The company that owns a controlling stake in the Peanuts brand is considering a sale. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iconix-brand-grp-peanuts-idUSKBN15F0G1

That is somewhat surprising.  I didn`t know that MetLife had dropped their licensing of the Peanuts.  That brand is pretty tied to Peanuts, IMO.

Also, the article mentions Iconix bought the Peanuts licensing from the E.W. Scripps company.  It was part of the Scripps owned United Feature Syndicate.

It should also be noted that Iconix is selling its 80% stake in Peanuts Worldwide, LLC.  The other 20% is owned by Charles M. Schulz Creative Accosiates, which is controlled by the Shulz family.

I wonder what impact, if any, this will eventually have on the licensing deal that Cedar Fair has for the Peanuts gang.

Bring back Hanna Barbara Land please!

^ That's not likely with the current ownership of that brand, as much as many of us would love to see Scooby Doo there again.

I wonder if CF would be interested in buying? I am not sure how that would affect their current status or their long range plans?

1 hour ago, flightoffear1996 said:

Bring back Hanna Barbara Land please!

I think you'd have to fight Mr. Six to get old Scoob back...

CF would probably loose in a dance off with him! 

I would love to have Scooby back but Snoopy isn't a bad substitute. I do wish the park used him more in advertisements. I always thought Snoopy was more of a mascot for Cedar Point than he was for Kings Island. 

2 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

I think you'd have to fight Mr. Six to get old Scoob back...

 

Speaking of that, do any Six Flags parks have any Scooby Doo rides left?

I believe Fiesta Texas is the only one left. It's my understanding that Scooby is branded through Sally, the company who built the Scooby rides, not through the parks themselves.

It could be interesting to see if this has any impact to KI particularly if a Disney or Comcast buys the brand.

I honestly don't see either of them being interested. Disney has a plethora of characters to use from their film library, old and new. And Comcast/Universal now owns Illumination and Dreamworks which gives them plenty of characters to use as well. Neither of them need Peanuts, and I doubt they view Peanuts as competition to their own characters.

I wonder if this means that licensing costs will go up, "Spongebobbing" the character set from the streets of KI... What's next? Mike Judge enterprises? Hank Hill's Propane Parade anyone? Beavis & Butthead Do Action Zone? Bill Lumbergh walking around, greeting guests and reminding them about park policies?

I love the nostalgia that Peanuts brings, but to be honest, it seems like it's not a very relevant franchise to kids right now.  No future movie opportunities since it tanked (putting it's release near SW TFA just killed it), no ties to Disney / Universal...not a good sign. 

I thought the Peanuts movie was generally well received.  I know I watched it and thoroughly enjoyed it.  And Peanuts still get play on network television every year.  Are they as relevant as some of the new cartoons?  No.  But they are still in the public eye.

Back in the day, there were no license tie ins for amusement parks and kiddy areas.  Coney had the Land of Oz as the theme for its kiddy area.