Howdy! Welcome to the third installment of Kidscreen’s Gold Star, our new weekly feature where we nominate five contenders who kicked butt these past seven days—and you tell us who won the week. On Monday, we’ll tally up the votes and announce the winner!
So grab your colleagues and cast your vote below for who should win this week’s Gold Star.
Sesame Workshop – Classic Sesame Street episodes by the hundreds are moving to a new address—on YouTube that is, thanks to a new pact with Sesame Workshop. New episodes will go out on Netflix and PBS, but after years being walled off at HBO, Elmo and the gang are about to get a lot more eyeballs on a kid-favorite platform that’s global, free and easily accessible. Of course, it’s no wonder YouTube is eager to feature more of the franchise after it delivered a whopping 130% viewership spike over the past year. It’s more good news for the Workshop, which grappled with serious pressures this past year after HBO ended its output deal with the beloved series.
PBS KIDS: The pubcaster has had a tough time lately, thanks to the Trump administration slashing its funding, but it’s enduring—and launching a new digital series. Odd Squad Gaming Unit, which launches on YouTube today, has a lot going for it. First off, it’s new Odd Squad content—an almost sure thing for the pubcaster. And secondly, this series is all about two Odd Squad agents playing PBS KIDS games—mimicking the gameplay videos that have taken YouTube by storm. That’s right: the series basically doubles as a commercial for PBS KIDS to promote its big (and popular!) games library. Good on them for not just surviving, but for finding ways to promote themselves while doing it.
Roberto Stanichi, Ted Wu and Jamie Cygielman: This trio has some large hot-pink heels to fill, as Barbie brand expert and chief brand officer Lisa McKnight is set to depart from Mattel after 26 years. The three executives have all been adorned with shiny new titles as they step up to lead the next transformative period for the toyco’s brand and marketing teams… with some oversight from McKnight before she sets off for the next chapter in her career later this year. Stanichi will lead the next charge into the toy aisle as Mattel primes several more feature film adaptations for its beloved brands—here’s hoping Hot Wheels and Polly Pocket have their own Barbenheimer moments!
Nex: The Bluey powerhouse can’t be stopped, and the same could be said of spunky game console maker Nex, which just secured the blue heeler as its latest partner. Nex, which has previously teamed with major kids brands like Miraculous Ladybug and Sesame Street, is making a Bluey game for its motion-controlled Playground console that launches in October. As if snagging the biggest kids brand in the world wasn’t enough, the company has also teamed up with the National Hockey League, The Tiny Chef Show and Unicorn Academy. At this rate, soon there won’t be anyone left for Nex to partner with!
Planet Rights: Licensing mavens Rob Goodchild and Laura Daniel have gone independent with their own UK-based agency—and their last employer, Two Daughters Entertainment, is one of their first clients. Not every brand-spanking-new agency launches right out the gate with a lineup like this: Moley, Talking Tom & Friends, Astro Boy and The Land of Sometimes are some of the marquee kids brands that Planet Rights plans to showcase next month at Brand Licensing Europe. And if that wasn’t enough to get potential licensees to drop by their booth in London, Goodchild confirms he’s handing out Milky Ways at the trade show.
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