NICKELODEON EXPANDS DAILY BROADCAST OF GENIUS BRANDS INTERNATIONAL’S HIT PRESCHOOL SERIES, RAINBOW RANGERS

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genius Brands International “Genius Brands” (Nasdaq: GNUS) announces today that Nickelodeon, a Viacom Inc. company (Nasdaq: VIA, VIAB), has again increased the broadcast of the Company’s hit original preschool series, Rainbow Rangers, to 26 airings per week.

Nick Jr. now airs Rainbow Rangers Monday – Friday, four airings per day, and six airings on the weekends. The animated action-adventure series premiered on Nick Jr. in November 2018 with five airings per week and has consistently achieved high ratings with its target demo of Girls 2 – 5-years-old.  The additional airings of Rainbow Rangers, which represents a five-fold increase (400+%), are complimented by content available via video on demand platforms and the brand’s robust YouTube channel where viewers have consumed over 22.5 million minutes of Rainbow Rangers’ content in the last year.

“From the beginning, we knew we had a special and unique new series for preschoolers that delivers values-based entertainment for children around the world. Needless to say, leading broadcasters like Nickelodeon don’t make schedule changes of this magnitude without good reason, and we are thrilled that they continue support Rainbow Rangers heading into year two,”   said Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO, Genius Brands. “The series is airing in the U.S. and internationally, and we have several hundred product SKUs planned for rollout at retail in 2020. As I have said many times, we are on track to build a new heavyweight preschool brand, which we anticipate to peak within the next two years.”

In the international market, Rainbow Rangers season one debuted last summer across Latin America on Nickelodeon LatAm, as well as  in Italy, on Cartoonito. Genius Brands is currently in negotiations with key broadcasters and licensing agents worldwide. 

Rainbow Rangers is a rescue-based series that follows the adventures of seven girls who are Earth’s first responders, protecting people, animals, resources, and the natural beauty of our world. The series boasts a unique and highly-accomplished team of creators from the animated motion picture and television worlds, including 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 Award-nominated writer Elise Allen (Dinosaur Train, Lion Guard, Barbie specials),  who serves as head writer and co-creator.  Multiple Emmy Award-winning director Michael Maliani directs the series, and Genius Brands' Chairman and CEO and multiple Emmy Award-winning producer, Andy Heyward, serves as executive producer.

About Genius Brands International
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 award-winning ‘content with a purpose’ portfolio includes Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; Rainbow Rangers for Nick Jr.; Llama Llama, starring Jennifer Garner, for Netflix; award-winning toddler brand Baby Genius; adventure comedy STEM series Thomas Edison's Secret Lab; entrepreneurship series Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club; and Stan Lee's Cosmic Crusaders, created with Stan Lee's Pow! Entertainment. Through licensing agreements with leading partners, characters from Genius Brands’ IP also appear on a wide range of consumer products for the worldwide retail marketplace. The Company’s Genius Brands Network of channels, including Kid Genius Cartoon Channel, Baby Genius TV, and Kid Genius Cartoons Plus!, are available in over 100 million U.S. television households via a multitude of distribution platforms, including Comcast, Cox, DISH, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and more. For additional information, please visit www.gnusbrands.com.

Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release 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.

CONTACTS:

GENIUS BRANDS INTERNATIONAL:
Michelle Orsi
Three.Sixty Marketing & Communications
Tel: (310) 418-6430
[email protected]

PORTER LEVAY & ROSE
7 Pennsylvania Plaza, Suite 810
New York, NY 10001
T: 212-564-4700
[email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4b3506b6-49bf-4d19-9177-2bcd98a0648a