Penguin Random House partners with Rebellion to bring its science fiction portfolio to the audiobook space

The iconic comic book law-enforcer, Judge Dredd is making his way to the audiobook sector.

Penguin Random House UK has detailed a new partnership between its audio division and the comic book , fiction and video games publisher, Rebellion to produce more science fiction audio for fans.

Under the partnership, Penguin Random House will produce and distribute audio version’s of Rebellion’s latest fiction titles, alongside classic graphic novels from its popular 2000 AD imprint.

According to The Bookseller, Penguin Random House has cited new research from Harris Interactive that has shown science fiction to be one of the leading genres across modern audiobooks, with a share of 30 per cent of audiobook listeners opting for science fiction titles over the past year.

Richard Lennon, audio publisher at PRH, said: “This is a really exciting new partnership which helps us reach even more listeners in this hugely popular and ever-growing section of the audiobook market. We’re looking forward to helping tell some of Rebellion’s incredible stories and to creating some truly groundbreaking recordings, particularly as we explore turning some of British comic book history’s true greats – Judge Dredd, Slaine and Rogue Trooper, to name but a few – into audiobooks for the first time.”

Ben Smith, Rebellion’s head of Film, TV & Publishing, added: “Rebellion is the UK’s leading comic book publisher and home to Hugo and Nebula Award-winning fiction from our Solaris and Abaddon imprints, and as such we’re delighted to partner with Penguin’s forward-looking audio team.

“Their appetite to bring both our fiction and our landmark graphic novels to the audiobook market is tremendously exciting. We can’t wait for the public to listen to the incredible stories in the works.”

Penguin will produce and distribute audio versions of around 30 titles a year from the Rebellion frontlist, which covers genres including science fiction, fantasy and horror, and will include works from authors such as Chuck Wendig, Katherine Addison, Derek Künsken and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

The audiobooks, published from March 2020, will draw on Penguin Random House’s “roster of top narrator talent”. PRH’s audio bestsellers include titles such as The Handmaid’s Tale narrated by Elisabeth Moss, The Secret Commonwealth narrated by Michael Sheen, and Becoming narrated by Michelle Obama.

The partnership will also see PRH record and produce adaptations of five new graphic novels in the 2000 AD series, which will feature multi-voice narration, sound design and original music to bring the stories to life.

Available from Thursday (19th March), the first title to be published under the new partnership will be Chuck Wendig’s apocalyptic epic, Wanderers, read by Dominic Hoffman and Xe Sands.

Nickelodeon launches #KidsTogether platform with tips and activities for children and families in coronavirus lockdown

Nickelodeon has launched a multi-platform prosocial initiative featuring its most popular characters and talent to engage with kids and families on tips for staying healthy, as well as ideas for activities to do together while practising social distancing or in lockdown.

Called #KidsTogether, the campaign will feature SpongeBob SquarePants, Blue’s Clues & You, Bubble Guppies, and more, and will serve as an additional resource for parents while providing appropriate and directed information through short form videos, downloadable activities and social content.

Elements of the initiative will be aggregated for easy access on a central online destination at NickHelps.com

Additionally, Noggin – Nickelodeon’s direct-to-consumer interactive learning service for preschoolers – will be offered for free for three months starting next week to millions of kids in need through the help of national partner organisations, including the National Head Start Association and First Book.

Noggin’s free trial period will also be extended to 60 days to all new subscribers, effective at the end of the month.

The ad-free educational content on Noggin currently includes over 1,000 iconic, full-length episodes, short-form videos, and hundreds of interactive learning games and ebooks.

#KidsTogether’s content will be available across Nick’s screens starting today and ramping up through the rest of the week and beyond. It will feature:

  • Original short-form digital and linear content such as SpongeBob practicing social distancing, the Bubble Guppies demonstrating proper hand-washing techniques, and Chickaletta and the PAW Patrol showcasing awesome dance moves to promote physical activity and wellness.
  • Nick-branded interstitials made in partnership with GoNoodle that encourage kids to get up and get moving, with help from Young Dylan’s beats or by joining Lincoln Loud’s dance party.
  • Printable Blue’s Clues & You! activity sheets and Bubble Guppies colouring pages, along with offscreen activities and games to help families play and learn together at home.
  • Noggin shorts on the Nick Jr. channel that provide learning moments for preschoolers in the areas of wellness, social and emotional development, science, math, and literacy.
  • and NickHelps.com, a central online destination that will aggregate Nick’s content and provide links to external resources for kids and families.

