ccs in north america
Phew...after literally a month of not being allowed into our site it is...finally working!!! Yes, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Here's the story, Mako was flipping through the newspaper and suddenly, something caught her eye. And if you haven't read the title at the top then do so now... Yep, that's right. I'm just going to type the article here. OK?
Aug. 13, 1999
JAPANIMATION
It's anime, NOT japanimation!!! *shudder* ^^
Canadian animator snapping at Pokemon's heels
Louise Surette
Calgary Herald
Toronto
Hoping to ride the billion-dollar frenzy of the children's phenomenon Pokemon, Canada's largest producer of children's animation has nabbed the rights to the next hot Japanese television series.
Toronto-based Nelvana Limited announced on Thursday the purchase of the North American television distribution and merchandise licensing rights to a 70-episode Japanimation series called Cardcaptor.
Geared to girls between six and eleven, Cardcaptor airs on the Japanese network NHK and features a precocious girl named Niki, animated in a similar fashion to the recently popular Sailor Moon series for girls.
If it achieves anything close to the success of Pokemon - which is expected to generate more than $2 billion in revenue in North America this year - the Cardcaptor series could top the $1.5-billion mark in 2000. That's when the trading cards, merchandise, collectibles and a TV series arrive, company officials said.
Michael Hirsh, Nelvana's co-chief executive officer, says that because of the popularity of Pokemon and the attention it has caused in the market, there was intense bidding for Cardcaptor - owned by Kodansha, a Japanese multi-media publisher.
Financial terms were not disclosed but the company said it would retain 100% of all broadcast licence fees and will act as U.S. and Canadian merchandise licensing agent for Carcaptor.
"We are hopeful that we can build it into a successful brand in North America," Hirsh says.
"It is premature to guess or estimate how big this will be but we think it has a lot of the important elements and there is a clear niche in the market place."
The Japanese sensation Pokemon, a group of 150 colourful cartoon characters each with its own name and personality and special powers is directed primarily at preteen boys. But Cardcaptor will be fore girls.
The show uses a deck of magical cards as the basis for adventures by Niki and her sidekick Kero. Licensing rights for the Pokemon series are owned by the american company, 4 Kids Entertainment, which has 90 licensing agreements with manufacturer of toys, computer games, cards and books.
Although the merchandise is relatively new in Canada, Pokemon products have topped more than $6 billion in Japanese sales.
But just because the Pokemon series has done ell doesn't necessarily mean another similar one will, says Karen Fisman, an entertainment and broadcast analyst with First Marathon Sercurities.
"If one thing works it doesn't mean the next thing that is like the first thing is going to work," she says.
"If there is a formula you are trying to copy, sometimes you are doomed for failure. They are also dealing with kids, where by one day something is hot and the next it's not."
Nelvana will have a deal with a merchandising company before choosing a US broadcast window to target, Fisman says.
"nelvana is already in discussion with toy companies because it has already been on the air in Japan and done very well.
"In conjunction with the toy company, it will then chose a network which will probably work very well for them," she says.
"But ultimately the success of merchandising will be driven by the success of the television series."
Hirsh says generally products that are promoted through a television show are more successful than generic products.
"if you have a merchandising line based on a successful television show then the characters become important to the children and they want it in their environment as a T-shirt or a toy or something like that."
That's it folks. As you can see, there have been a few changes, including the title. Kero-chan or Cerebus (I think the spelling is wrong. Gomen....) will be known as only Kero and if you also didn't notice, Sakura will be called Niki. Nice name but I think Sakura's better. Despite these obvious changes, one can expect that the relationship between Yukito and Touya, and Tomoyo's "love interest" will not be as obvious but there shouldn't be too many drastic changes. Either way, I'll be there with VCR and tape in hand, enjoying every moment of it. *grins* mwa ha ha... Chances are that it will be mutilated like Sailor Moon and many other animes but the truth is, anything is better than nothing. ^^
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