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Huge News: Nickelodeon Acquires Global Rights to the TMNT
From Toonzone:
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http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/10/...ndred-million/
I was about to post this, wow, I never thought Laird would sell his baby, I mean why would he. I have mixed opinions about this, definitely some good news as well as bad. I guess people are going to be mostly negative since we'll never see the turtles in really dark representation at least on TV/Movie, but that was never going to happen anyway. Kinda sad news though that its now owned by a big corporation. edit: nevermind, the original poster at neogaf worded his title and post as Nickelodeon BUYS TMNT as well as the article I linked, but it seems they just acquired the rights, so in this case I'm all for it, this is great news, nothing bad about it. 4Kids did a great job but I don't think they would have done anything else with the property of that type anymore and would only get more dumb down versions. Now we'll trully get a new take for the new CGi show. Funny I was going to make a thread for a new CGi tv show for a few months now but never quite posted it |
I'm stunned...
===HERO |
Nickelodeon Aquires TMNT
Well, not the license but the entire property...
NICKELODEON ACQUIRES GLOBAL RIGHTS TO TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Nickelodeon to Develop New CG-Animated Television Series and Paramount Pictures to Develop Feature Film of Renowned Global Property NEW YORK—Oct. 21, 2009—Furthering its mission to provide premium content to its audiences, Nickelodeon—part of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B)—has acquired the global rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from The Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE). The acquisition provides Nickelodeon, the world’s number-one entertainment brand for kids, global intellectual property rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the hit television, film and video game property that has delighted kids around the world for the last 25 years. The aggregate purchase price for the transactions is approximately $60 million. Nickelodeon also announced plans to develop a new CG-animated television series based on the popular superhero franchise, anticipated to premiere in 2012. Additionally, in partnership with Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, a new release of a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film is also planned for 2012. Nickelodeon has also acquired all merchandising rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and will continue to work with its original and long-standing toy partner, Playmates Toys, which has been the creative force behind the successful TMNT master toy program over the last two decades. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shares a comedic sensibility with the Nickelodeon DNA, with added layers of action and fantasy that have kept this property an evergreen favorite with multiple generations of audiences,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. “We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property and creatively re-introduce it to a new generation of kids.” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a property that maintains a very passionate global fan base, is rich with opportunity for a tentpole movie, and is exactly the right property for us to work together with Nickelodeon,” said Adam Goodman, President, Paramount Pictures. “Mirage has been the proud keeper of the Turtles’ brand since 1984, and in 2009 we celebrated their 25th anniversary with our legions of fans,” said Gary Richardson, CEO, Mirage Studios. “Nickelodeon is a powerhouse global brand, and we are confident that the company will be a wonderful steward for Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and all the other TMNT characters and take them in all kinds of exciting and new creative directions.” “We enjoyed our eight-year partnership with Mirage during which 4Kids and Mirage re-launched the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise for a new generation of kids around the world,” said Alfred Kahn, Chairman and CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. “We will also work with Mirage and Viacom so that our Turtles’ licensees can be assured of a seamless transition.” Considered one of the most popular kids’ television programs of the 1980s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a classic, global property created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It first debuted as a successful comic book series and then became a hit animated TV show, a live-action television series, and later spawned four blockbuster theatrical releases. The property also has translated into a significant consumer products business—with DVDs, video games, toys and more--that has generated billions of dollars at retail. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is based on four mutant turtles--trained in the art of Ninjitsu--who battle evil from the New York sewers. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated television series--jointly produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios—will continue to air on “TheCW4Kids” Saturday morning programming block on The CW network through Aug. 31, 2010. About Nickelodeon Nickelodeon, now in its 30th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 15 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visithttp://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B). About Mirage Studios The Mirage Group is a group of companies, including Mirage Studios, Inc., located in Northampton, Massachusetts, that owned and managed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property from its creation in 1984 through 2009. About 4Kids Entertainment Master licensing agent for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE), is a global organization devoted to the creation, development, production, broadcasting, licensing and manufacturing of children’s entertainment products, with U.S. headquarters in New York City, regional offices for its trading card business in San Diego, California, and international offices in London and Hong Kong. Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectations concerning future results, objectives, plans and goals, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: the worsening of current economic conditions generally, and in advertising and retail markets in particular; the public acceptance of the Company’s programs, motion pictures and games on the various platforms on which they are distributed; competition for audiences and distribution; technological developments and their effect in the Company’s markets and on consumer behavior; fluctuations in the Company’s results due to the timing, mix and availability of the Company’s motion pictures and games; changes in the Federal communications laws and regulations; the impact of piracy; other domestic and global economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting the Company’s businesses generally; and other factors described in the Company’s news releases and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document, and the Company does not have any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. |
And before people start complaining about Nick, they are the ones responsibles of making one of the greatest cartoons/universes of all time.
