Controlling the Narrative

For years now, toy companies have been launching or acquiring entertainment and gaming studios, in the hopes that bringing these businesses in-house will strengthen their ability to control their all-important forays into TV, film, and interactive gaming productions based on their proprietary brands. There has been some news on this front since the start of 2022:

• This month, MGA Entertainment, known for L.O.L. Surprise! and other toy properties, founded an independent subsidiary, MGA Studios, with $500 million in funding. One of MGA Studios’ first moves was to acquire Pixel Zoo Animation, a digital animation studio based in Australia. Pixel Zoo has an existing relationship with MGA, having developed entertainment productions for L.O.L. Surprise!, Rainbow High, Mermaze Mermaidz, and other MGA brands.

• Hasbro is taking a different direction and is in the process of divesting its entertainment businesses. That includes eOne Entertainment, which it purchased just three years earlier and put up for sale last week. The company noted the sale would only include operations that do not support its branded entertainment strategy, meaning that Hasbro will likely keep eOne’s Peppa Pig and PJ Masks brands. Earlier this month, it sold Boulder Media, an animation house in Ireland, to Australia’s Princess Pictures. Hasbro had told investors in August that it was considering restructuring or selling its entertainment assets, and has stressed that these sales would not impact its ability to develop and produce entertainment based on its IP. It is keeping its interactive gaming operations, which have outperformed other parts of its business of late.

• Spin Master strengthened its position in gaming by purchasing Swedish gaming developer Nørdlight in August. It has had a minority investment in the company, which continues to operate independently, since last October. Spin Master expects to ultimately see 20% of its revenue come from gaming. It acquired sibling studios Toca Boca and Sago Mini in 2016.

• Early in the year, Just Play announced that it was launching a new entertainment content division to focus on the creation of original IP to be established through entertainment and gaming. Stone Newman, ex-pocket.watch and Genius Brands, was named to lead the division as Chief Content Officer.

Conversely, entertainment studio and brand owner ZAG Entertainment, which oversees the Miraculous franchise, launched a global toy division, announced in August. The toy operation expands the company’s ZAG Play unit, which also includes licensing and merchandising, promotions, and gaming divisions.

RaugustReports will not publish this coming Thursday, November 24, 2022, to mark Thanksgiving in the U.S. We’ll be back to our Monday and Thursday publishing schedule after the holiday.