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Here’s the full press release below:

SABAN BRINGS “POWER RANGERS” FRANCHISE TO NICKELODEON

Eighteenth Season of Power Rangers to Air on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons in 2011;

700-Episode Library Bows on Nicktoons in 2010

NEW YORK, May 13, 2010 – Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, and SCG Power Rangers LLC, an affiliate of Saban Brands, have partnered to make Nick the U.S. television platform for Power Rangers, the long-running kids’ TV phenomenon now heading into its 18th television season. The partnership marks the return of the global franchise to its original developer, Haim Saban, who developed and produced the original “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” series in 1993. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are truly excited to be partners with Haim Saban and his team,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. “As one of the original leaders in kids’ television he helped to create powerful brand equity for Power Rangers and with partnerships like this Nickelodeon will be able to build a broader audience, superserve multiple demos, especially boys, and expand our programming offerings.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with Nickelodeon to bring the ever-popular Power Rangers to a whole new generation of viewers,” said Haim Saban, the original developer of Power Rangers. “With Nickelodeon’s reach we are at the beginning of a new era for one of the world’s leading children’s entertainment properties.”

“The Saban Brands team is looking forward to collaborating with the experts at Nick to re-launch and propel the new Power Rangers like never before,” said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands.

The deal brings the forthcoming 18th season (20 new episodes) of Power Rangers to Nickelodeon and Nicktoons in 2011, with the catalog of 700 episodes launching on Nicktoons later this year.

Produced by SCG Power Rangers LLC, Power Rangers will commence production in summer 2010 with original Executive Producer Jonathan Tzachor back at the helm and a new cast, look and theme for the show. Following its introduction in 1993, Power Rangers quickly became the most watched children’s television program in the United States. Emphasizing the importance of teamwork, responsibility and helping others by following the adventures of a group of ordinary young people who “morphed” into superheroes, the series was seen in more than 60 countries and translated into numerous languages. It rose to rank as the #1 boys brand in the world from 1993-97, based on toy sales and television ratings.

Concurrent with the acquisition of the Power Rangers franchise, Saban Brands has announced a new, long-term master toy and video game license agreement with Bandai America Incorporated, a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings (USA) Inc., which has been the toy partner for Power Rangers since its inception. Saban Brands will manage the Power Rangers brand worldwide including licensing, merchandising, consumer promotions and brand extensions.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 31st year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA – News, VIA.B – News).

About Saban Capital Group, Inc.

Saban Capital Group is a leading private investment firm based in Los Angeles specializing in the media, entertainment and communications industries. Through its private equity activities, the firm makes both controlling and minority investments in public and private companies. The firm looks to drive growth, profitability and significant shareholder value of its investments through its solid track record and a unique blend of hands-on operating success with private equity investment expertise. SCG takes an active role in its portfolio companies in partnership with strong management. SCG’s current private equity investments include Univision (the premier Spanish-language media company in the US) and Tiger Gate Entertainment (a joint venture with Lionsgate to operate branded pay television channels across Asia). The firm formed Saban Ventures in 2008 to make early-stage investments in digital media, mobile and consumer internet endeavors. In addition, SCG actively manages a globally diversified portfolio of investments across public equities, credit, alternative investments, and real property assets. The firm partners with best-of-class investment managers to develop long term strategic relationships. SCG was established in 2001 by Haim Saban, founder of Fox Family Worldwide owned in partnership with The News Corporation until its sale to The Walt Disney Company in October 2001. Visit www.Saban.com

About Saban Brands

Formed in 2010 as a subsidiary of Saban Capital, Saban Brands (SB) was established to acquire and develop a world-class portfolio of properties and capitalize on the company’s experience, track record and capabilities in growing and monetizing consumer brands. SB applies a strategic transmedia management approach to enhancing and extending its brands in markets worldwide and to consumers of all ages. The company provides full service management, marketing, promotion and strategic business development for its intellectual properties including comprehensive strategies unique to each brand, trademark and copyright management and enforcement, creative design, retail development, direct-to-consumer initiatives and specialized property extensions. SB is led by a superior management team with decades of experience in licensing, marketing and finance. Visit www.sabanbrands.com

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Zenkaikon 2009 was a two-day con (November 7-8), and it was jammed packed with events if you were a Johnny Yong Bosch fan alone! Trust me, I fell asleep a couple times just out of pure exhaustion. Ok, that part was my fault for not sleeping the Friday night before, lol. But the staff really had Johnny doing some panel or concert or autograph session every hour on Saturday. It was a bit intense because Robert Axelrod (Voice of Lord Zedd) was also a guest, and his events/panels kept conflicting with Johnny’s.

