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Nickelodeon Acquires Global Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Rights

Source:Nickelodeon

October 21, 2009

Nickelodeon has acquired global rights to the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" brand from Mirage Studios and will develop a new CG-animated TV series, while Paramount Pictures is developing a new feature film for a 2012 release. The full press release:

Furthering its mission to provide premium content to its audiences, Nickelodeon--part of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc.--has acquired the global rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from The Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. The acquisition provides Nickelodeon, the world's number-one entertainment brand for kids, global intellectual property rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the hit television, film and video game property that has delighted kids around the world for the last 25 years. The aggregate purchase price for the transactions is approximately $60 million.

Nickelodeon also announced plans to develop a new CG-animated television series based on the popular superhero franchise, anticipated to premiere in 2012. Additionally, in partnership with Viacom's Paramount Pictures, a new release of a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film is also planned for 2012. Nickelodeon has also acquired all merchandising rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and will continue to work with its original and long-standing toy partner, Playmates Toys, which has been the creative force behind the successful TMNT master toy program over the last two decades.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shares a comedic sensibility with the Nickelodeon DNA, with added layers of action and fantasy that have kept this property an evergreen favorite with multiple generations of audiences," said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. "We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property and creatively re-introduce it to a new generation of kids."

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a property that maintains a very passionate global fan base, is rich with opportunity for a tentpole movie, and is exactly the right property for us to work together with Nickelodeon," said Adam Goodman, President, Paramount Pictures.

"Mirage has been the proud keeper of the Turtles' brand since 1984, and in 2009 we celebrated their 25th anniversary with our legions of fans," said Gary Richardson, CEO, Mirage Studios. "Nickelodeon is a powerhouse global brand, and we are confident that the company will be a wonderful steward for Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and all the other TMNT characters and take them in all kinds of exciting and new creative directions."

"We enjoyed our eight-year partnership with Mirage during which 4Kids and Mirage re-launched the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise for a new generation of kids around the world," said Alfred Kahn, Chairman and CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. "We will also work with Mirage and Viacom so that our Turtles' licensees can be assured of a seamless transition."

Considered one of the most popular kids' television programs of the 1980s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a classic, global property created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It first debuted as a successful comic book series and then became a hit animated TV show, a live-action television series, and later spawned four blockbuster theatrical releases. The property also has translated into a significant consumer products business--with DVDs, video games, toys and more--that has generated billions of dollars at retail.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is based on four mutant turtles--trained in the art of Ninjitsu--who battle evil from the New York sewers. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated television series--jointly produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios--will continue to air on "TheCW4Kids" Saturday morning programming block on The CW network through Aug. 31, 2010.

From ComingSoon.net

The Comic-Con Friday, July 24 Schedule!
New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Coming!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Fusco Penning New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Martial Arts Experts Casting Call for Live-Action TMNT Movie

Other Movie Sites

The Comic-Con Friday, July 24 Schedule!
Ninja Turtles Live at Nickelodeon; New Series and Film in 2012
Fusco Penning New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Martial Arts Experts Casting Call for Live-Action TMNT Movie
New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Coming!

COMMENTS (17)

Posted by:

C'MON

October 21, 2009

WHAAAAAAAAAT!!?

Posted by:

drake

October 21, 2009

I really liked the CG TMNT movie that came out recently. Hope its something like that. While the live action ones were fun, I don't think it would be a good route to go IMHO.

and fi.... nah.

Posted by:

Roger, Roger

October 21, 2009

So much for the dark and gritty TMNT film we were all hoping for. We all knew that a new film was in early preproduction stages....but this is not the news I was looking forward to.

Posted by:

Keath

October 21, 2009

I don't so much mind the release date as the fact that Nickelodeon is going to screw this up like they do all their movies.

Posted by:

Yeowza!

October 21, 2009

NOOOOOO!!!! The gritty TMNT is DEAD!!!
Get ready for lame jokes, bad costumes, childish choreography, and turtles that only kick you... even though they're holding weapons!
2012 is going to be the year of the SUCK!!!

Posted by:

Orton7

October 21, 2009

What the hey happened to the grittiness that my childhood was? Marvel and Power Rangers which used to air on Fox, now properties of Disney. I relaize that I am a bit old to still be a PR fan, I'm not, but I'm still a fan of the Mighty Morphin' era. And now, TMNT is part of Paramount's Nickelodeon division.

Take me behind the barn and just do me in, PLEASE!!

Posted by:

Return_of_the_Killer_Tomato

October 21, 2009

Do you people actually watch Nickelodeon? Wolverine and the X-Men and Avatar: The Last Airbender are 2 of their staples, and neither one of those is in the least bit reduced to lameness, kiddiness or poop jokes...I mean those shows are both deep and involved...and the CG animated series on that channel are well done and some are freakin hilarious (Penguins of Madagascar for example), so I really don't think that's a bad move. I mean with the slow demise of Saturday morning cartoons a show is going to need a strong cable backing and well Disney and Nickelodeon are both powerhouses in that field. So in all honesty I don't think that it's a bad move for the Turtle franchise.

And the direction they're moving with the feature (at least according to Kevin Eastman) seems to be an amalagamation of GC and live-action which I think would be an excellent blend to bring the Turtle Universe to life anew on the big screen (maybe go the Where the Wild Things Are route, with costumes actors and CG faces)...

Posted by:

Colbert

October 21, 2009

Yeowza, too too true. Gotta love the unnecessary kicking while holding weapons. Killer Tomato, what kind of a question is, "Do you people actually watch Nickelodeon?" I'm assuming this isn't a message board full of 8 year olds, so that's kind of an odd query...

Posted by:

Poetic

October 21, 2009

thats friggen rediculous absolutly dumb. But yet we'll see whats up with that.

Posted by:

Return_of_the_Killer_Tomato

October 21, 2009

@colbert

Not actually, it's not that odd a query at all, I mean most of the people who comment on this website are prone to go off on tirades about comic books (and their respective movies), or were raising heck when they found out that M. Night Shymalan was doing the Last Airbender and saying how great the show was and all that stuff. If you put into perspective, I'll say at least 70% of the posters here, it's not that far of a stretch to assume that people do in fact frequent channels steeped in cartoons. It's essentially taking in a very common stereotype and alotting it to the general population who often frequent sites such as the Craveonline sites or the Mania sites or what have you. It's a gross generalization...maybe not accurate...but from an outside perspective completely believable.

By the way, not trying to start an argument or anything, and honestly if I offend in any form or fashion I do apologize.