 | |
| Formerly | Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products(1991–2019) ViacomCBS Consumer Products(2019–2022) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Merchandising |
| Predecessor | CBS Consumer Products(2009–2019) |
| Founded | 1991; 34 years ago (1991)[1] |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Services | Consumer Products, and Licensing |
| Parent | Paramount Experiences[2][3] |
| Subsidiaries |
|
Paramount Consumer Products (formerlyNickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products, thenViacomCBS Consumer Products) is the retailing and licensing division ofParamount Skydance Corporation. The department is in charge of merchandising for Paramount-owned brands. As of 2015, the division was valued at $3 billion.[4]
While the company manages merchandise for the entire Paramount portfolio (includingParamount Pictures andComedy Central), its main focus is Paramount's children's television brand,Nickelodeon. Most of its products are based on TV shows that originated on the network, as well as properties that they purchased and incorporated into Nickelodeon, likeTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles andWinx Club.[5] From 2007 onward, the division's most profitable property has beenSpongeBob SquarePants.[6]
According to an article inThe Chicago Tribune, Paramount Consumer Products takes "an unconventional approach to licensing" where the company waits up to two years after a show's premiere before releasing tie-in merchandise. This is in contrast to competitors likeDisney Consumer Products, which generally release products to coincide with a premiere.[7]
Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) was founded in 1991.[1] At first, it was a subdivision of Nickelodeon Enterprises,[8] a business unit set up to license Nickelodeon's properties to other companies.[a]
One of the division's first profitable franchises wasRugrats, which theNews & Record called Nickelodeon's "first big splash in consumer products."[9] Merchandise sales forRugrats peaked at over $1 billion in 1999.[9] The following year, NVCP released merchandise spun off fromBlue's Clues, which also garnered over a billion dollars in revenue.[9]
SpongeBob SquarePants represented the "company's biggest surprise" when tie-in products were first released in the early 2000s. Revenues fromSpongeBob items exceeded Nickelodeon's expectations by over $250 million. At first, merchandising companies were hesitant to produce merchandise based on the show, and they "underestimated consumers' emotional connection" with it. By 2003, however, there were over 100 companies that were licensed to use theSpongeBob brand.[9]
Shows likeSpongeBob helped Nickelodeon Enterprises (the branch of Nickelodeon that included NVCP) become Viacom's fastest-growing asset in the early 2000s.[10] In 2003, Nickelodeon's consumer products arm generated $2.5 billion in sales, which marked a 19 percent increase from the year before.[7] Meanwhile, the sales of the company's main competitors (Disney andWarner Bros.) were both flat compared to the previous year.[7]
In late 2003, the division experimented with creating a pair of new properties that were not based on TV characters. These "off-channel" brands were the video game franchiseTak and the Power of Juju andeverGirl, a doll line and website designed to promote a positive self-image for girls.[11]everGirl was co-created byAngela Santomero (one of the creators ofBlue's Clues)[12] and its development was overseen by Leigh Anne Brodsky,[12] who went onto become the president of NVCP from 2004[13] to late 2011.[14]
Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products took overParamount Pictures' licensing activities in 2004, relocating all operations toNew York.[15] Paramount, which is Viacom's film division, had previously managed licensing from its ownHollywood offices. Three years later, Paramount regained its own licensing division in Hollywood with the foundation of a separate department called Paramount Licensing.[16]
In 2007, NVCP namedJakks Pacific as the master licensee forSpongeBob SquarePants, continuing a long partnership between the two companies.[17]
Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products appointed Michael Connolly, a formerDisney Consumer Products executive, as head of international consumer products in 2010. In the following years, Connolly helped relaunch two brands that Viacom had purchased:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles andWinx Club. Connolly said thatTMNT represented an opportunity to appeal to collectors and the "comic book geek crowd" whileWinx Club provided Nickelodeon "with a much-needed girl's property."[5] One of Nickelodeon's top priorities for 2012 was to reboot both franchises worldwide;Kidscreen reported that the company had "international plans to make a splash at retail with the rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and WinxIPs."[18]
In 2012, Connolly suggested that Viacom's consumer products had been decreasingly relevant to the public for several years, and that he hoped the introduction of thetoyetic brandsTMNT andWinx Club would change this.[5] Connolly also stated thatSpongeBob toys did not sell as well as other non-toy products based on the franchise:
WhileSpongeBob is a great franchise, it has never been a heavy-hitting toy aisle property. WithTMNT, that's all about to change, and buyers believe that TMNT will re-invigorate the toy aisle.Winx [Club] puts us more prominently in the girl's aisle and offers wider opportunities.[5]
From 2013 to 2015, Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products started to open Nickelodeon-branded stores worldwide, including a flagship location inLeicester Square,London.[19] Around 80 percent of the stores' merchandise was exclusive; Nickelodeon opened an online e-commerce site at NickelodeonStore.co.uk so that international fans could buy it.[20] By 2016, NVCP had opened twelve different Nickelodeon stores.[21]
Following the2019 merger of CBS and Viacom, Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) was renamed ViacomCBS Consumer Products (VCP), and it began to manage merchandise for CBS-owned properties fromCBS Television Studios andShowtime. As a result, CBS Consumer Products was integrated into VCP.[22]
 | |
| Formerly | The Workshop Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | May 5, 2016; 9 years ago (May 5, 2016)[23] |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Peter Akemann (president) Dan Prigg[25] |
| Website | skydance |
Skydance Interactive (formerly known asThe Workshop Entertainment) is a game division which was launched on May 5, 2016.[26][27][28] It focuses on developing ambitious titles, managing projects licenses with other developers, and developing software innovative game mechanics as well as forVR and emerging platforms.
