marblemedia Announces Licensing Agent The Licensing Shop To Represent Its Newest Series Japanizi: Going, Going, Gong!
June 17, 2013 (Toronto, ON) – Now in its 12th year of developing and creating award-winning content for global audiences, marblemedia today announced it is partnering with the boutique licensing agency The Licensing Shop Inc. (TLS) to expand its newest television series Japanizi: Going, Going, Gong! into a line of consumer products that will be available in North America.
Representing many of Hollywood’s most exciting entertainment brands TLS, led by industry veterans’ Steve Fowler and Nancy Fowler, will be responsible for securing licensees in key categories including toys, board games, publishing, video games and apparel.
“When Japanizi: Going, Going, Gong! launches on YTV and Disney XD this fall, our goal is to provide fans a 360 experience through the television series, online games, a second screen app and now consumer products,” said Mark Bishop, Co-CEO and Executive Producer. “We are looking forward to working with The Licensing Shop’s wealth of experience and are confident that our brand will compliment other existing products in today’s marketplace.”
TLS’ President Steve Fowler added: “We have wanted to work with marblemedia for many years as we have admired their high standards of creativity and production quality. Japanizi: Going, Going, Gong! is such a fun game format with a fantastic crazy cast and colourful environment. We are looking forward to helping translate this property into a successful merchandise program.”
Currently in production, all episodes are shot in front of a live studio audience on a colourful set filled with conveyor belts and Velcro walls. Japanizi: Going, Going, Gong! features three elimination rounds to present one final winner in each episode. Every half-hour will feature four teams of two contestants who are dropped into an unfamiliar Japanese world filled with crazy costumes, physical gags, over-the-top stunts and energetic characters such as host Yoshi, judge Masa, Shinobi and four ninjas.
An adaptation of the popular series I Survived a Japanese Game Show -- which was created by David Sidebotham with formatting rights licensed by Small World IFT -- this chaotic and zany game show will make its world premiere this fall on YTV (Canada) and on Disney XD in the United States. It will launch on VRAK TV in French Canada in 2014.
Disney Channels in Europe, Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia Pacific, including Australia, India and South East Asian territories will launch the series in 2014 through an agreement with Distribution360, a marblemedia company.
Distribution360 is a forward-thinking distribution company that focuses on traditional media sales, while actively pursuing growth in the digital space. Its mandate is the full monetization of television and interactive content on traditional and emerging platforms worldwide, with a focus on kids, drama and factual programming. www.distribution360.com
marblemedia develops, produces and distributes engaging multiplatform entertainment experiences for audiences around the world. Named Transmedia Producer of the Year (2011) by Playback, marble has won two Gemini Awards, been nominated for an Emmy® Award and was identified as a Next Generation Content Producer (2009) by The Hollywood Reporter. The company owns a 50-acre production ranch and operates a Toronto-based studio, home to 50 staff. With nearly 200 hours of programming distributed in more than 200 territories, notable projects include the award-winning hit preschool series This is Daniel Cook and This is Emily Yeung; the award-winning series Taste Buds; Skatoony, North America’s first animated/live-action quiz show; the animated comedy Dating Guy; the teen competition series The Adrenaline Project; the physical game show Splatalot; What’s in a Name, a discovery of the history behind popular household names; and the first multiplatform series in American Sign Language, deafplanet.com. The company was co-founded by Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg in 2001. Experience marblemedia at www.marblemedia.com.
About The Licensing Shop Inc. The Licensing Shop, Inc. (TLS) is a brand licensing agency specializing in the strategic development of consumer products based on multi-platform entertainment programs, celebrities and fashion brands. The company’s expertise focuses on extending brands into licensed poducts, creating new revenue streams for its clients in addition to the incremental marketing benefits of reaching new consumers. TLS is owned and managed by industry veterans Steve and Nancy Fowler. Steve is formerly the President of 3D0 Europe and Nancy is formerly the Vice President of Worldwide Licensing for Viacom Consumer Products and President of DIC Entertainment Consumer Products Division. www.thelicensingshop.com
For more information, please contact:
Molly Ray | Manager of Communications, marblemedia | 416.646.2711 ext. 232 | molly@marblemedia.com