– Snoopy is out of the doghouse in France

PARIS: Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang return to French screens this month on Canal J, France’s children’s cable and satellite channel. The 29 half-hour episodes will air Saturdays and Sundays beginning March 1. A year-long nationwide licensing and merchandising campaign is planned for the property, as well as a promotional program aimed at cable subscribers slated to begin in April. Details were not available at press time.

In France, VIP is handling the licensing rights and has already registered 22 licensees who will produce about 400 products, including videos, interactive games, books, cards, apparel and toys. Sales are predicted to reach FF300 million (US$53 million).

-Hasbro named master toy licensee for Sabrina

Viacom Consumer Products has named Hasbro as the master toy licensee for the TV series Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, a show about a girl who discovers on her sixteenth birthday that she has magical powers. Hasbro introduced the first Sabrina products-a line of fashion dolls and plush toys based on the show’s characters-last month at Toy Fair in New York City. More toys and games, which will be ready for retail this summer, are in the works.

-Silver Surfer gets licensed

The 30-year-old Silver Surfer has moved from Marvel’s comic book library to a new half-hour animated series. Licensing agreements for the property include action figures, vehicles and playsets by Toy Biz, a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment Group; hand-held games and electronics by Tiger Electronics; underwear by Hanes/Sara Lee; and snowboards and skateboards by International. This is the first show to be developed under the new production and distribution agreement between Marvel, Fox Kids Worldwide and Saban Entertainment. The agreement calls for at least four Marvel properties to be developed over seven years.

-Survey shows French teens like Fido Dido

PARIS: At the request of the French licensing company VIP and United Media Licensing in the U.S., the French research company ABC+ recently surveyed 200 people to find out what they think of the character Fido Dido (right), which was created in 1986. The survey found that 95 percent of the participants were able to identify the character, with teenagers most receptive to him. In France, 12 licensees are producing approximately 150 products for the property, including T-shirts, bedding and sporting products.