Konami to Buy 4Kids’ Yu-Gi-Oh! Business, Saban to Buy 4Kids’ CW Programming Block

June 16, 2012 at 3:25 am | Posted in 4Kids, Other Stuff | 3 Comments
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Joey calling out Kaiba in episode 66
The face that 4Kids, Konami, and Saban’s execs will make upon inking their deals

Early details from 4Kids Entertainment’s “alternative transaction” with Konami-backed 4K Acquisition and Saban-backed Kidsco Media Ventures have surfaced, revealing that Konami is seeking to assume the entirety of 4Kids’ Yu-Gi-Oh! business, while Saban is looking to pick up 4Kids’ Saturday morning programming block on The CW. Shocking, I know.

For Konami, which already manages the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game and Yu-Gi-Oh! video games, adding 4Kids’ Yu-Gi-Oh! License to its arsenal will just be another step for the company to strengthen the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand. The fact that it will no longer need to pay royalties to 4Kids is also a plus, of course.

Konami’s deal with 4Kids will include every Yu-Gi-Oh! anime property in 4Kids’ repertoire, as well as all of the domestic and international merchandising and anime licenses that 4Kids has procured for the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand over the years. Additionally, Konami will be assuming the lease to 4Kids’ Manhattan property. (4Kids’ London-based subsidiary is not included in the deal.)

For Saban, the force behind the Power Rangers franchise, landing a children’s programming block will certainly evoke memories of the mid to late 90s, when it dominated that market on Fox. Saban will no doubt take full advantage of the Saturday morning children’s programming block on The CW (one of the last blocks of its kind on broadcast television) to showcase its Power Rangers brand and draw in some healthy ad sales. Saban will also score 4Kids’ broadcast rights to Cubix, Dragon Ball Z Kai, and Sonic X in the deal.

Needless to say, the details of these transactions are still subject to change and the sale still requires approval from the court. The sale hearing is currently scheduled for June 20.

Update (June 18): The sale hearing has been pushed back yet again to Tuesday, June 26.

3 Comments »

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  1. Only thing I care about at this point is if they release 5D’s and/or Bonds Beyond Time uncut in the US on disc. The official subs for 5D’s are mostly finished already. I already imported and then ripped and burned a region free copy of the UK blu-ray release of Bonds Beyond time but I would like to have a more legit copy to play.

    Comment by Zabi— June 16, 2012 #

  2. Has this mean, Zabi, that 4Kids if finally coming to their doom?

    Comment by Marko Kovačić— June 22, 2012 #

  3. There’s no need for such dramatic, apocalyptic sentiments. 4Kids hasn’t been doing this well in a long, long time. If it wasn’t already obvious from this post, the latest information about the upcoming sale should make it crystal clear: https://ravegrl.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/4kids-sale-of-yugioh-business-cw-block-to-konami-saban-worth-15-million/

    Comment by ravegrl— June 23, 2012 #


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