Nippon TV

Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV has acquired a majority stake in iconic Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro). When the deal closes in October, Nippon will own 42.3% of Studio Ghibli and make it a subsidiary. Nippon’s senior operating officer and board director, Hiroyuki Fukuda, will become the studio’s president following the acquisition. Acclaimed creator and studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki will stay on board as an honorary chairman. Succession has long been an issue at the studio, and becoming a subsidiary of Nippon TV—which has invested in and aired multiple Ghibli productions—will enable the company to keep making quality content, according to Studio Ghibli.  

Nelvana

LA-based animation studio ZAG has appointed Corus Entertainment studio Nelvana as the exclusive licensing agent for the ZAG Heroez Miraculous and Ghostforce brands in Canada. Nelvana will expand the brands in Canada through new licensing and merchandising deals. The company already handles ZAG’s 60-plus existing licensing partnerships in the country, including those with Jay Franco (bedding and home décor), Playmates Toys (toys) and Isaac Morris (accessories).

Princess Sam

Princess Sam Entertainment has named Empire Multimedia Corporation (EMC) as its licensing agent to bring CG-animated series Tara Duncan (pictured, 52 x 13 minutes) to stores in APAC. EMC is focused on locking down licensing deals for the series in the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Aimed at kids ages six to 10, Tara Duncan is about a girl with magical powers who must protect her family from evil. It premiered on Disney Channel and Gulli (France) last spring and has been acquired by ITVX (UK), RTS (Switzerland), Télé-Québec (Canada) and RTÉ (Ireland).

WildBrain

WildBrain has closed several distribution deals for its 2D-animated series Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City (120 x four minutes). Amazon Kids+ (US), Stan (Australia) and Spacetoon (MENA) picked up season one and two, while Edye (Latin America) acquired season one and TVNZ (New Zealand) picked up season two. TV2 (Hungary, Romania, Slovakia) and NCircle Entertainment (US) snapped up the first three seasons, along with four CG-animated specials from the IP, including Strawberry Shortcake and the Beast of Berry Bog (which is set to premiere on Netflix in October). Gulli (France) also picked up the specials.

In other news, WildBrain CPLG has closed new licensing deals for Strawberry Shortcake with LA’s Vampyre Cosmetics (makeup), Kentucky’s Goose Creek Candles (scent collection), Canadian manufacturer Cakeworthy (apparel, stationery and homewares) and New York-based FYE (jewelry, home decor). The partners join the IP’s growing licensing portfolio, which already includes MINISO (toys, stationery, housewares and accessories), TapTap Tales (online educational games) and Bare Tree Media (mobile stickers).