4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment’s “Dinosaur King” Expands International TV Roster
Wednesday 14 January 2009
GMTV (UK) and Jetix/Netherlands Acquire Popular Series
Jetix/UK Signs on for DK Second Season
NEW YORK (January 14, 2009) – 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE), the diversified children’s entertainment and media organization, has completed licensing agreements for the animated series Dinosaur King with GMTV in the United Kingdom and Jetix/Netherlands, it was announced today by Brian Lacey, Executive Vice President, International, 4Kids Entertainment.
In addition, the second season of the series has been picked up by Jetix/UK for a scheduled launch in late February 2009. 4Kids has also reached agreement for home video distribution of “Dinosaur King’s” compelling combination of traditional cel and CGI animation, withKSM GMBH for German-speaking Europe.
“These latest deals in several key territories confirms the increasing popularity of the ‘Dinosaur King’ franchise,” said Lacey.
In the U.S., Dinosaur King airs Saturday mornings on TheCW4Kids, where it has earned strong ratings in the Kids 6-11 demo since its September 2007 premiere. Overseas, the series’ growing lineup includes RTE (Ireland), Animax (Central & Eastern Europe) and MNET (South Africa), among others.
Dinosaur King (75 x 30 min) chronicles the adventures of Max, Rex and Zoe, known as the “D Team,” who race around the world to uncover secrets that bring dinosaurs back to life. The biggest challenge for the three young heroes in this unforgettable global race is to find all the dinosaur cards before the nefarious Alpha Gang. Set in the present time, Max, Rex and Zoe are able to transport themselves anywhere in the world to hunt down the coveted cards that have been lost by the time-traveling Dr. Z and his bumbling team of bad guys.
About 4Kids Entertainment
With U.S. headquarters in New York City, regional offices for its trading card business in San Diego, California and international offices in London, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE) is a global organization devoted to the creation, development, production, broadcasting, distribution, licensing and manufacturing of children’s entertainment products.
Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, 4Kids produces animated television series and films, distributes 4Kids’ produced or licensed animated television series for the domestic and international television and home video markets, licenses merchandising rights worldwide to 4Kids’ owned or represented properties, and operates Web sites to support 4Kids’ owned or represented properties. Through its majority owned trading card company and website company, 4Kids produces and markets collectible trading card games. Additionally, the Company programs and sells the national advertising time in “TheCW4Kids,” the five-hour Saturday morning children’s block which airs nationally on The CW Television Network.
Additional information is available on the www.4kidsentertainment.com corporate web site and at the www.4kids.tv game station site.
The information contained in this press release, other than historical information, consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Important factors beyond the Company's control, including general economic conditions, consumer spending levels, competition from toy companies, motion picture studios and other licensing companies, the uncertainty of public response to the Company's properties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations.
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CONTACT: 4Kids Entertainment
Barry Stagg
(646) 822-4257