Peppa Pig set to get a new owner: GI Joe maker Hasbro
NEW YORK — Hasbro is going whole hog on Peppa Pig.
The maker of Monopoly and GI Joe will pay about $4 billion to buy Entertainment One Ltd., a British entertainment company that produces “Peppa Pig,” ‘’PJ Masks” and other animated shows for preschoolers.
“Peppa Pig,” which stars a pink cartoon the Earth’s undiscovered oil and gas.
China sees Greenland as a possible source of rare earths and other minerals and a port for shipping through the Arctic to the eastern U.S. It called last year for joint development of a “Polar Silk Road” as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative to build railways, ports and other facilities in dozens of countries.
But while global warming pushes the cold and ice farther north each year, experts caution that the race to the Arctic is an incredibly challenging marathon, not a sprint.
The melting of the Greenland ice sheet creates uncertainty and danger for offshore oil and gas developers, threatening rigs and ships.
“All that ice doesn’t suddenly melt; it creates icebergs that you have to navigate around,” said Victoria Herrmann, managing director of the Arctic Institute, a nonprofit focused on Arctic security. pig with a British accent, airs worldwide and is translated into over 40 languages.
Hasbro Inc., based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, says the deal will help it turn more of its toy brands into shows or movies. Many of its brands, including My Little Pony and Transformers, already appear in TV shows and movies.
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.
Meeting people where they’re spending
The Deloitte study notes the percentage of U.S. households subscribing to a paid streaming video service grew from 10% in 2009 to 55% in 2017 — a 450% increase. Consumers subscribe to an average of three such services.
Issuers have taken notice. Wells Fargo made a splash last summer, revamping the Wells Fargo Propel American Express, which now earns triple points back per dollar spent on eligible streaming services. In May 2019, the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express underwent a makeover, adding select U.S. streaming services as a 6% cash-back category.
The following month, the Chase Freedom entered the streaming fray. The card earns 5% cash back in bonus categories that rotate each quarter, on up to $1,500 in spending per quarter. (You must opt in to the bonus categories each quarter; all other purchases earn 1% back.) From July 1 to Sept. 30, 2019, one of those bonus categories is select streaming services.
Kunal Madhok, vice president of U.S. consumer lending and acquisition at American Express, noted via email that AmEx research found that a segment of millennials were spending more on “day-today” costs like commuting and streaming compared with five years ago. So the Blue Cash Preferred was reworked to reward cardholders more heavily for these types of costs.