Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is nearing a deal with Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) to give subscribers of the cable television service access to channels via Apple TV, people with knowledge of the negotiations said.

The companies plan to announce an agreement within a few months, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The iPhone maker is also hiring Pete Distad from online-video service Hulu LLC, where he was senior vice president in charge of marketing and distribution, to help Apple executives in negotiations with media and cable companies, two people with familiar with the matter said.

A deal with Time Warner Cable would be a first with a cable company for Apple, which said last month that it’s also adding content from Time Warner Inc. (TWX)’s HBO and Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s ESPN. Apple is aiming to bolster sales of the $99 set-top box amid competition from Roku Inc.’s device andMicrosoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Xbox. Meanwhile, media and service providers have been seeking more outlets to deliver shows to customers, who are opting for on-demand viewing and watching fewer scheduled shows. For details, go to  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-02/apple-said-to-near-time-warner-cable-deal-for-tv-programs.html

A 2013 Delphi Panel of experienced management in the media industry, anticipating media’s future in a study by Borrell, contributes to a future knowledge base that will have value in planning for what’s coming for media in the next decade and beyond.In short, and expanded some in the continuing text, an overview of the results according to the year the panel says they will take place, is summarized as follows:

• In 2018 it is 52% likely that real-time bidding will be responsible for half of all digital ad placements, and 61% likely that consumers will spend more on apps than they do on PC software
• In six years, 2019, it is 48% likely that the first broadcast network will convert to a cable or cable-like entity, says the report
• Seven years from today 2020, the panelists predict that it is 50% likely that major electronics retailers no longer stock desktop PCs
• In 2021, the Panel anticipates that it is 49% likely that 50 million U.S. households will drop cable in favor of online TV services; 49% likely that newspapers in the top 20 U.S. metros will publish four days or less, and 49% likely that the U.S. Postal Service will declare bankruptcy
• In nine years 2022, the panelists say that it is 45% likely that online political ad spending exceeds that spent for television
• Ten years from today, in 2023, it is thought that it is 42% likely that mobile video ad spending exceeds that spent for broadcast TV

For more information about this project, go to http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/203118/the-world-according-to-borrell.html#reply

Scholastic Media announced today that its Emmy® Award-winning animated series WordGirl®, produced by its animation studio Soup2Nuts, will premiere a sixth season of all-new episodes on PBS KIDS (check local listings) beginning Monday, August 5, 2013. The season kicks off with ‘What’s Up With WordGirl Week’ featuring five new episodes. The season will include 13 episodes in total.

The sixth season of WordGirl will find fifth grader Becky Botsford (and her alter-ego WordGirl) facing some of her toughest challenges yet, against the series’ most popular villains. The definition dynamo will be tricked by Mr. Birg (a Mr. Big doppelganger) and will combat Seymour Smooth – more than once! – as he tries to commit crime through game play. Audiences also will see Victoria Best mistaken for WordGirl – until the real WordGirl is able to prove Victoria has been fibbing, and WordGirl must battle Dr. Two Brains to save the world from being hit by a giant cheese asteroid.

Returning voice talent for the sixth season includes Dannah Phirman (“MadTV”) as WordGirl, Chris Parnell (“30 Rock,” “Saturday Night Live”) as the Narrator, Maria Bamford (“Louie,” “Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil”) as Mrs. Botsford, Ryan Raddatz as Mr. Botsford and Scoops, James Adomian (“Last Comic Standing”) as Mr. Birg, Daran Norris (“The Fairly OddParents,” “Big Time Rush”) as Seymour Smooth, Kristen Schaal (“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “30 Rock”) as Victoria Best, Tom Kenny (“SpongeBob Squarepants”) as Dr. Two Brains, TJ and Beau Handsome, John C. McGinley (“Scrubs,” “Burn Notice”) as Whammer, Patton Oswalt (“Justified,” “Two and a Half Men”) as Tobey, and Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development”) as Mr. Big, among others. Jane Lynch (“Glee”) guest stars as Miss Power in ‘The Rise of Miss Power’special, originally broadcast in 2012, which will air in Season 6 over the course of two episodes.

