Genius Brands International Licenses Classic Gumby Library and Animated ABC Monsters From NCircle Entertainment for New Kid Genius Channel Launching on Comcast's Xfinity on Demand This Fall

BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/29/15 -- Genius Brands International, Inc.(OTCQB: GNUS) (GBI), a global content and brand management company dedicated to providing entertaining and enriching 'content with a purpose' for toddlers to tweens, has acquired two series from NCircle Entertainment -- Gumby, the timeless, innovative, stop-claymation series created by Art Clokey, which aired from the 1950s through 2001; and ABC Monsters, the magical adventure preschool series that makes learning fun and entertaining -- to offer audiences on its new Kid Genius channel, debuting on Comcast's (NASDAQ: CMCSA)(NASDAQ: CMCSK) Xfinity On Demand service this fall.

"NCircle shares Genius Brands' commitment to bringing quality children's entertainment, content that imparts knowledge, enhances learning skills, stimulates young imaginations and most of all, is fun and entertaining," said Andrew Berman, GBI's Senior Vice President of Global Distribution Sales. "Generations of viewers have delighted in watching Gumby and his pals engage in amazing adventures that typically require creative problem resolution, and we're thrilled to be able to introduce this charming series to a whole new generation of fans. ABC Monsters also fulfills our 'content with a purpose' mandate by teaching preschools letter decoding with the help of innovative, animated letter characters, each with its own unique traits. Both series convey valuable learning skills and tools through clever, engaging storylines and appealing characters."

"We believe Genius Brands' Kid Genius channel is the ideal platform for both Gumby and ABC Monsters. Both series support the company's 'content with a purpose' and will complement GBI's original series as well as other potential acquisitions," added Mary Flynn, Vice President of Sales, Content and Acquisitions, NCircle Entertainment. "We are very happy to be working with Genius Brands on its new channel and look forward to a successful launch this fall."

The new Kid Genius channel is set to offer a variety of programming for young viewers (toddlers to 12-years-old) that align with the company's mission to provide 'content with a purpose.' The channel will feature GBI original programming, including Thomas Edison's Secret Lab, Llama Llama and Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, as well as Daytime Emmy Award-winning series Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?, Dennis the Menace, based on the classic comic strip created by Hank Ketcham. In addition to the classic Gumby and ABC Monsters series, GBI will continue to pursue series from program creators around the world.

Fully re-mastered, each of the 200+ episodes of Gumby will delight young viewers with its stop-claymation and unusual characters, from the humanlike but green Gumby and his horse friend and sidekick Pokey, to Goo, the blue mermaid; Prickle, the yellow dinosaur; Nopey the dog; the Blockheads, who sometimes chased after Gumby and his pals, and Gumby's parents, Gumbo and Gumba.

Having first appeared in Art Closkey's film short Gumbasia, Gumby and his pals launched into television as short segments within The Howdy Doody Show in 1956. The segments became so popular that Gumby and his friends got their own show -- The Gumby Show in 1957 on NBC. In 1967, creator Art Clokey, along with Gumby and his pals, took a break from television, returning to television with a new series entitled Gumby Adventures in 1988 that was followed by a movie in 1995. In the 1990s Gumby continued to air on Nickelodeon and subsequently on Cartoon Network. Most recently, the series has aired on Teleton Retro in Canada.

ABC Monsters are big, hairy and not very scary. Twenty-six cuddly ABC Monsters live within the walls of Capital Castle. Each monster represents a letter of the alphabet, but should any of the monsters go missing for longer than a day, all the letters will be wiped clean from every book in Capital Town, so it's very important to make sure that all the ABC Monsters are safely back in Alphabet Gardens before the sun goes down. However, this isn't as easy as it sounds. The ABC Monsters are always curious and happy creatures so they tend to wander off from Alphabet Gardens and get lost in the process. In each adventure, Alice and her good friends Brian and Cherry Berry must search high and low for one of the missing ABC Monsters. This spellbinding series of magical adventures engages preschoolers' imaginations while making learning exciting and entertaining.

About NCircle Entertainment
Established in 2006, NCircle Entertainment currently distributes over 300 DVD titles from 20 popular animation and live-action children's programs, primarily geared to a preschool audience, that combines high quality production, entertainment and education values. As part of its commitment to making a positive difference in all children's lives, NCircle is a proud member of K.I.D.S. (www.kidsdontation.org/), whose efforts to date have reached over 65 million kids globally with new products valued at over one billion dollars.

NCircle is a subsidiary of Alliance Entertainment.

About Genius Brands International
Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, Genius Brands International "GBI" (OTCQB: GNUS) is a publicly traded global brand management company that creates and licenses multimedia content for toddlers to tweens. Led by award-winning creators and producers CEO Andy Heyward and President Amy Moynihan Heyward, GBI creates "content with a purpose," meaning content that is as entertaining as it is enriching. GBI's growing library of content includes the award-winning Baby Genius, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab, Llama Llama, from the NY Times bestselling children's book franchise, and Stan Lee's Mighty 7, the first project from Stan Lee Comics, a joint venture with legend Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment.

A Squared Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Genius Brands International, is a brand management and licensing company that represents third-party properties across a broad range of categories in territories around the world. The company currently represents Psycho Bunny, a luxury apparel line; From Frank, a humor greeting card and product line; and Celessence Technologies, a leading microencapsulation company.

For additional information please visit www.gnusbrands.com.

Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), not limited to Risk Factors relating to its business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/9/28/11G060733/Images/mw1a0ap12sh12k11d342avpfr17cb2-1296189076273.jpg

GBI MEDIA CONTACT
Three.Sixty Marketing & Communications
Michelle Orsi
310-418-6430
Email contact

Carol Holdsworth
805-252-1848
Email contact

GBI INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT
Christopher Tyson
Liolios Group
949.574.3860
Email contact

Source: Genius Brands International, Inc.

Released September 29, 2015