Not only was there a Power Rangers panel, but there was an Eyeshine panel, two Eyeshine concerts, two autograph sessions, a Bleach panel (basically a JYB panel), and more things that weren’t on the program that I heard offhand. Did I mention that they planned Axelrod’s panel at the same time as opening ceremonies? I didn’t? Yeah, they did. They also planned the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie” screening at the same time as the Power Rangers panel. They also planned Axelrod’s panel “So You Wanna Be a Voice Over Star” at the same time as Johnny’s autograph session, which, by the way, was a never-ending line and his autograph session had to extend into two hours. YEAH. THEY DID. But I digress.

The good stuff started at the Power Rangers panel. While we were waiting for the previous panel to end by the door, Johnny stood by us to wait as well. Then the fans on the line started whipping out their cameras, and one fan asked for Johnny to morph with his morpher. Just pretend there’s a picture here showing Johnny morphing with fans.

Robert Axelrod and Johnny Yong Bosch answering questions at Power Rangers Panel.
(Picture courtesy: Jessica Steinberg)

As for the actual panel, this is the first time that Johnny and Axelrod were on a panel together, and they talked about how many cons they’ve been to in the past and never met up. Many of the typical questions came up, but one fan asked if Johnny or Axelrod knew about a second Power Morphicon was going to be planned (and if so, when and where). Axelrod said that there’s a second one happening, but he didn’t know when and didn’t know where. And then Johnny spilled that he wasn’t invited. Cue outcry.

Eyeshine Q&A
(Picture courtesy: Jessica Steinberg)

Right after the Power Rangers panel came the Eyeshine Q&A. Johnny mentioned that although it was an Eyeshine Q&A, if asking about Power Rangers or anime will get people to stick around, by all means ask, lol! People did, but it was mostly questions about the band, so that hour filled out nicely. One tidbit that Johnny mentioned was that he currently keeps in contact with Jason David Frank and that Jason will be in an MMA fight in February. Hopefully he won’t get injured again and it’ll happen this time!

Johnny Yong Bosch Autograph Session

By this time, Johnny was very happy that someone with a more-than-decent video camera was taping his events at the convention, so the NPS crew went into the autograph session and taped some more. Caught a couple of Power Ranger fans getting stuff signed, including one fan who actually drew Johnny a picture of Adam in the black ranger suit anime style. It’s actually really cool, and another PR fan there was cool with her MMPR t-shirt (shown above). So I approve! Everyone else, BAD FORM. How dare they go to an anime convention, go up to an anime voice actor, and then ask him to sign anime-related merchandise? The NERVE of these people!

Eyeshine at sound check.
(Picture courtesy: Jessica Steinberg)

My main concern was recording the sound properly, because this wasn’t the first time I’ve recorded these guys. Youmacon 2005 had decent video, but terrible audio. Had to get it right this time, and let’s just say that I’m so thankful that they were doing a concert again on Sunday, lol! Learned quickly what not to do!

Sunday afternoon Eyeshine concert.

After being incredibly tired Saturday, Sunday was a breeze. Although, it started early. I was told that a podcast had a panel and they were going to interview Johnny and the guys, so we went…at 9:30am. They started really late anyway, and the band didn’t get there until 10ish to do the interview, so it wasn’t so bad. Axelrod was there to be interviewed as well, so that was nice. The guys interviewing the guests were really…off though. I mean, they were ok, but it just seems as if they didn’t know what to ask, and even with the Eyeshine interview, they lucked into a really good story about Maurice (drummer) bleeding on the drums at one performance they did back in 2007. No seriously, Maurice was using someone else’s drum kit to play, cut himself while playing, and by the end of the set, there was blood all over the drum heads. Wonderful parting gift.

Then the encore concert came around, and was packed with people. Easily 3 times the size of the Saturday concert. The nice surprise was that one of the fans played with them on a track, and that was cool. I mean, if I got to jam with my favorite band, hello! Awesomeness!

The Ins and Outs of ADR Writing with Robert Axelrod.
(Picture courtesy: Jessica Steinberg)

Our last event was to catch a bit of the ADR Writing panel. It was cool because Axelrod was using Power Ranger examples to explain how an ADR script is written and what to look out for. It was informative! And any excuse for him to use the Lord Zedd voice is good times by me!

And that’s it! Thanks to Jessica for helping me out and taking most of the behind-the-scenes pictures, and thanks to the Zenkaikon staff. Footage of the convention is coming very soon. At least this’ll be something to tie you over with the lack of RPM episodes. Remember, if you’d like to see us cover more convention, feel free to donate! (And request for more rangers to go to East Coast conventions!)