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ean/avatar.jpg I'm confused, they acquired the entire property or just the license? I posted my opinions on the general board thread. http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/sho...ewpost&t=28730 Thanks for your time btw TMNT4Kids, if you could ever post about your experience with working on TMNT now that 4Kids doesn't have the license maybe you can share a few stories, but maybe not since you do still work for them. |
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As I understand it, the announced/completed Tales will still be released in 2010, but then that'll be it for Mirage. |
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They bought the entire property from Mirage/4Kids. |
After reading it again this is what I understand, They didn't acquire Mirage or TMNT, Meaning Mirage still owns TMNT and it's characters but Nick owns the merchandising and branding rights.
When Disney bought Marvel it outright said they bought Marvel and all its characters which it does not mention here |
Yes, Nickelodeon owns it outright. Mirage and 4Kids will not be working with the TMNT property in the future.
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Trust me. Nick owns it all.
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Oh alright, it wasn't just you some links also refer to Nick getting the license while other sources actually said "bought" so I was confused.
Thanks for clearing things up. |
Wowow, this is some news indeed. Will these mean that Nick could release BttS and Turtles Forever on DVD. I mean is Nick also the distributor Mirage was looking for all this time??
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I have mixed opinions, for one we might never see a cartoon like the 2k3 show, but who knows Avatar is one of the best shows made, I prefer it over the 2k3 show. It also means we'll never see a "comic roots" adaptation. But then again, that was mostly the fans expecting something that was NEVER going to happen anyways if Mirage owned TMNT.
Anyways the only thing Nick doesn't own is the original toon since I believe Fred Wolf films does. |
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That being said the future state of the books aren't looking to good now regardless. The downside to a company like this owning the franchise is once the money isn't anywhere close to their liking, the TMNT are dead. With Laird he even admitted he was continuing on with the series for the fans. |
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:evilgrin::evilgrin::evilgrin::evilgrin::evilgrin: edit*** I wonder if we can get the OT on Nick at Nite :-P |
So TMNT4Kids, does this mean we will never see a distribution deal to get Turtles Forever and the rest of the season sets out on DVD?
Or can Nick actually help you guys in getting the rest of the show and the movie on DVD? Thanks for any insite... I honestly didn't see something like this coming. EDIT: Actually, can you also clarify that the Turtles Forever movie will still air on TV next month? |
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Fans of the comic book aren't that many, the sales of V.4 and tales account to that, not to mention comic books is a dying medium even the big two Marvel/DC don't sell that many comics.
And no this good news in the longevity of the franchise, theres no way Viacom is going to go down, and they didn't just buy the property to sit on it. Mirage could have easily gone bankrupt while not so much for Viacom. Also we didn't know when the series would get a new tv show or anything, now we're getting one in 2012. I know someone like Roseangelo will say this is the death of the franchise but they have been "hating" on pretty much whatever TMNT related is not up to their personal expectations. This deal has pros and cons and it is not the death of the franchise, in fact TMNT could be bigger than its ever been in recent years. This is also good news for potential Venus fans ;) |
No it isnt if Mirage loses TMNT to Nick in 2012. Nick could do whatever they want, and that can turn out bad for true fans.
I love the comics and I was really happy seeying the first 4 seasons of 2K3 being so true to them, but its all a big ??? to see what Nick will do with the franchise. It could of course turn out well, but we'll just have to see. As long as Nick doesnt return Venus into the franchise I'm open to it before I start judging |
Whoa!! :o
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Who knows maybe 4kids can no longer even air TMNT as soon as the deal is over.
IMO 4kids got the best out of this, they got 10 million just for owning the license that would have expired in 2012 anyway. And 4kids was done with the franchise pretty much already and so was playmates so they wouldn't get much from merch licensing |
I'm still in shock and reeling.
On the one hand I'm mourning the loss of the B&W comics, but on the other...I'm kind of stoked about the animation potential. I mean, Nick has always been pretty progressive about their cartoons. Ren and Stimpy, Invader Zim, Avatar... If nothing else this totally explains why the "Turtles Forever" theater deal was tanked. Man, I kind of want to drive out to Mirage and buy the guys a round. |
I just think Nick is running out of ideas. Some of their shows are just one failure after another. Hopefully they don't ruin the TMNT industry as well. At least they'll get more attention from the young audience...but I hope the plot lines make sense!
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I haven't figured out how I feel about this, as I see both pros and cons. But I don't expect it to be the "death of the franchise" when Nickelodeon has proven they know what they're doing time and time again. |
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Like I said this will be great a few years down the road when the projects are out. However, not having any sort of freedoms at Mirage once this dead horse is beaten there will be nothing left. Laird would have been able to license out the series to other artists/writers/etc. on occasion and there would be some bread for the fans. It also should be noted that MTV is NOT Disney. If Disney or the Warners ended up with the franchise at a reasonable price then this would be a much better story. MTV has no track record or the long term needs for a franchise like this in all likelihood. At least with the other two they have several outlets for the franchise even when there is no significant project available. In the long run this is not good. At all. Period. |
wow, great news in being able to bring a new cartoon so quickly. 2012 is a good timetable to start a new cartoon series, without making it feel rushed and incomplete.