#KidsTogether will roll out domestically today across Nickelodeon’s portfolio of platforms and then extend to Nick’s international markets, as well.

Nickelodeon’s #KidsTogether initiative is part of ViacomCBS and Ad Council’s recently announced #AloneTogether, a national social- and talent-led campaign that educates audiences on the importance of social distancing and drives unity through entertainment.

Peter Rabbit hops back onto 50p coin for final roll out with The Royal Mint

Peter Rabbit is hopping back onto UK commemorative 50p coins for one last time, the Royal Mint has detailed this morning, with a 2020 design featured on Brilliant Uncirculated, Silver Proof and Gold Proof 50p coins.

First introduced onto UK coins in 2016 to celebrate Beatrix Potter’s 150th anniversary, Peter Rabbit has also appeared on UK coins in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

The new 2020 design has been developed in collaboration with Penguin Ventures on behalf of Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd, Beatrix Potter’s original publisher, and depicts the famous rabbit in his trademark blue jacket sneaking under the gate in search of lettuces.

The hand-painted style of Beatrix Potter’s original illustration has been carefully engraved by The Royal Mint’s coin designer, Emma Noble, to immortalise the mischievous rabbit on the 2020 version of the coin. In addition to previous Beatrix Potter collections, Noble has previously designed coins commemorating the 60th anniversary of The Queen’s coronation, Remembrance Sunday, and King George I.

Clare Maclennan, divisional director of the Commemorative Coin division at The Royal Mint and The Royal Mint Experience, said: “The Royal Mint has celebrated Peter Rabbit on 50p coins for five years and this year for the final time, the nation’s favourite bunny will feature on a new UK commemorative 50p coin.

“We are delighted to be continuing the tales of Peter Rabbit and capturing his latest adventure on UK coins, giving fans the opportunity to complete their Beatrix Potter UK 50p commemorative coin collection.”

Thomas Merrington, creative director at Penguin Ventures (part of Penguin Random House UK), added: “It’s been incredible to see Beatrix Potter’s beloved Peter Rabbit lead the way in commemorative character coins.

“Over the past five years The Royal Mint has brought Potter’s characters to life in a fantastically successful collection which has been treasured by fans around the UK. While Peter will be bowing out of the 50p series I am excited about our future partnership with The Royal Mint.”

The 2020 Peter Rabbit commemorative 50p coin is available in a variety of precious metal and base proof finishes from www.royalmint.com, with prices starting from £10.

This is a commemorative coin and will not be entering general circulation, so this is the only way to own this special coin.

Entertainment One’s Ricky Zoom to launch on CCTV-14 in China

Entertainment One’s hit pre-school animation, Ricky Zoom is gearing up to launch on CCTV-14 starting from March 23rd this year, following a successful kickstart to its broadcast campaign across China.

The series made its debut in mainland China in June last year where it got off to a strong start with audiences.

Hot in pursuit, a second season of Ricky Zoom has already gone into production, with a first batch of episodes due for delivery from November, 2020.

The series has reportedly achieved outstanding ratings in multiple markets at home and abroad. In China, the arrival of Ricky Zoom on Youku garnered more than 100 million views in the first 12 days. According to the Children’s Animation Series 2019 Webcast Data Report provided by Children’s Content Observation, Ricky Zoom is listed in second place in the high heat index that ranks new foreign animations in 2019 on Youku, exceeded only by Peppa Pig Season 7.

In international markets, the animation is listed as number one on Nick Jr. – a commercial kids’ channel in the UK and is also top on the Clan channel in Spain. From their weekend line up, Ricky Zoom is a top three show on Treehouse in Canada, and consistently outperforms channel averages on RAI in Italy, as well as across the LATAM region.

“We are so proud of Ricky Zoom and its success to date. It is premium original content produced by the very best talent and our strong roster of international broadcasters has super-charged the series to a high level of awareness around the world,” said eOne’s Olivier Dumont, president, Family and Brands.

“We are very excited for the potential to explore even more ground in the second season. There are so many more stories to tell that will deepen the connection between the characters and our audience, and we look forward to bringing them all-new adventures.”

Entertainment One is currently working with global master toy partner TOMY to present the launch of Ricky Zoom toys, including a series of six key products based on Ricky and his Bike Buddies. The collection will roll out in multiple territories and markets.

To meet consumer demand on the heels of the new toy releases, eOne will present a wealth of additional licensed merchandise in 2020 and 2021, including books, puzzles and games, arts and crafts, apparel and accessories.

