Kmart Gets First Dibs On New Bmg Kid-vids

BMG Video will debut a new live-action kids' next month exclusively in select Kmart stores.
Two titles from the series, called 'The Garage Club,' will first be available March 28 in Kmart locations in Los Angeles, priced at $12.98 each.
The titles will be promoted with Kmart's Kids Race Against Drugs program, which runs from March through October.
The videos will then be rolled out to Kmart stores in Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Atlanta, according to BMG senior director of marketing Stephanie Kovner.
A Kmart spokeswoman says approximately 200 of the chain's 2,100 locations will carry the videos.
The retailer, which conducts Kids Race Against Drugs in 70 markets, is negotiating with BMG to add more markets.
Kids raise money for the charity by participating in races held at various Kmarts throughout the country, and proceeds are donated to local outreach programs.
However, no portion of sales from the videos will be donated to the charity, the Kmart spokeswoman says.
Series titles that will soon be on sale at Kmart are 'The Talent Show Adventure' and 'Catch Us If You Can.' Both have a running time of 30 minutes.
Kovner says the company has not set a date for national retail availability. 'We want to see how the videos do before we set a release date,' she says.
Stars from the series, which Kovner describes as 'a new and improved 'Our Gang,' ' will attend in-store events for the anti-drug campaign in each of the six target markets.
'We were looking for tie-in partners, and this gave us an opportunity to platform its release,' says Kovner.
Although video dealers are often angered by exclusives, Kovner says the charity aspect of the Kmart program will help soften the blow when BMG takes the product nationally.
'We hear about exclusives all the time,' she says, 'but we were much more willing to do this one because of the charity.'
She adds the platform release of the series will serve as a test to determine consumer interest.
The series stars Ross Bagley ('Independence Day'), Travis Tedford ('Slappy And The Stinkers'), and Camille Winbush ('Eraser').
BMG acquired distribution rights for the series from Connection III Entertainment.

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