CEO.CA Chairman's Briefing

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., April 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following the successful premiere of season one of the new animated preschool series, ​Rainbow Rangers​ ​(52 x 11’), airing on the Nick Jr. channel, Genius Brands International “Genius Brands” (Nasdaq:GNUS) announced today the greenlight by Nickelodeon on the production of season two for a full order of 52 x 11-minute episodes.

Following the successful premiere on Nick Jr. of season one of the new animated preschool series, Rainbow Rangers (52 x 11’), Genius Brands International (Nasdaq:GNUS) gets the greenlight by Nickelodeon on the production of season two for a full order of 52 x 11-minute episodes, to debut in Q4 2019.

“The kid’s preschool marketplace is extraordinarily competitive,” stated Genius Brands Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward. “The greenlight of season two on Nick Jr. for an additional 52 episodes of Rainbow Rangers is a definitive statement of the powerful viewer reaction to the property as a bona fide hit.” 

Shelly Hirsch, CEO & Founder of Beacon Media, the largest children’s media buying service in the U.S., said, “Rainbow Rangers showed strong appeal from the moment it went on air. We believed it would be a hit, and believe it has a long future as a successful program and robust and successful line of consumer products.”

Over 350 Rainbow Ranger product SKUs from over 20 blue-chip, industry-leading manufacturers are coming to the retail marketplace beginning July 2019.  Rainbow Rangers anchor categories include toys, publishing, and apparel, led by Mattel Inc. (toy), MacMillan Publishing (publishing), and Bentex (apparel) as well as key licensees in categories, including games,  party goods, costumes, bedding, bicycles, scooters, personal care, coloring, activity, boxed role-play, room décor, consumer packaged goods, vitamins, and even a touring show from Gershwin Entertainment.

In addition to Nick Jr., Genius Brands has begun selling the Rainbow Rangers series internationally where, based on the performance on Nickelodeon in the U.S., Genius Brands recently opened an office in London to service the growing global demand.

In the key demos of kids ages 2-5 and 6-11, Rainbow Rangers has consistently retained its audience and grown from its lead-in shows across a variety of different time periods in which it has been placed for broadcast. Additionally, Rainbow Rangers has drawn almost as many boys as girls, making it particularly desirable.

Heyward added, “This is only the beginning for Rainbow Rangers as we continue to build the brand globally both on-air and in-store with our retail program coming to market beginning in fall.”  He continued, "We expect to see significant growth over the next two years with revenues beginning in Q4 of 2019. Revenues will come not only from the production of our animated series but also the rollout of products as well as merchandise licensing fees. Our library assets are growing substantially and will increase shareholder value.”

Nickelodeon debuted season one of Rainbow Rangers on Nick Jr. on November 5, 2018. The series airs Monday through Friday in the afternoon, and on Sunday mornings, consistently garnering ratings as a top program.

Season two of Rainbow Rangers will bring again the collaboration of one of the strongest creative teams ever assembled for a kid’s animated series, including creators Rob Minkoff (Disney’s The Lion King director), Shane Morris (Disney’s Frozen co-writer), Tim Mansfield and New York Times Bestselling author and Emmy-nominated writer Elise Allen (Dinosaur Train, Lion Guard, Barbie specials), who is serving as head writer and co-creator. Legendary Disney alum Ruben Aquino—responsible for the design and animation of many of Disney’s most iconic characters from award-winning films, including The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, and Frozen—will continue to create key designs.  Multi-Emmy Award-winning director Michael Maliani will continue as the director, and Genius Brands' Chairman and CEO and multiple Emmy-winning producer, Andy Heyward, will continue to serve as executive producer.

Season two of the series will continue the rescue-based adventures of seven girls who are Earth’s first responders, protecting people, animals, resources, and the natural beauty of our world. The Rainbow Rangers, who live in the magical land of Kaleidoscopia at the other side of the rainbow, have their distinctive personalities and superpowers. Whenever there's trouble for the people or animals of Earth, our seven heroines zoom into action and ride their Spectra Scooters across the rainbow to save the day. Viewers will join them on exciting adventures but also see them at home having the same daily dramas and hilarities as every child watching the show.  Rainbow Rangers is about empowering and encouraging girls to take action and make a difference in their own homes and neighborhoods to improve and safeguard the planet. Every viewer—boys and girls alike—will see themselves in at least one of these strong, unique and empowered Rangers! 

About Genius Brands International
Headquartered in Beverly Hills, Genius Brands International, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNUS) is a leading global kids media company developing, producing, marketing and licensing branded children’s entertainment properties and consumer products for media and retail distribution. The Company’s “content with a purpose” brand portfolio, which is led by award-winning creators and producers, includes preschool properties Rainbow Rangers for Nick Jr. and Llama Llama for Netflix; award-winning toddler brand, Baby Genius; adventure comedy STEM series, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab; and financial literacy and entrepreneurship series, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club. The Company’s content catalog also includes the animated series, Stan Lee's Cosmic Crusaders, created with Stan Lee's Pow! Entertainment. Seeing the need to provide kids and parents with a safe viewing environment that offers premium enriching and engaging programming, Genius Brands launched the Genius Brands Network – comprised of Kid Genius Cartoon Channel and Baby Genius TV, as well as an exclusive Kid Genius Cartoons Plus subscription channel on Amazon Prime. The Network channels are available in approximately 80 million U.S. households via a variety of distribution platforms, such as OTT, set-top box, internet, and mobile. Through licensing agreements with category leading partners, characters from the Company’s properties also appear on a wide range of consumer products for retail. For additional information, please visit www.gnusbrands.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this notice constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), not limited to Risk Factors relating to its patent business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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