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4Kids plans Fox Box girls hour MIP NEWS - An animated hour dedicated to girls will launch on the Fox network's Saturday mornings from September, part of 4Kids Entertainment's plans to attract a more balanced gender profile for its Fox Box block. "It's hard to gets girls to watch traditional boys action-adventure shows so we've been acquiring product specifically to appeal to them," 4Kids ceo Al Khan told C21. "This fall, we go into the girls business." This means new product and Khan has recently picked up US rights to Italian toon Winx Club from Rainbow Animation/Rai Fiction, and more recently Japanese toon Tokyo MewMews from Kodansha/TV Aichi. Winx Club debuts on Fox Box this June and the Japanimation series arrives September, when it will double up with the Italian show to fill the 8.00-9.00 slot. "It doesn't mean the Fox Box will change as these shows are action-adventures too, it's just that they feature girls instead of boys," said Khan. Airing from 8.00-noon Saturdays, Fox Box will continue to air its regular diet of Sonic X, Turtles, Shaman King, Cramp Twins, Kirby and - pending a deal to be wrapped this month - new Japanese toon F-Zero, based on a Nintendo game. Khan's plan is to "poach" female viewers from ABC, which is truncating its own girl-skewed block between 8.00-noon Saturdays to bring back news bulletin Good Morning America between 8.00-9.00. "At the moment, we're about 80% boys and 20% girls and we're often invisible to girls," said Khan. "I'd like a more balanced gender profile." He added that he was considering expanding the girl's hour if the female viewers come onboard, however "there are many boys series that we're very committed to". Khan also said he expected Fox Box to make its first buck this year, after 4Kids paid Fox $25m a year for the four-hour block, in a four-year (plus two –year option) deal back in 2002. "The ads are not paying for the block yet but its is important to have the timeslot, when you consider all our other business areas," he said, referring to Fox Box's instore effect. Other initiatives at Fox Box is the arrival of Crash Dummies, a series of 65 one-minute interstitials that offers animated gags and drive awareness of instore merchandise. Gameboys cartridges featuring episodes of 4Kids library are also shipping May. Ed Waller 31 Mar 2004 © C21 Media 2004 
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