company he co-founded, Saban Entertainment (laterBVS Entertainment), it was active from 12 May 2010 to 2 July 2018.

History

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Foundation and expansion

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On 5 May 2010,Saban Capital Groupannounced a formation ofSaban 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 (now20th Century Studios).[1]On 12 May 2010, Saban Brands bought back thePower Rangersfranchise including some related shows fromthe Walt Disney Companyfor $43 million[2]and produced a 19th season of the Power Rangers series that began airing onNickelodeonon 7 February 2011, with the previous 700 episodes being rerun onNicktoons.[3][4][5]It was also announced that Saban Brands is in negotiations to buy three other brands. On 17 August 2010, Saban Brands boughtPaul 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 theYu-Gi-Oh!franchise and The CW4Kids block, for $10 million.[10]4K Acquisition Corp, a subsidiary of Japanese entertainment media conglomerateKonami,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 theYu-Gi-Oh!franchise and Kidsco acquire other 4Kids assets including the US broadcasting agreements forDragon Ball Z Kai,Cubix: Robots for Everyone,Sonic Xand 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 namedVortexxon 12 July and would ran from 25 August that year to 27 September 2014.[19][20]

On 12 June 2012, Saban Brands reintroduced thePopplesfranchise 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 behindApp Storesuccess 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 theDigimonfranchise and its most recent season,Digimon Fusionwith licensing and distribution duties retained byToei Animationfor Asian andMarVista Entertainmentfor all other territories.[24][25]

On 3 July 2013, Saban Brands signed a deal to manage the distribution, licensing and merchandising ofSendokai Championsin 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 andLionsgate Filmsannounced on 7 May 2014 that they were planning to produce a newPower Rangersfeature film, and would hopefully launch aPower Rangersfilm franchise.[30]Saban Brands sold KidZui to LeapFrog Enterprises on 4 August the same year.[31]With the acquisition ofMacbeth 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 acquiredMambo Graphics.[33]On 24 March 2015, Saban Brands Lifestyle Group had acquiredPiping Hot.[34]Saban Brands developed animated series based on its first two properties,Kibaoh KlashersandTreehouse Detectives,which were picked up byNetflixon 6 October 2016.[35]

Library sale and closure

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On 15 February 2018, Saban Brands appointedHasbroas the global master toy licensee forPower Rangerswith a future option to purchase the franchise.[36]On 1 May 1, 2018 Saban agreed to sellPower Rangersand 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 includedMy Pet Monster,Popples,Julius Jr.,Luna Petunia,Treehouse Detectivesand content/media libraries owned by Saban Brands[37][38](excludingRainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kittyand other properties that were sold to different companies before the deal). Saban'sDigimonandPretty Curelicenses were also transferred to Hasbro, although were later left to expire, thus reverting toToei 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]