For more information on WordGirl, please visit mediaroom.scholastic.com/wordgirl,

Cynopsis Kids 2nd Annual !magination Awards took place today at the Yale Club in New York City bringing together the top creative and business minds in kids entertainment.Special honors were given to Margaret Loesch, founder/CEO of Hub Network; Elie Dekel, president of Saban Brands; children’s singer/songwriter Laurie Berkner; and Cartoon Network for its Stop Bullying Speak Up campaign.

Two very special anniversaries in children’s entertainment were acknowledged:Babar the Elephant, who has charmed kids and families for 80 years and Clifford the Big Red Dog, who celebrates his 50th year.

Here’s a complete list of the !magination Awards winners and finalists:

App (Educational)
Winner: Nickelodeon – Bubble Guppies: Animal School Day
Honorable Mentions:

Cupcake Digital  Wubbzy’s Fire Engine Adventure
Disney Publishing Worldwide – Sofia the First: Story Theater
Lawless Entertainment – Suzy’s Zoo
Nancy O’Dell Enterprises – Little Ashby: Star Reporter
Oceanhouse Media, Inc.-  A Whale of a Tale!: All About Porpoises, Dolphins, and Whales
PBS KIDS – DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD: Play at Home with Daniel
Sprout The Good Night Show: Sandy Stories

App (Entertainment)
Winner: Budge Studios – Chuggington Traintastic Adventures
Honorable Mentions:

Cartoon Network – Cartoon Network
Cupcake Digital – Wubbzy’s The Night Before Christmas
Lima Sky – Doodle Jump
Nickelodeon – Nick Jr. Draw & Play
Random House Children’s Books – Barbie Color, Sparkle and Style!

Tablet-Based App (Educational)
Winner: Scholastic Corporation – Storia
Honorable Mentions:

Disney ABC Television Group – Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally Appisode
Luca Lashes LLC – Luca Lashes Series
marblemedia – Skatoony: Skadoodle
National Geographic Kids – National Geographic Kids Tablet Magazine
Thirteen/WNET – Cyberchase 3D Builder

Digital Marketing Campaign
Winner: Saban Brands – Launches Vortexx on The CW
Honorable Mentions:

Cartoon Network – Level Up Choose Your Battle Experience
Disney – Little Mermaid
Sprout  A Lot Happens When You Sprout

eBook
Winner: Auryn, Inc. – Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery
Honorable Mentions:

Bento Box Interactive – Sweet Pickles
Luca Lashes, LLC – Luca Lashes Series
Mibblio – Mibblio
Random House Children’s Books – The Cat in the Hat Know A Lot About That! Color & Create
StoryToys – The Little Mermaid

Educational Series/Special Parent/Teacher Curriculum
Winner: The Jim Henson Company – Sid The Science Kid
Honorable Mentions:

Sprout – Noodle & Doodle
The Mother Company – Ruby’s Studio: The Friendship Show

Feature Film Based on a Book
Winner: Universal and HP – Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
Honorable Mentions:

Dune Entertainment/Color Force/20th Century Fox – Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Studio Ghibli/Disney – The Secret World of Arrietty (based on The Borrowers)
Working Title Films/Universal Pictures – Big Miracle (based on the book Freeing the Whales)

Game Based on a Series
Winner: Thirteen/WNET – Cyberchase: Buzz & Delete Save the Day
Honorable Mentions:

DHX Media – UMIGO
Scholastic – I SPY Super Challenger for LeapFrog
Sprout – The Chica Show: Mr. & Mrs. C’s Melody Maker

Interstitial Series
Winner (tie): Nickelodeon – Team Umizoomi Curriculum Interstitials
WGBH/Seftel Productions – The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers
Honorable Mentions:

Beeswax Production – Recess Stories: Life on the Playground
Disney Channels Worldwide – Disney 365
Nickelodeon – Kids Around the World
THIRTEEN/WNET – Oh Noah!

