Nickelodeon Buys ‘Ninja Turtle’ Rights

Nickelodeon announced in a press release that they have acquired the global rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand from Mirage Studios, who have had the rights since 1984. They plan to develop a new CG-animated TV series, while Paramount Pictures is developing a new feature film for a 2012 release. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated television series, which is jointly produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios, will continue to air on “TheCW4Kids” Saturday morning programming block on The CW network through Aug. 31, 2010.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shares a comedic sensibility with the Nickelodeon DNA, with added layers of action and fantasy that have kept this property an evergreen favorite with multiple generations of audiences,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. “We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property and creatively re-introduce it to a new generation of kids.”