References

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  1. ^Barnes, Brooks (5 May 2010)."Haim Saban Goes Into Brand Management".Media Decoder.The New York Times.Retrieved13 May2010.
  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.Retrieved11 August2010.
  3. ^Nakashima, Ryan (12 May 2010)."Mogul Saban buys back Power Rangers from Disney".Associated Press.Archived fromthe originalon 16 May 2010.Retrieved13 May2010.
  4. ^Littleton, Cynthia (12 May 2010)."Saban re-acquires rights to 'Rangers'".Variety.Retrieved13 May2010.
  5. ^"Power Rangers morph back into Haim Saban's hands, will air on Nickelodeon".Los Angeles Times.12 May 2010.Retrieved16 May2010.
  6. ^"Billionaire Saban buys Julius monkey brand".Associated Press.17 August 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 20 August 2010.Retrieved17 August2010.
  7. ^"Saban Acquires Leading Lifestyle Company Paul Frank Industries".License Global.Informa.17 August 2010.Retrieved17 August2010.
  8. ^Lodderhose, Diana (17 August 2010)."Saban Brands buys Paul Frank".Variety.Retrieved1 September2020.
  9. ^"Call It a Comeback! Saban Brands Reunites Its Paul Frank Industries™ Brand with Original Founder, Paul Frank".Business Wire.1 February 2016.Retrieved1 September2018.
  10. ^Hodgkins, Crystalyn (1 May 2012)."4Kids to Sell Yu-Gi-Oh! Assets to Kidsco for US$10 Million (Updated)".Anime News Network.Retrieved2 October2012.
  11. ^"4Kids Entertainment Adjourns Section 363 Auction".4Kids Entertainment.8 June 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 23 June 2012.Retrieved2 October2012.
  12. ^Whittock, Jesse (11 June 2012)."4Kids bidders tussle over assets".C21Media.Retrieved2 October2012.
  13. ^Hodgkins, Crystalyn (16 June 2012)."Konami to Get 4Kids' Yu-Gi-Oh! Assets Under Proposed Deal".Anime News Network.Retrieved2 October2012.
  14. ^"4Kids Sells Yu-Gi-Oh!, CW Network-Related Assets Jointly to Konami, Kidsco".Anime News Network.26 June 2012.Retrieved14 September2018.
  15. ^Wallenstein, Andrew (2 July 2012)."Saban Brands to rebuild CW toon block".Variety.Retrieved2 October2012.
  16. ^Marcucci, Carl (3 July 2012)."The CW signs Saban Brands for kids block".Radio & Television Business Report.Retrieved2 October2012.
  17. ^"Saban builds CW kids' block".C21Media.3 July 2012.Retrieved7 July2012.
  18. ^Dickson, Jeremy (3 July 2012)."Saban and The CW launch kids TV block".Kidscreen.Retrieved2 October2012.
  19. ^"'Power Rangers' Backer Saban to Reenter Kiddie TV ".Advertising Age.12 July 2012.Retrieved2 October2012.
  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.Retrieved2 October2012.
  22. ^"Topgrossing Zombie-Farm dev acquired by Saban".Gamasutra.3 August 2012.Retrieved11 September2012.
  23. ^"Saban Brands buys Zui".L.A. Biz.19 September 2012.Retrieved2 October2012.
  24. ^Crowe, Deborah (25 September 2012)."Saban Brands Acquires Digimon Anime Brand".Los Angeles Business Journal.Retrieved26 September2012.
  25. ^Dickson, Jeremy (27 September 2012)."Saban Brands acquires Digimon franchise".Kidscreen.Brunico Communications.Retrieved2 October2012.
  26. ^"Saban Takes on Sendokai".License!.Advanstar Communications.3 July 2013.Retrieved20 February2015.
  27. ^Kerr, Chris (28 October 2013)."Layoffs hit The Playforge as studio 'winds down' on game development".Pocket Gamer.Retrieved1 November2014.
  28. ^Ligman, Kris (25 October 2013)."Report: Playforge to shutter, entire staff facing layoff".Game Developer.Informa.Retrieved31 October2013.
  29. ^Kawamoto, Dawn (31 October 2013)."Will Layoffs Turn Playforge Into a Zombie?".Dice.com.Retrieved1 November2014.
  30. ^Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 7, 2014)."Lionsgate, Saban Brands Reboot 'Power Rangers' As Pic Franchise".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Media Corporation.RetrievedMay 7,2014.
  31. ^Perez, Sarah (4 August 2014)."LeapFrog Buys Kid's Web Browser Maker KidZui".TechCrunch.AOL.Retrieved17 December2014.
  32. ^Padovano, Joanna (12 December 2014)."Saban Brands Expands with New Lifestyle & Entertainment Units".World Screen.Retrieved16 December2014.
  33. ^Traill-Nash, Glynis."Surfwear label Mambo bought by US company Saban Brands".The Australian.Retrieved20 February2015.
  34. ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Saban Brands.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 30 June 2015.Retrieved13 April2015.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. ^Petski, Denise (6 October 2016)."Netflix Orders Six New Kids Series Including 'Lego Elves' & Avi Arad's 'Super Monsters'".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Media Corporation.RetrievedSeptember 5,2017.
  36. ^Sorrentino, Mike (15 February 2018)."Power Rangers toy maker is moving on after 25 years".CNET.RetrievedFebruary 19,2018.
  37. ^"Hasbro buying Power Rangers, other brands in $522M deal".ABC News.AP.1 May 2018.Retrieved1 May2018.
  38. ^"Saban Brands Sells Power Rangers to Hasbro for $522M".Los Angeles Business Journal.May 2, 2018.RetrievedMarch 3,2019.
  39. ^Blake, Matthew (23 May 2018)."Saban Brands Plans Layoffs Following Hasbro Acquisition".Los Angeles Business Journal.Retrieved2 August2018.
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