King Features Syndicate
King Features |
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Name |
King Features Syndicate |
King Features Syndicate, is a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation. They are the worldwide licensor of Betty Boop on behalf of the Fleischer Studios.
Approximately 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles, and games are distributed by King Features, an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing, and print syndication business owned by Hearst Communications, to almost 5,000 newspapers worldwide.
In addition, King Features Syndicate creates intellectual properties, creates original shows and movies, licenses its iconic characters and properties, and produces new material and franchises.
Hearst Holdings, Inc.'s King Features Syndicate division includes the cable-network alliances, television programming and distribution operations, and syndication businesses of Hearst Corporation. North America Syndicate and Cowles Syndicate are affiliate syndicates of King Features.
King Features run The Official Betty Boop Fan Club.
Trivia
- Ted Hannah was once director for King Features, and helped promote a 1980s campaign to reboot an outdated Betty, and was successful.
- In 1987 they had a TV special.[1]
- King Features often contributed balloons featuring characters licensed such as Olive Oyl, Popeye, Swee'Pea and Betty Boop for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
- It is often believed that the Fleischer Studios developed minor Betty Boop projects, but throughout the years, it has actually been King Features who have taken full control. There was once a third-party feud of who actually owned the rights to the Betty Boop character.[2]
- King Features also provided Desirée Goyette's costume and make-up, and contributed the musical number for the 1984 "I Wanna Be Loved By You" musical number to promote The Romance of Betty Boop by Bill Melendez for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
- Apart from Betty Boop, the Hearst Entertainment and Syndication Group "King Features" also license brands such as Popeye, Cuphead, and have produced The Cuphead Show!, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Moomin, Prince Valiant, Mandrake the Magician. They distribute comics such as Blondie Boopadoop and Beetle Bailey.
- Leslie Cabarga spoke out against King Features, when he looked into the ownership of Betty Boop and Koko the Clown, in order to say that Koko was in the public domain. Today Betty is fully branded by King Features and always has been, as they know how to market the character. The Fleischer Studios also own their share of Betty, but King Features now does most of the licensing.
- Jerry Beck criticized King Features when they struck a deal with Hooters to make Betty Boop a Hooters girl.
- Betty Boop was cut from the 1972 animated film Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter.
- Were said to have sent a "cease and desist" letter for the character "Toot Braunstein" on the television program Drawn Together. The letters were thrown into the trash by the Comedy Central program creators.
- They own and published the comic strip character Little Annie Rooney.