English Entertainment
Warner Bros. Consumer Products extends partnership with Hallmark
MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Consumer Products has expanded its relationship with Hallmark Cards.
The extended partnership will cover additional titles within the Warner Bros. Consumer Products portfolio, across Hallmark’s core categories: greeting cards, gift-wrap, party ware and ornaments.
These include such films and animated properties as Superman Returns, Happy Feet, The Ant Bully and Hanna-Barbera, as well as pre-school programs including Krypto the Superdog, Firehouse Tales and Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs. The Superman Returns product will launch in Spring 2006 and Happy Feet products will launch in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Under the new agreement, both companies will collaborate to focus their resources on designing products, developing marketing plans and promotional programs to enhance Warner Bros. Consumer Products’ brands, both new and evergreen.
As an existing licensee of Warner Bros. Consumer Products for more than two decades, Hallmark has effectively developed its core product categories for such brands as Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind and on behalf of DC Comics, Batman and Superman. In addition, for Warner Bros. Pictures’ 2004 feature film The Polar Express, Hallmark created an entire gift line and made Hallmark Gold Crown card shops The Polar Express retail destination, supported by a full-scale marketing campaign.
“As a long-standing and successful strategic partner, Hallmark has proven to be an outstanding fit for our well-known and much-loved properties. We couldn’t be more pleased to extend our relationship to cover more of our brands, and we look forward to many exciting developments to come,” said Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products president Brad Globe.
“We’re looking forward to continuing a great partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and its properties. Hallmark takes great pride in working with world-renowned, classic brands and it’s a privilege to extend our development opportunities with more of the properties that make up Warner Bros.’ rich library,” said Hallmark License Acquisitions president Jim Welch.
Territories for the agreement include the US and Canada, as well as certain product rights in Mexico and Latin America.
English Entertainment
ZEE5 UK partners Narrative Entertainment to add UK channels
Six FAST channels added as platform sharpens hybrid play in Britain
LONDON: ZEE5 UK struck a first-of-its-kind deal with Narrative Entertainment, bringing mainstream UK television channels onto an Indian streaming platform as it pushes to deepen its footprint in a crowded, mature market.
The partnership adds six of Narrative’s FAST channels to the service, including Great! Movies, Great! Romance, Great! Mystery and kids brands POP, Tiny Pop and POP UP, widening ZEE5 UK’s appeal across genres and age groups.
The move reflects a clear shift in strategy. ZEE5 UK is betting on a hybrid model that blends on-demand content with curated, always-on channels to drive discovery and increase time spent on the platform.
“This partnership represents a meaningful evolution in how we serve audiences in mature markets like the UK, where viewers are defined by habits, convenience and choice rather than geography or language alone,” said Parul Goel, territory head, Europe, Zee Entertainment. “By bringing trusted mainstream UK channels together with our premium originals, movies and kids’ content, we are building a more consumer-centric platform that simplifies viewing while increasing depth and relevance.”
Fateha Begum, commercial director, Narrative Entertainment, said the tie-up would fuel growth for both sides. “Our portfolio of quality programming, with such wide and enduring appeal, is a perfect complement to ZEE5 UK. This is a strong partnership that will support growth for both parties, and we share Zee Entertainment’s vision of an increasingly partnership-led future for the industry.”
ZEE5’s global library spans over 4,000 films and more than 500 originals, with over 130 new titles added annually. The addition of Narrative’s channels strengthens its kids offering and introduces genre-led linear experiences alongside its on-demand catalogue.
The deal also gives Narrative access to ZEE5 UK’s fast-growing user base, extending reach without diluting brand identity, while reinforcing ZEE5 UK’s network of more than 40 live channels.
As streaming wars intensify, ZEE5 UK is widening its playbook, blending content, convenience and partnerships in a bid to win screen time in one of the world’s toughest markets.