Mondo TV Iberoamerica lands its first US broadcast deals for Sissi the Young Empress and Invention Story

Mondo TV Iberoamerica – part of Mondo TV Group – has secured its first US sales of all three series of its popular animated hit Sissi the Young Empress, as well as the first series of its new action comedy Invention Story, via the English-language network, Primo TV.

Mondo TV Iberoamerica distributes Mondo TV’s animated catalogue in Spain, Portugal and both Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Americas. Its major new deal with the US Hispanic pay TV leader Vme Media grants Mondo TV Iberoamerica distribution of its series through Primo TV.

Sissi the Young Empress and Invention Story will be available for a two and-a-half-year period starting this year.The territories covered will include the United States, Puerto Rico and all US territories and possessions.

Primo TV is the first English-language network targeting US bicultural Hispanic Gen Z viewers (aged six to 16) and their families with inspirational and educational programming.

The star of Sissi the Young Empress is based on a real historical figure – a charming young empress who captured the public imagination well beyond her Austrian homeland. This animated version of her story offers its audience adventure, romance, mystery, intrigue and magic when Sissi discovers a magic bracelet, which leads to exciting and unusual adventures as she seeks to help her many animal friends.

The first two series of Sissi the Young Empress have been a big success with its target audience of young girls, and an established rating hit in over 40 countries. The third season launched this year with a new 3D 26 x 11’ format and new content, bringing more magic and adventure.

Meanwhile, Kit – an intelligent, thoughtful, footloose and creative fox – is the star of Invention Story. In each episode of this 3D CGI comedy he comes up with a new invention that impresses most of the rabbit residents of his adopted home Carrot Town – but inspires jealousy in a few.

This major pay-TV deal for the Americas will bring Invention Story to the US markets for the first time. Invention Story is also about to debut on free-to-air TV starting from April 2020 on Frisbee in Italy, Karusel in Russia and TV2 Kiwi in Hungary.

Maria Bonaria Fois, CEO of Mondo TV Iberoamerica, said: “The sale of Sissi, one of our most popular animated shows, and Invention Story, a brand-new series that is enjoying a very strong response, to Vme is a major breakthrough for Mondo TV in one of the world’s most important markets.

“Vme is recognised as a leading player in the Hispanic pay-TV market with a strong reach. We are thrilled to be able to announce this news and certain that both Sissi and Invention Story will be enormously popular with Vme’s vast audience.”

Cancelled MIPTV event to bring series showcase to ‘attendees’ with MIPTV Online+

Events organiser Reed Midem is to launch MIPTV Online+, aimed as a means of pushing on with some of the activities planned for the 2020 edition of MIPTV, as well as satellite meetings MIPDoc and MIPFormats.

All three events were to have taken place between March 28 to April 2 in Cannes but were cancelled on due to the escalation of the coronavirus outbreak in France and the rest of Europe.

The MIPTV ONLINE+ initiative will be available for free to all professionals who had been registered to attend the 2020 editions of MIPTV, MIPDoc and MIPFormats and will make available series that were to be showcased at the MIPTV Drama Buyers Summit on March 29, as well as the MIPDoc screenings library.

Screen International reports that it will also air a handful of MIPTV’s scheduled market intelligence conference sessions, including Fresh TV and the Factual and Kids Content showcases.

“Our clients are unable to come to MIPTV in Cannes, so we are bringing MIPTV to them,” said Reed Midem’s television division deputy director Lucy Smith. “Starting on March 30, delegates from 94 countries will be able to interact with one another online and experience originally scheduled MIP programming from the comfort of their office or home.”

Accessed via the MIPTV website, the platform will be available and updated regularly over the coming months.

McDonald’s to scrap plastic toys from Happy Meals by 2021

McDonald’s has joined the fight against plastic waste having detailed plans to remove plastic toys from its Happy Meals from 2021.

In a press release, the company stated that from next year every Happy Meal in the UK will include either a soft toy, a paper-based toy or a book, as opposed to a toy made from non-recyclable plastic.

McDonald’s went on to state that the initiative will remove more than 3,000 metric tons of plastic from its business. It also marks the biggest reduction of plastic by McDonald’s UK and Ireland to date.

“We care passionately about the environment and are committed to reducing plastic across our business including within our Happy Meal,” said Gareth Helm, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of McDonald’s UK and Ireland.

“Families have high expectations of us and we’re working as hard as we can to give them the confidence that their Happy Meal is as sustainable as possible. Getting that right is a big responsibility, but we believe the changes we’re making today have the potential to make a big difference.”

From this month, McDonald’s is going to trial paper packaging for Happy Meals toys, the first time this has been done by the restaurant in the UK. From August, paper packaging will be used to wrap books in Happy Meals, a move which will help remove 200 tonnes of plastic from the business by 2021.

