Genius Brands Launching Kids Programming 'With a Purpose'
*By Bridgette Webb*
Kids' programmer Genius Brands just secured $4.5 million in new funding, but the CEO is already fixing his gaze on Disney.
"Disney is the giant gorilla in that space," CEO Andy Heyward said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
Heyward said the new funding, [announced](https://www.gnusbrands.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/993/genius-brands-international-raises-4-5-million-in-funding) Wednesday and led by Robert Wolf, former CEO of UBS Americas and founder of 32 Ventures, will be used to push the company's new animated series, "Rainbow Rangers," which will debut November 5 on Nick Jr.
"We have tried to create a niche, which is what we call content with a purpose," he said. "Every program that we bring forth has to have some enrichment to it and some value other than just the entertainment alone."
Genius already has 20 licensing partners lined up for "Rainbow Rangers" and 300 merchandise products in the making, including toys, dolls, school supplies, and clothing.
The funding news arrives as competition in the kids entertainment space accelerates. The media industry has been hit with a wave of M&A activity this year, with AT&T snapping up Time Warner and Disney purchasing the assets of 21st Century Fox.
Heyward believes the ripple effect of those acquisitions will reshape the whole industry, but he isn't rushing to join the fray ー at least not immediately.
"We're not in the position where we are going to sell the company today ー at some point, we may," he said.
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/genius-brand-rakes-in-4-5-million-to-boost-new-animated-series).
For Fadia Kader, the global head of strategic and media partnerships at social audio app Clubhouse, it's about pushing culture forward and connecting people with the biggest and brightest stars in music and entertainment.
Lie detectors don't work. In fact, the science behind them has been increasingly scrutinized since their inception. But they’re still being used in high-stakes scenarios with real consequences.
So, if lie detectors don’t actually work, why do we still use them?
Country music fans watching the Academy of Country Music Awards tonight will be doing so in a different way than years past. The ceremony will not be broadcast on network TV and will air exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. This will be the first time a major awards show will be live-streamed exclusively on a subscription video-on-demand platform. Shelly Kramer, co-founder and lead analyst of Futurum Research, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The Russia-Ukraine crisis is doing more than just sending the price of oil skyrocketing — it's also impacting the electric vehicle sector thanks to rising prices of key metals and materials necessary for battery and EV production. How can the relatively new industry steel itself as prices rise and consumers potentially lose what little interest they had in making the switch to an electric car? John Loehr, managing director of AlixPartners Automotive and Industrial Practice, joins Closing Bell to discuss.
Atomic bills itself as an investing API that allows fintechs and banks to easily integrate investing into their products by bringing the power of investing to everyone, with no account minimums. In November, the company announced its launch along with a $25 million Series A funding round. David Dindi, co-founder and CEO of Atomic, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Apple is set to unveil a new fleet of tech and services at its Peek Performance event on Tuesday. Luke Miani, a content creator, joined Cheddar News to discuss what might be expected to get unveiled, from mid-range Mac desktops to 5G service for the iPhone SE. "As 5G becomes more available and these products continue to be used, these are the types of features that consumers really need to see going forward," he said.
