Billionaire Saban buys back Power Rangers; Nickelodeon to carry new shows, movie planned
By APThursday, May 13, 2010
Mogul Saban buys back Power Rangers from Disney
LOS ANGELES — Media mogul Haim (hah-EEM) Saban (suh-BAHN) is buying back from Disney the fist-pumping, multicolored superheroes known as the Power Rangers. He’s hoping to launch the enduring franchise into a higher orbit.
New episodes kicking off the 18th season of the show will play on Viacom-owned cable channels Nickelodeon and Nicktoons next spring.
A catalog of 700 older episodes will hit Nicktoons later this year.
A new movie, video games and toys are also in the works.
The Egyptian-born entrepreneur made his fortune by licensing the Japanese characters and selling remade shows around the world.
The Walt Disney Co. bought Fox Family Channel, which included the Power Rangers, from News Corp. and Saban in 2001. The deal, worth $5.2 billion, brought Saban $1.5 billion for his stake.