Kids 2-11 Series
Winner: Corus Entertainment/NELVANA Ltd. – Franklin and Friends
Honorable Mentions

Cartoon Network – Adventure Time
Hub Network – Littlest Pet Shop
Hub Network – R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series
Hub Network – Transformers Prime
Nickelodeon – NFL Rush Zone: Season of the Guardians
Saban Brands – Power Rangers Super Samurai

Kids 2-11 Special/TV Movie
Winner: Hallmark Channel – Jingle and Bell’s Christmas Star
Honorable Mentions:

Cartoon Network – Stop Bullying: Speak Up
Disney Channels Worldwide – Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess
Hallmark Channel – hoops&yoyo’s Haunted Halloween
Scholastic Media – WordGirl: The Rise of Miss Power

Marketing Campaign for a Toy/Game
Winner: Nickelodeon/Playmates – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Toy Launch
Honorable Mentions:

Hasbro – Scrabble’s Catch Phrase game campaign featuring Neil Patrick Harris
Mattel – Hot Wheels For Real X Games campaign
Mattel/Peterson Milla Hooks – See What Happens When You Play With Barbie

Marketing Campaign for TV Series
Winner: Hub Network – My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Royal Wedding
Honorable Mentions:

Astral Media, Inc – Sofia the First  Series Launchf
Cartoon Network – Adventure Time: Season 4 Campaign Launch
Nickelodeon – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
PBS – Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood

Marketing/PR Campaign for TV Special/TV Movie
Winner: Nickelodeon – Dora Fantastic Gymnastics Adventure Campaign
Honorable Mentions:

Disney – Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess
Nickelodeon – Peter Rabbit’s Christmas Tale
Nickelodeon – Turtles Vs Foot Campaign for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at ComicCon 2102
PBS – PBS Kids’ The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About Christmas! Campaign

New Series
Winner: American Greetings – Care Bears: Welcome To Care-A-Lot
Honorable Mentions:

Disney – Dog With A Blog
Litton Entertainment – Recipe Rehab
Litton Entertainment – Sea Rescue with Sam Champion
Loma Media/EA Sports – EA Sports Game Time
Nickelodeon – NFL Rush Zone: Season of the Guardians

Preschool Series
Winner: The Fred Rogers Company – Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
Honorable Mentions:

Awol – Kioka
DHX Media – Yo Gabba Gabba!
Little Airplane – The Small Potatoes
NELVANA Ltd. / Corus Entertainment – Mike the Knight
Portfolio Entertainment – The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!

Preschool Special
Winner: Corus Entertainment – Handy Manny and the Seven Tools
Honorable Mentions:

Brown Bag Films – Doc McStuffins Boo Hoo To You Halloween Special
Nickelodeon – Peter Rabbit’s Christmas Tale
Portfolio Entertainment – The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas

Promotional Campaign
Winner: Disney  Disney Media – Subway
Honorable Mentions:

Cartoon Network – Cartoon Network @ Atlantis 2012
Disney – Disney Media Invisilign Teen
Sprout – The Chica Show Launch Campaign

Pro-social Campaign
Winner: Disney Channels Worldwide – Disney Friends for Change
Honorable Mentions:

Disney – Make Your Mark
Nickelodeon – The Big Help  Let’s Move Event in London w Michelle Obama
Saban Brands – Power Rangers Super Samurai emPOWER Halloween Safety Campaign
Sprout – Sprout’s Kindness Counts Be Kind To Yourself Campaign

Social Media Campaign
Winner: Cartoon Network – Cartoon Network’s 20th Birthday
Honorable Mentions:

Bully Movie, Grassroots Twitter Campaign
Child’s Play Communications – Peppa Pig, Social Media Campaign
Lionsgate – Hunger Games, Social Media Campaign
Nickelodeon – Kids’ Choice Awards

Song for a TV Series/Special/Movie
Winner: Sprout – The Chica Show Theme Song
Honorable Mentions:

DHX Media Ltd – UMIGO
Portfolio Entertainment – The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About Christmas!
Saban Brands – Power Rangers Song
Smithsonian Network -The Titanoboa Song

Sweepstakes/Contest Campaign
Winner: Threadless & Disney – Design a t-shirt inspired by Disney Villains
Honorable Mentions:

Cartoon Network – Mattel Hot Wheels 20th Anniversary Sweepstakes
Disney Media – Nintendo (Wii U Campaign)
Hub Network – The Hub’s Pup-ularity Contest
Radio Disney – The Next Big Thing (N.B.T.)
Sprout – The Chica Show Sweepstakes

TV Series Based on Books
Winner: Hub Network – R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series
Honorable Mentions:

Big Bad Boo – 1001 Nights
Hallmark Channel – Jingle & Bell’s Christmas Star
NELVANA Ltd. / Corus Entertainment – Scaredy Squirrel
NELVANA Ltd. / TeamTO – Babar and the Adventures of Babou
Portfolio Entertainment Inc. – The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!

