Basic Fun! Acquires Playhut
Basic Fun! has purchased all assets for Playhut, Inc.
Founded in 1982, Playhut has introduced many innovative products that aim to enhance imaginative and educational play. The company’s EZ Twist design system revolutionized indoor and outdoor play by allowing for instant setup and convenient foldaway storage of lightweight popup environments including playhouses, tents, tunnels and games.
Basic Fun! has made the acquisition and rehabilitation of classic and iconic toy brands, including its namesake Basic Fun, Uncle Milton, K’NEX and now Playhut, part of its business model. The company is in the midst of a robust growth strategy designed to build scale and sustainability through organic growth and acquisition.
Channel Frederator Network Creates $1 Million Creative Fund
Channel Frederator Network has dedicated a $1 million creative fund for its network members. The fund will act as a resource for members to use for producing new projects. All Channel Frederator Network members will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas for a portion of the funding.
Channel Frederator Network is an animation, art, gaming, and entertainment-focused multi-channel network with more than 3,000 members. Since starting in 2015, the network has amassed more than 140 million subscribers on YouTube with an average of 2.5 billion views per month. Channel Frederator Network members include 5 Minute Crafts, CircleToonsHD, Jaiden Animations, Domics, ChaoticCanineCulture, The Kindergarten, The Roundtable, Saberspark, Piemations, and more.
Applications are open now. Members will be invited to pitch their projects with details about what they are planning on producing and how much funding they are seeking.
Members of the network receive 360-degree protection for video, images, sound effects & music with our libraries of royalty free assets. The network provides affiliate opportunities & sponsorships, tools & platforms to help members succeed on YouTube, opportunities for gaming and animation platform discounts, Patreon and marketing/merch account management, the option to pitch a cartoon to Frederator, and much more.
Scholastic to Launch All-New Clifford with Television Series, Publishing Program
Clifford The Big Red Dog is back with a new animated television series and an expansive global licensing program, full-scale publishing initiative and a hybrid live-action movie in the works at Paramount Pictures.
The new Clifford The Big Red Dog television series is produced by Scholastic Entertainment, the media division of Scholastic, and will feature thirty-nine 22-minute episodes showcasing new adventures, new characters, and new locations on Birdwell Island. Along with a new artistic style, the series will incorporate a curriculum focused on imaginative play, early literacy, and social-emotional skills to helps reinforce important developmental concepts. Clifford and Emily Elizabeth will even be able to speak to each other for the first time.
The show is set to premiere in the U.S. on Amazon Prime Video and PBS KIDS in fall 2019. The first 13 episodes available will be available for international broadcast beginning January 2020. 100 Chickens and 9 Story/Brown Bag Films are on board to help bring this great big series to life.
A collection of books inspired by the new animated series will also support the launch next year including a book about swimming in May, a back-to-school-themed title in July, and a “Welcome to Birdwell Island” book timed to the debut of the show, which will introduce the full cast of the series and their world. Additional books inspired by the TV series will follow, along with a new edition of the original Clifford book.