Later this year, McDonald’s will give customers the options to choose between a toy or a book with Happy Meals before it carries out a five week toy amnesty across the nation, asking for customers to return any unwanted plastic toys to restaurants.

The company will then recycle the plastic from the returned items to create play equipment for Ronald McDonald House Charities in the UK and Ireland.

Licensing International’s Young Professionals Network 2020 breakfast cancelled over coronavirus outbreak

Licensing International has announced the cancellation of this week’s Young Professionals Network 2020 breakfast event in London due to the escalating coronavirus outbreak and the latest Government advice.

The event was due to be held at the Club at the Ivy on Covent Garden this Friday, March 20th, but has since been cancelled in accordance to the latest Government advice concerning travel, public gathering and social distancing issued in an attempt to flatten the curve of the outbreak of Covid-19.

The breakfast event was organised to help young professionals in the licensing industry network and learn more about the popular and ever-growing video game licensing sector. The event has since been postponed indefinitely, with no word of a new date.

Kelvyn Gardner, managing director a Licensing International, said: “We had been very much looking forward to kicking off our Young Professionals Network 2020 programme at the Club at the Ivy this coming Friday. Very sadly, the latest advice from the Government concerning travel and public gatherings during the continuing pandemic have left us with no choice but to postpone the event indefinitely.

“All those who have booked to attend will receive refunds of their ticket prices, and I would like to place on record my thanks to all who planned to attend, our splendid line up of speakers, and the LI UK YPN committee for their work and dedication in the planning of this event.”

Fashion and Furnishing retailer Laura Ashley files for administration

The high street fashion and furnishing name, Laura Ashley is to file for administration, having failed to secure a £15m emergency loan to keep the firm from collapse.

Laura Ashley operates more than 150 British stores and employs some 2,700 people. It has stated that rescue plans for the high street name had failed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement, it said: “The Covid-19 outbreak has had an immediate and significant impact on trading, and ongoing developments indicate that this will be a sustained national situation.

“Discussions with stakeholders have been ongoing and the directors are in advanced discussions for the provisions of third-party debt funding. However, based on the company’s revised cashflow forecasts and the increased uncertainty facing the group, the company expects that it will not be in a position to draw down additional funds from third-party lenders in a timely manner sufficient to support working capital requirements.

“MUI Asia Limited – the investment company that controls Laura Ashley – has confirmed that it is unable to provide financial support in the required timeframe.”

The retailer said it intended to appoint Robert Lewis and Zelf Hussain from the accounting firm PwC as administrators to Laura Ashley and its subsidiaries, Premier Home Logistics, Laura Ashley Investments, and Texplan Manufacturing.

Four weeks ago Laura Ashley narrowly avoided collapse after agreeing an emergency deal with its main lender, the US band Wells Fargo. It then announced new plans to revive the ‘timeless’ designs of its late founder in an attempt to breathe new life into the heritage brand.

On Friday, Laura Ashley said it had “not yet seen a significant financial impact due to Covid-19” but did warn that the virus had “the potential to negatively influence future trading as a result of reduced footfall.”

How has GDPR, YouTube FTC, or sustainability affected you? – The Insights People survey

The Insights People and SuperAwesome are calling for final participants in its industry wide research programme into the topics and trends most impacting business in recent years, before the survey closes next week.

The report, which will be published across The Insights People’s own platform, via SuperAwesome and media partners such as Licensing.biz and ToyNews, as well as handed to each of the participants, will take a look at topics such as the impact of GDPR, YouTube FTC legislation, sustainability, and the confidence levels among the industry.

Nick Richardson, CEO, The Insights People, said: “There is no doubt that all aspects of the kid’s industry are going through fundamental changes at the moment. The comforting news for you is no matter if you are in Entertainment, FMCG, Policy, Publishing, Retail, Sports or even Toy industry, the feedback is the same.

“We are in a state of flux – these will no doubt be challenging times for some, and exciting times for others. By taking part in this study it will enable individuals to share their opinions and see how they compare and contrast with their peers.”

SuperAwesome is supporting The Insights People in producing the industry’s first annual report that will be based on results of surveying professionals who work across the kids’ industry.

Industry colleagues are invited to take part in this survey which will explore individual’s confidence levels and analyse how the business is changing, with all respondents receiving a complimentary copy of the report.

The survey will take approximately five to eight minutes to complete.

To complete the survey, please visit: https://qweq.co.uk/index.php/129748?lang=en