Tweens 9-14 Series
Winner: Litton Entertainment – Born to Explore With Richard Wiese
Honorable Mentions:

Bento Box Entertainment/20th Century Fox – Bob’s Burgers
Disney ABC Television Group – Phineas and Ferb
Hub Network – “Dan Vs.”
Litton Entertainment – Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin
Luke Nola & Friends – Let’s Get Inventin’ New Zealand
marblemedia – Spatalot

Tweens 9-14 Special/TV Movie
Winner: ABC Family – The Mistle-Tones
Honorable Mentions:

Disney Channels Worldwide – Disney Channel Original Movie, Radio Rebel
Nickelodeon – Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Kids Pick the President: The Candidates

Video Game for a TV Series/Special
Winner: Microsoft and Edelman – Kinect Sesame Street TV
Honorable Mentions:

Cartoon Network – Mutant Fridge Mayhem
CSE – NBAHoopTroop.com-Hoop Troop Escape
Microsoft and Edelman  – “Kinect Nat Geo TV”
Scholastic Media – The Magic School Bus: Oceans for Leapster Explorer

Website for TV Series/Special
Winner: WGBH Educational Foundation – Design Squad Nation
Honorable Mentions:

9 Story Entertainment & Kratt Brothers – Wild Kratts Website
Disney Channels Worldwide and Walt Disney Records – AustinAndAllyVideo.com/Vevo
Little Airplane/Disney – Meet the Small Potatoes Custom Potato Builder Website
Random House Children’s Books – PBS Kids The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!
See the complete story at http://www.cynopsis.com/editions/kids/

Most people in TV go on vacation in the summer, but the PBS KIDS line-up is heating up this summer – with a host of special episodes and theme weeks, like Wild Kratts “Bug Week” (June 3), Sesame Street “Literacy Quest Week” (June 17) and Dinosaur Train “Dinosaurs A-Z” (July 8).

Starting Monday, June 3 (check local listings), PBS KIDS presents 10 weeks of themed programming to inspire children ages 2-8 to explore and learn. Each week will feature episodes from a different PBS KIDS series.

The line-up includes:

·         WILD KRATTS – “Bug Week,” starting June 3                       

·         SUPER WHY! – “Super You Week,” starting June 10

·         SESAME STREET – “Literacy Quest Week,” starting June 17           

·         MARTHA SPEAKS – “Puppy Week,” starting June 24           

·         CURIOUS GEORGE – “Creative George Week,” starting July 1                     

·         DINOSAUR TRAIN – “Dinosaurs A-Z,” starting July 8             

·         DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD – “Let’s Play Outside Week,” starting July 15                

·         THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! – “Let’s Get Wet Week,” starting July 22        

·         ARTHUR – “Sports Week,” starting July 29               

·         WORDGIRL – “What’s Up With WordGirl Week,” starting August 5

Win two tickets to see “After Earth” by telling us what you love about XPRIZE. (Click through here)

Calling all teens: Take part in the XPRIZE After Earth Challenge, an educational competition open to students ages 13-17 (with one adult captain).  In the first phase of the challenge, teams simply upload a video to http://xprizeafterearth.com discussing how they are promoting environmental sustainability in their communities (to avoid an After Earth like scenario where we are forced to evacuate the planet) and describing the mission they would design to send an unmanned rover to explore a potential site for humanity’s next settlement.

The top ten teams will receive a LEGO MINDSTORMS kit to use for their mission and a Full HD Sony Handycam to document their experience.  The grand prize winner, as determined by a panel of judges, will be featured on the Blu-ray release of After Earth. Registration for Phase One will remain open until June 7th.

Win a LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics kit, a Sony Handycam, and a chance to appear on the DVD of the Will Smith & Jaden Smith film, After Earth!