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Non-Tech : KIDE a good play to capitalize on Pokemon craze -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Susan G who wrote (812)	11/23/1999 5:56:00 PM
From: Kevin McKenzie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1239

Here's a rough transcript of the interview. I tried my best to make it accurate, but I make no promises. For Kids Entertainment Radio Wall Street interview. radiowallstreet.com Vcall received a near record number of emails requesting an interview of KIDE exec. Disclosed Vcall's relationship with KIDE. Q: Why the heavy and sudden selloff of the stock? A: Our phone system has been inundated with similar concerns. Number one, "Why is the stock down in light of all positive news?" The news from here is all very positive. Movie grossed $68 Million in first two weeks. Broke several records in first two days. As a company we are in the strongest position we have ever been in. The future looks better than ever. There is no "bad news" waiting in the wings. Another concern is that Pokemon is a fad and has peaked. First of all, in the kid's business, you never know how long a concept can stay hot or how hot it can get. What you have to look at is evidence available. Pokemon is in its forth year in Japan. Pokemon is multi-dimensional. It encompasses, a top ranked animation, a top ranked game, a popular card game, as well as toys, etc. Another piece of evidence that Pokemon is just getting started is to look at how much of the culture is influenced by Pokemon: You see political cartoons featuring Al Gore and Bill Clinton in Pokemon suits; sketches on Saturday Night Live about Pokemon; Michael Goldstein, CEO of Toys-R-Us mentioned at a recent conference that Toys-R-Us now features Pokemon trading nights as traffic builders, with phenomenal success; look at Burger Kings huge promotion. You get a sense that Pokemon is not just a toy and it isn't nearly over. Many of our larger licensees expect next year to be bigger than this year. Many of our licensees haven't even begun distributing their product. Release of Pokemon home movie video. New episodes beginning next September. Nintendo rolling out Pokemon silver and gold which will introduce over 100 new characters. International rollout (every country we've rolled out to has met with great success) Pokemon is not over. When something gets this big it doesn't disappear quickly. Q: The type of attention Pokemon has gotten domestically should translate to international success. Has it? A: Yes. Many countries, and big broadcasters within those countries, traditionally don't embrace U.S. shows, nor do they broadcast Japanese animation. They are embracing and showing Pokemon in all markets that we've approached. Q: What about the stock split? Why didn't you split the stock? A: The reason we didn't do the split is because the authorized shares is 20 million. We don't have enough shares authorized to do a 3 for 1 or even 2 for 1 split. This would require shareholder approval. I'd advise shareholder Q: Other than Pokemon, what is "in the pipeline" for KIDE? A: Analysts have said the valuation is wrong because you should only value the company according to what Pokemon is doing today. I disagree because the Pokemon phenomenon will leave this company with a huge cash balance. We will use this cash balance to do several things. We are still looking for new properties and concepts to rollout. This is our primary business, even with Pokemon so successful. Our company is a vertically integrated one. We control all elements of property development from production company, property distribution, and licensing. If you look at those stages in a property lifecycle, we have many opportunities to take additional bites from a properties value. Q: Can you tell us how much WCW contributes? A: Wrestling is doing very well for us. WCW recently hired away two of the top writers in the industry. The storylines are getting very interesting. We've seen a pop in the ratings. Wrestling has been around for 30 years. The popularity of wrestling has ebbs and flows based on storylines and personalities. WCW is just beginning to be rolled out internationally. Turner broadcasting is taking the lead in rolling out internationally. We're really optimistic on WCW's future. Q: You mentioned we would be hearing about the new properties "shortly". When will that be, early next year, late next year? A: Within the next couple months. Early next year, not late next year. Q: Does the shortage of Pokemon inventoy concern you? Especially regarding the Movie cards and the Burger King items? A: It concerns us. Burger King thought they had adequate supply. Burger King's CEO placed a national add appologizing of running out of the premium so quickly. They had done a lot of planning and thought they could fill the demand, but the Q: Are the ratings holding up? A: Yes. We are still the number one kid's show. We are still powering the WB network. Q: What do you do going into the first and second quarters to keep it fresh. A: As I mentioned earlier: The home video release of the first movie. The release of the second movie next summer. 52 new episodes next year. The new versions of Nintendo's Pokemon. Q: Estimates for other countries. A: Japan is half the size of U.S. Europe is larger than the U.S., in terms of children population. If we have a repeat of the U.S. response, it could be very significant. Early returns are indicating a repeat. Q: How many countries are you targeting. A: Haven't counted them. All the major markets. Q: When do you expect to be rolled out internationally? A: By mid next year. The rollout of products will follow the show. Q: Was there a $16 million fee for translating the movie? A: No. It's nowhere near $16 million. Neither the revenues, nor expenses of the movie have been reported as of September quarter. The officers received no compensation as "Executive Producers" or in any other capacity during the production of the film. KIDE's share of the revenue goes directly to the company and the officers are compensated based on the company's performance. Q: Many shareholders are nervous. What can you say to them to ease their minds? A: We've been around for a long time. The company has never been in a better position; we've never been so optimistic about the future. If you have concerns or are hearing rumors, ask the company.