Here is an excerpt from their latest announcement. I have to assume KIDE made a significant profit from this.
The animated phenomenon "Pokemon" will join Kids' WB!'s Saturday morning line-up with twelve brand new episodes of the hit half-hour series beginning February 1999. Then, in Fall 1999, the series will expand to six days a week adding Monday through Friday afternoon airings to the continuing Saturday morning broadcasts with an additional all-new 52 episodes, it was announced today by Al Kahn,
Chairman and CEO 4Kids Entertainment, Inc., Jean MacCurdy, President, Warner Bros. Television Animation and Susanne Daniels, President, Entertainment, The WB Television Network and head of Kids' WB! Warner Bros. Television Animation has acquired the rights to the series from 4Kids Entertainment, which distributes the show that is based on the extremely popular Game Boy game of the same name from Nintendo of America. Kids' WB! has in turn licensed the series from its sister division, Warner Bros. Television Animation, for shared broadcast rights until Fall 1999, at which time Kids' WB! becomes the exclusive television home for the "Pokemon" franchise.
While the series completes its first season in first-run syndication, Kids' WB! will premiere the twelve all-new episodes of "Pokemon" beginning in February 1999. Following the Kids' WB! debut, the twelve episodes will join the "Pokemon" syndication package of 52 episodes for the completion of the 1998-1999 season. Then, in Fall 1999, "Pokemon" will join the Kids' WB! line-up exclusively with 52 all-new episodes to air Monday through Saturday. |
