Page 7 - Toy&Hobby Magazine Aug-Oct 2020

Aussie speedcuber featured in Netflix doco
AUSTRALIAN Rubik’s speedcubing champion Feliks Zemdegs features in the new documentary, The Speed Cubers, which premiered on Netflix 29 July.
The film follows Zemdegs and fellow American speedcuber Max Park as they compete in the World Cubing Association championships which took place in Melbourne in July 2019.
Zemdegs is the only speedcuber to ever win the World Cube Association championships twice and the film sees him face off against Park, who is 18 years of age and is on the Autism spectrum.
Rubik’s Brand head of global marketing Hayley Woodward said that the documentary complements the brand’s 40th celebrations.
“Rubik’s has supported the World Cubing Association championships for many years and I’ve been lucky enough to witness several competitions at first hand.
“This new film has been independently produced and its launch in the 40th anniversary year of the Rubik’s Cube going global is pure serendipity.
“What’s great is that you don’t have to be an elite speedcuber to enjoy the subject and it opens the minds of those considering the benefits of solving a Cube.
“We are thrilled because Max Park is an official ambassador to Rubik’s and is now inspiring others to learn to Cube for the first time,” she said.
The film is available to watch on Netflix now. ❉
Ricky Zoom expands exposure in Australian market
Festival of
Licensing
replaces BLE
BRAND Licensing Europe (BLE) organisers announced in July that the annual show will shift to an all-virtual event for 2020.
Following consultation with customers, attendees and industry partners, organisers Global Licensing Group (GLG) announced that a four-week Festival of Licensing will take BLE's place.
Running from 06 to 29 October 2020, the event will be a large-scale, international gathering, bringing together the licensing industry to connect, learn and make deals.
The Festival of Licensing event builds off GLG's previous digital licensing event, Licensing Week Virtual, which took
the place of the Vegas licensing show, Licensing Expo.
GLG VP Anna Knight said that the organisation is excited to bring this four- week event to the industry.
“We are incredibly excited to announce Festival of Licensing and proud of the opportunities and experiences it offers to the global licensing industry.
“Although the decision to transition Brand Licensing Europe to an all-virtual event was a difficult one and we will miss seeing everyone at ExCeL this year, I’m proud that we have a comprehensive offering in its place and look forward to t he European event kicking off Festival of Licensing.” ❉
RICKY Zoom began its broadcast in Australia in July, premiering on Nick Jr. before it moves to Channel 9 later this year.
The series is made up of 52 11-minute episodes that launched on the channel on 20 July, with new episodes hitting the air at 10am weekdays.
From November 2020, the all-bike CGI- animated series will begin airing on Channel 9 to further its exposure in the market.
eOne EVP of content sales, family brands, Monica Candiani said that the business is thrilled to bring the brand to Australian audiences.
"We’re proud to be bringing Ricky Zoom
to audiences in Australia by extending our partnership with Nickelodeon and welcoming Channel 9 as our terrestrial partner in the region.
“Ricky Zoom is an action comedy adventure series with real heart and these latest deals are testament to the strong appeal of the show,” she said.
Bringing the show to Australia adds to the brand's expansive market reach which already includes the US, the UK, China, Latin America and Europe. ❉
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 TOY & HOBBY RETAILER 7