In May 2017, Chris Hewish was hired as EVP Interactive help to set and execute overall strategy for Skydance Interactive, and oversee development, partnerships, and new business opportunities.[29]On July 18, 2017, its first VR game,Archangel was launched. The game recently expanded into an online multiplayer upgrade,Archangel: Hellfire.[30] Two days later, Skydance Interactive revealed their second original game calledPWND, an multiplayer free to play game released on April 6, 2018, where players usePwns to win.[31]
In 2018, Skydance Interactive partnered withSkybound Entertainment to develop a number of original virtual reality video games based on the expansive world ofThe Walking Dead universe.[32]The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners andThe Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2: Retribution were to be the inaugural titles co-developed by the two companies. In 2023, they also published a Final Cut version of Arashi: Castle of Sin developed by Endeavor One and was released on December 5, 2023 on next-generation virtual reality consoles.[33]
| Release | Title | Co-developers | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 18, 2017 | Archangel | — | Oculus Rift,Microsoft Windows,PlayStation VR |
| April 6, 2018 | PWND | Microsoft Windows | |
| January 23, 2020 | The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners | Skybound Entertainment | Oculus Rift, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation VR,Oculus Quest,PICO 4 |
| December 1, 2022 | The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution | Meta Quest 2, PlayStation VR,PlayStation VR2, PICO 4 | |
| December 5, 2023 | Arashi: Castles of Sin - Final Cut | Endeavor One | Meta Quest 2,Meta Quest 3, PlayStation VR2, Windows |
| December 5, 2024 | Skydance's Behemoth | — | Meta Quest 3, PlayStation VR2, SteamVR |
| Release | Title | Co-developers | Platform(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | Foundation: Galactic Frontier | FunPlus | TBA | [34] |
 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | November 18, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-11-18) |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Amy Hennig (president) |
| Website | skydance |
Skydance New Media is a video game development studio founded by Skydance on November 18, 2019, led byAmy Hennig.[35]
In October 2021, the studio announced a planned collaboration withMarvel Entertainment for an action-adventure game.[36] In April 2022, it was announced thatLucasfilm Games would collaborate making a game based in theStar Wars universe. There has been speculation that the game will be a revival ofProject Ragtag which was also led by Henning.[37][38]
In August 2022, Marvel's parent corporationThe Walt Disney Company announced their intentions to showcase a slate of video games based on their IP at the jointDisney & Marvel Games Showcase. It would happen in conjunction with the company's annualD23 Expo in person and through broadcasts on multiple streaming platforms.[39] Along with the announcement, Disney said that the panel would also debut a "sneak peek" at Skydance New Media's Marvel title, which is described as being an "ensemble game".[40][41] During the showcase on September 9, 2022, the Marvel project confirmed prior reports that it would be set duringWorld War II. AlsoCaptain America andAzzuri / Black Panther will be featured as the main characters in the ensemble, alongsideGabriel Jones of theHowling Commandos unit and Nanali, leader of the Wakandan Spy Network, while theHydra organization would serve as the main villains.[42][43][44] In March 2024, during the showcase of State of Unreal, the project was revealed to be titledMarvel 1943: Rise of Hydra with the game being powered byUnreal Engine 5. Release is slated for 2026.[45]
| Release | Title | Publishers |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra | Plaion |
| TBA | UntitledStar Wars Game | Lucasfilm Games |
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