Home Entertainment
July 28, 2004
Warner Home Video And DIC Entertainment Enter Exclusive Home Entertainment Distribution Agreement For Trollz, The All-New “Tween” Entertainment And Lifestyle Brand
(July 28, 2004 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Home Video Inc. (WHV) and DIC Entertainment (DIC), a leading, independent children’s entertainment company, have entered into a home video distribution agreement for the company’s Trollz property. The announcement was made jointly today by Jim Cardwell, President, Warner Home Video and Andy Heyward, Chairman and CEO, DIC Entertainment.
Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, WHV will exclusively distribute nine Trollz home video and DVD made-for-videos beginning in fourth quarter, 2005. DIC acquired this year the worldwide entertainment and licensing rights to the classic, spiky- haired Troll character, a brand with a 50-year-old heritage from the Troll Company. The extension of Trollz onto television and video are part of DIC’s “360 Degree” approach for brand development of the property, which also encompasses an interactive, persistent web community, extensive consumer product categories, games, music and vigorous pre-teen targeted marketing campaign. DIC, along with its partners will simultaneously rollout all major merchandise categories in the US to coincide with 2005 “back-to-school.”
Regarding the announcement, Cardwell said, “DIC Entertainment is one of the most powerful brands in children’s entertainment today and is responsible for some of the most successful properties and long-running animated programs recognized and respected around the world. It is an honor to be associated with this organization and its programming and we are thrilled to be part of this exciting venture.”
He added, “For decades, generations of families across the world have known the beloved Troll character and we think DIC is doing a tremendous job building and contemporizing this classic property to today’s “tween” girl. We certainly believe Trollz will be one of the hottest properties for girl consumers in 2005.”
Heyward states, “We are thrilled to have Warner Home Video, one of the most respected home entertainment distributors in the business, join our team of top-tiered partners, including Hasbro for toys, Scholastic for publishing and Mamiye for apparel, to launch Trollz next year. Jim and his team immediately understood our vision for this unique property, and with their phenomenal track record, we have no doubt that Trollz will become and remain one of the top “tween” brands for years to come.”
He added, “DIC and WHV will collaborate to develop a unique home entertainment program for the property, including innovative content and technology supported by a fully-integrated marketing and promotional campaign.”
Trollz is the all-new, highly-anticipated entertainment and lifestyle brand for “tweens,” scheduled to debut in the US in 2005 which will merge teenage lifestyle, technology and magic to create a unique property for “tweens” that is cool, empowering and inspirational. The world of Trollz reflects today’s young teens – the trials and tribulations of teenage friendships and everyday life; and dealing with such issues as popularity, love, loyalty, identity and integrity. While they have real teen issues, they are also interested in fashion, hair, shopping malls, “spell phones,” magic, parties and all the fun that goes with being a teen.
DIC Entertainment, a leading children’s entertainment company, is a full-service studio dedicated to creating, developing, producing, distributing, marketing and merchandising family-based intellectual properties. DIC has distinguished itself by building one of the largest libraries of U.S. animation with more than 3,000 half-hours of renowned programming, including Inspector Gadget™, Strawberry Shortcake™, Knights of the Zodiac™, Sabrina ™, Madeline™, Liberty’s Kids™, Stan Lee’s Phantom 5™, Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?™, Sonic The Hedgehog™, Super Mario Bros™ and Super Duper Sumos™. In September 2003, DIC launched the DIC Kid’s Network, a unique syndicated programming block designed to meet core FCC requirements and the only network for kids that reaches effectively 100% of U.S. households on over 400 stations, airing in every Designated Market Area across the country. As a pre-eminent supplier of kid’s programming worldwide, DIC has developed strategic partnerships with key domestic and international broadcast partners throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Australia. DIC is headquartered in Burbank, California with international offices in New York, Paris, London and Cologne.
With operations in 89 international territories Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment. Warner Home Video also represents such leading kid entertainment properties such as Scooby-Doo, Looney Tunes and DC Comics Kids.# # #