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Saban Brands

From Alfawiki
Saban Brands
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryBrand management, Production
PredecessorSaban Entertainment (later BVS Entertainment)
FoundedMay 12, 2010; 16 years ago (2010-05-12) in Los Angeles, California, United States
FounderHaim Saban
DefunctJuly 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)
FateDissolved after sale of assets to Hasbro
SuccessorHasbro (for most entertainment assets)
Headquarters
Los Angeles
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Elie Dekel (leader at founding)
ProductsPower Rangers, Digimon, Popples, Julius Jr., Luna Petunia, Treehouse Detectives, and others
OwnerSaban Capital Group
Number of employees
60 (peak), 9 (at closure) (2018)
ParentSaban Capital Group

Saban Brands functioned as an American brand management and production company, operating as a subsidiary under Saban Capital Group and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Established by Israeli-American media entrepreneur Haim Saban, it served as the successor to Saban Entertainment (which was later known as BVS Entertainment) and remained active from 12 May 2010 until 2 July 2018.

Establishment and Growth

On 5 May 2010, Saban Capital Group unveiled Saban Brands to replace BVS Entertainment, backed by a $500 million capital infusion and led by Elie Dekel, formerly a licensing executive at 20th Century Studios. Shortly thereafter, on 12 May 2010, Saban Brands reacquired the Power Rangers franchise from the Walt Disney Company for $43 million. This acquisition led to the production of the franchise’s 19th season, which premiered on Nickelodeon in February 2011, while earlier episodes were rebroadcast on Nicktoons. The company expanded its portfolio by purchasing additional brands such as Paul Frank Industries on 17 August 2010.

In May 2012, Kidsco Media Ventures LLC, an affiliate of Saban Capital Group, submitted a $10 million bid for assets from the bankrupt 4Kids Entertainment, including U.S. rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! and The CW4Kids programming block. After competing with Konami’s subsidiary in the bidding process, the assets were split: Konami acquired Yu-Gi-Oh!, whereas Kidsco obtained other properties along with associated broadcast agreements.

On 2 July 2012, Saban Brands introduced the Vortexx programming block on The CW via Kidsco Media Ventures; this block remained on air until September 2014. In June 2012, the company revived the Popples brand and proceeded to acquire mobile game developer The Playforge in August of that year. However, due to unsatisfactory sales performance, The Playforge was closed in October 2013. Later in 2013, Saban Brands also purchased Zui, a provider of online children’s content.

By 25 September 2012, Saban Brands had regained ownership of the Digimon franchise along with its latest installment Digimon Fusion, maintaining licensing and distribution agreements with Toei Animation in Asia and MarVista Entertainment for other regions. In July 2013, they secured distribution rights for Sendokai Champions across North America and Israel, which aired on Vortexx.

In May 2014, Saban Brands collaborated with Lionsgate Films to revitalize the Power Rangers movie series. That August saw the sale of KidZui to LeapFrog Enterprises. Expanding its presence in lifestyle segments, Saban Brands established two divisions—Lifestyle Group and Entertainment Group—after acquiring Macbeth Footwear. The Lifestyle Group further broadened its portfolio by acquiring surfwear labels Mambo Graphics in January 2014 and Piping Hot in March 2015.

Additionally, Saban Brands developed animated television series based on its intellectual properties: Kibaoh Klashers, which was condensed from 52 episodes to 30 episodes, and Treehouse Detectives. Both series were acquired by Netflix in October 2016.

Asset Divestiture and Company Dissolution

On 15 February 2018, Saban Brands named Hasbro as the worldwide master toy licensee for Power Rangers, granting Hasbro an option to acquire the franchise outright. Subsequently, on 1 May 2018, Saban reached an agreement to sell Power Rangers alongside various entertainment assets to Hasbro for $522 million in cash and stock; this transaction was finalized during Q2 of that year. Included in this acquisition were properties such as My Pet Monster, Popples, Julius Jr., Luna Petunia, Treehouse Detectives, as well as Saban Brands’ content libraries—excluding titles like Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty and others previously divested. Licenses for Digimon and Pretty Cure were transferred to Hasbro but subsequently expired, reverting control back to Toei Animation Inc. and Toei Animation Europe respectively. Following this sale, only nine out of sixty employees remained at SCG, leading to the cessation of Saban Brands’ operations on 2 July 2018.

Libraries

Titles now owned by Hasbro via Hasbro Entertainment:

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