Surge Licensing Signs Scholastic for Spy Ninjas
Spy Ninjas, the #1 most viewed YouTube “story-driven media franchise,” has signed a publishing deal with Scholastic for the U.S. and Canada. Surge Licensing, the exclusive licensing agent appointed to grow the Spy Ninjas brand, concluded the three-year agreement.
In each episode of the action-packed YouTube serial drama—which attracts more than 400 million monthly views and has over 38 million subscribers—Chad Wild Clay, Vy Qwaint, and their Spy Ninjas team, set out to save the world from the evil hacking group, Project Zorgo™, through detective work and martial arts. Every episode attracts an outstanding 1M+ views within the first hour of going live, and the series boasts remarkable engagement and linear TV broadcast habits not seen anywhere else online.
Scholastic will be launching the Spy Ninjas publishing program with an official guidebook for the brand, followed by a number of graphic novels and activity books. Each book is interwoven with the storytelling on YouTube and fans will be able to decode messages, solve clues and find hints to help the Spy Ninjas team complete their missions. The first books are anticipated to start rolling out in fall 2021 ahead of the holiday gift-giving season.
“Scholastic is the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books in the world, helping young readers to explore their imaginations and become lifelong lovers of books, and we couldn’t be more excited that they are our North American partner for the brand,” commented Surge’s VP, Elan Freedman. “The publishing line will provide myriad ways for the series’ huge fanbase to further connect with Chad and Vy and their Spy Ninjas team as they demonstrate loyalty, discipline, respect and courage on their mission to save the world!”
“We loved how the Spy Ninjas show has action and comedy, as well as a ravenous fan base who are excited to directly participate with the content and creators,” said Lynn Smith, Global Licensing Director, Scholastic. “Our range of books, including graphic novels and interactive Spy Guides, will allow fans to engage in a new way, expanding on the interactivity of the brands’ values.”
The publishing agreement comes on the heels of the launch of the Roblox game, Spy Ninjas vs. Project Zorgo Hackers in ROBLOX, an organic extension of the Spy Ninjas world, which launched on July 3rd. The game launched to over 40,000 concurrent players and over 1 million game plays on its first day. In the Roblox metaverse, a new Project Zorgo splinter cell threatens Roblox with their nefarious ways. Chad, Vy, and the Spy Ninjas, with the help of their fans jump into Roblox to save it from extinction! The game launch was supported by the Spy Ninjas YouTube channels, including their gaming-focused channel that routinely airs #1 trending gaming videos on the YouTube platform. Through YouTube, Chad and Vy prompt gamers to join them on Roblox to help them solve riddles, spot clues, do detective work, as well as battle Project Zorgo.
Spy Ninjas launch seven new episodes weekly that draw an astounding one million views within the first hour of an episode going live, and boasts more than 400 million monthly views with over 38 million subscribers. In March, Spy Ninjas garnered 56 million hours of watch time – that’s 3.36 billion minutes!
Playmates Toys launched the master toy program in October 2021 at Walmart.com, Target.com and Amazon.com. Brick and mortar retailers are starting to sell the line this year, with Target already carrying the line. The first wave of the toy rollout features spy gadgets that include secret electronic spy ninja gear, decoders, ninja weapons, a new Project Zorgo™ mask and spy activity kits from the series. Event Merchandising launched the official Spy Ninjas eCommerce global store in December, Spyninjasstore.com.