But am I reading this? Viacom is purchasing full turtles rights? so they bought them from mirage? They aren't business partners? please answer my question if you are legally able to, tmnt4kids! (thanks if you can) hopefully, they pick a good video game company to make some new games too. and hopefully they have rights to use characters from any universe since I'm guessing that Mirage is sold in complete...I just wanted to say Happy Retirement Peter Laird, thanks for co-creating one of my favorite things in life! |
I'm just shocked.. my initial reaction was a big grin but then my brain woke up.. too.. many... pros...cons..tooo......
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What the? This is so sudden! Where does this leave Mirage? Does Nickelodeon own the comic now?
I'm confused. This probably destroys any chance of having a more mature TMNT TV/movie incarnation. |
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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated television series--jointly produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios—will continue to air on “TheCW4Kids” Saturday morning programming block on The CW network through Aug. 31, 2010. -mm |
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Also WTH there's more than one thread for this topic. |
Although I've enjoyed numerous Nickelodeon cartoons throughout the years I cant really say I love any of them, with the exception of Avatar. The new cartoon being CG instead of 2d doesn't really sit well with me either, even though I'm well aware animation quality doesn't reflect writing quality. While it may end up being a good cartoon, I seriously doubt it will blow me away like 2k3 did.
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I am both delighted and sad. On the one hand, we'll be getting another new take on the TMNT; but on the other hand, Volume 4 really probably won't get finished now. Although... Maybe Laird will actually have the time to finish it now so long as he's still allowed to.
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I don't even know what to say right now...but I'll try and articulate my current feelings as best as possible.
Mirage has been probably the biggest single inspirational story for me as an illustrator. Like all of us, I've grown up a TMNT fan. Over the last few years though when I truly think about the significance of Peter and Kevin's success it has been so inspiring to me on a personal level. Seeing Pete post all of his various illustration work (pre-TMNT) on his blog has been really eye-opening to me, to show that he didn't just strike oil and he really busted his ass before this good fortune found him, and it's something I constantly remind myself when I don't feel like things are turning out the way I want them to. When Pete bought Kevin out, I wasn't happy about it because it was like splitting up the dynamic-duo in my eyes. These were the combination of people that made the magic of TMNT occur and without them it would no longer thrive, but low and behold Peter did a pretty good job keeping things afloat. I'd be lying if I said I agreed with all the decisions made since 2003, but the bottom line is he kept the franchise alive that we all know and love. He was loyal to his friends/fellow Mirage employees and made this a worthwhile franchise to continue following. ...but now the sale. I can't say I'm feeling great about this at the moment. The reason being because even if you didn't always agree with the direction things went as far as toy/comic/cartoon/etc. The one positive thing you could always say was that they were still owned and maintained independently by one of the people that created them, and as such you knew the property was cared for and that the current incarnation was simply a continued labor of love for the fans sake. It's hard for me to believe the TMNT that I've sort of always viewed as the "little engine that could", is now owned by a corporate juggernaut. There are most certainly pros and cons. Off the top of my head the biggest pro is that we will see a resurgence of some kind sooner than later, because Viacom would not have spent the money I'm sure they did, if they didn't want results, they aren't just going to sit on this. The cons of which I'm thinking there are many more of at the moment...are that this may have likely just unemployed the Mirage staff (which personally makes me sick to my stomach, because I've really come to know and on some level become friends with them). Also I think that this will likely just be a case of obtaining a popular franchise to add to their portfolio and not necessarily loved and cared for the same way it would have been in the hands of Mirage, the only thing that will make it falsely appear as though they do is because we'll see larger results due to their financial backing that Mirage didn't possess. Lastly I don't foresee this lasting more than a few years before they take them to obscurity again as Nick properties don't tend to have more than 5 year shelf lives, unless they are crazy successful ala Spongebob. Oh and one last thing...good bye chances at PG-13 movie, I barely knew you. This has been some 25th anniversary! |
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http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/794...tonicktmnt.jpg I tried to make something quick with a couple characters from Nick I've always liked... :evilgrin::evilgrin: -mm edit*** sorry it was Doug's Quail Man that did the underpants outside of his clothes... |
wow does that mean the new show is over :P
Does this mean mirage and laird have nothing to do with tmnt from this point on and its not like how 4kids just got to show the show but they have full creative control compared to how it is now? |
so this means no new season. I really hope 2k3 gets a good sendoff- Blogs, stickers...cuz after august 2010-im dont with 4kids:cry:
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The only aspect of the TMNT I find endearing anymore or care about is the comics, and it sounds like those were dead anyway by the middle of next year.
Though what bothers me is that now, even if, say, Peter or guys at Mirage wanted to one day publish some random special or mini... now they have to ask a little kids company their permission. So yes. A little bit disappointing that Peter bought out Kevin only to... sell the whole thing off to a big corporation. But we'll see what happens. |
mmh one quick question:
CG animated: Does that mean its gonna be completly Computer generatat ala Beast Wars & Beast Machines or will there be still some traditional 2D animation? |
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