Disney XD has picked up the United States broadcast rights to 26 half-hours of Yo-Kai Watch from Dentsu Entertainment USA and Level-5, Inc. The show will begin airing later this year.
Based on an original concept by Level-5, the hit comedy-adventure Yo-Kai Watch is a joint production effort by Level-5, Dentsu and TV Tokyo Corp. Level-5 will be leading rights management and marketing coordination for the franchise under a newly formed Los Angeles-based company.
Yo-Kai Watch is an animated comedy series that follows the misadventures of an average human boy who obtains a special watch, empowering him to discover and summon the mysterious Yo-kai around him, befriend them and then work with them to solve everyday problems — problems often caused by other trouble-making Yo-kai.
The program will air on Disney XD and some of its Disney XD-branded platforms, providing multiple opportunities for engagement with the franchise.
Since it was first introduced just 18 months ago, Yo-Kai Watch has become one of the most popular franchises of all time in Japan:
- The program has been the top-rated animated show for kids 4-12 years old on TV Tokyo.
- The franchise has more than $1.5 billion in retail merchandise sales – in addition to games, music and publishing.
- Over 7.5 million units of Nintendo 3DS video games have been distributed.
In North America, Hasbro will introduce a Yo-Kai Watch toy line in spring 2016, and will roll out to additional markets by the end of that year.
Also, Mar Vista Entertainment was granted media, licensing and merchandising rights for Latin America.