NPS interviews Roger Velasco.
(Picture courtesy: Henshin Vault)

After flying in early Thursday afternoon, getting a flat tire, and completely missing the SPD and Lost Galaxy cast, I was through. I couldn’t take anymore disappointment! But meeting Roger Velasco (Carlos from Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers in Space) really perked up my spirits, and he was such an easy guy to talk to. Unfortunately he was the first interview, and we were having some major audio problems. I was so afraid that it would be like this for the rest of the weekend, but I quickly troubleshooted it for Selwyn Ward’s (TJ from Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers in Space) interview right after. Selwyn looks exactly the same as he was on the show eons ago. If you didn’t know by now, black people don’t age. It’s true. Look at Walter Jones! But I digress.

Interviewing Selwyn was a little nerve-wracking for me because…well, I don’t know why. All I remember is being very nervous, but he was a sweetheart, and he knew when to dish out the dirt! Loved it! In fact, when asked about Christopher Khayman Lee (Andros from Power Rangers in Space), him and Roger both had to hesitate and both said the same thing about Chris being more to himself. Very interesting.

Production Assistant and Cameraman Tristan helps set up for the day.
(Picture courtesy: No Pink Spandex)

Friday, we had a bunch of interviews, including Steve Cardenas, Karan Ashley, and Nakia Burrise. Every morning, the NPS crew were stationed 3 feet away from Steve and Karan’s table, so after seeing each other for 3 days straight for 8 hours a day (give or take), people get loopy. There was a lot of waiting around for rangers to sneak away time to come by us, but since Steve and Karan were right there, they were easy. One of the production assistants, Johnathan, mentioned that Karan was really happy to see me. Karan’s really happy period!

Lisa J meeting Nakia Burrise for the first time.
(Picture courtesy: Henshin Vault)

When I was interviewing Steve. JC (the person who organized the reunion at AX) noticed Nakia coming over to the ranger booth and nudged her over to Steve while I was interviewing him so that their reunion could be caught on camera. And it was! Then Nakia came around to me and gave me a hug as well! Ever since I interviewed her back in May 2008 (even before then), we’ve been exchanging emails back and forth. Finally we meet, so I’m glad that moment was caught on camera as well, no matter how bad I look! During her interview though, Steve interrupted by hugging Nakia on camera. Love that guy! If you haven’t seen it, it’s the blooper at the end of Nakia’s video interview.

NPS interviews Blake Foster.
(Picture courtesy: David Fultz)

Then Blake was up next, and the cool tidbit about this was that he had just gotten a tattoo (among others) of the Blue Ranger Turbo helmet on his right arm that Thursday of the convention. Hardcore stuff! The tat was cool, but I’m still old school. I’d still be worried when I’m 80 and everything’s sagging!

Nakia Burrise, Lisa J, and Karan Ashley.
(Picture courtesy: No Pink Spandex)

Finally! A good picture! I had to throw in the obligatory “Chocolatey Goodness – The Female Edition” in there. Makes a sistah proud! A good way to end off Friday, I’d say.

NPS interviews Catherine Sutherland.
(Picture courtesy: Karen Shih)

Saturday was a whirlwind! Many more interviews, the Power Rangers Panel, and did I say more interviews? Interviewing Catherine Sutherland was a trip because I had just interviewed her back in March, so what else was I going to ask her? I didn’t care though, because this woman needs to be on camera as much as possible! Very sweet, and very tall! During the interview, Steve came in midway and hugged Catherine, continuing the Nakia running gag! Again, love that guy when’s he’s bored!

Production Assitant Jessica and Lisa J over by Walter Jones.
(Picture courtesy: Henshin Vault)

Walter Jones was suppose to be at the convention the whole weekend, but he was shooting a vampire movie in Louisiana, got on a plane early Saturday morning to fly into Burbank Airport, rushed home, and then rushed to come right in the middle of the Power Rangers Panel. That’s some dedication! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to interview him. He forgot. Twice. And that’s all I’ll say!

The weekend was a blast! There were some amazing moments that weren’t able to be caught on still camera, but I’m a video person. I tape everything! I’ll be finishing off the Anime Expo coverage this week, and I hope you got more than a glimpse of our experience. This chapter will end but another will open up sooner than you think!

Before I go back into my editing cave, I want to thank you all for making this happen. No Pink Spandex would not have been at Anime Expo without the support and the MANY donations. I’m being very honest. There was a time where I wasn’t going because I didn’t have the funds, but you guys made it happen. If you really want to make more trips like this happen, then keep supporting and keep donating! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.