Here’s a strange one. E.W. Scripps Company, owners of ABC 15 here in Phoenix, is selling the rights to Peanuts for $175 million. The buyer? None other than the Iconix Brand Group, aka the owners of Joe Boxer underwear. Created by Charles Schulz, Charlie Brown and the gang still pull in an amazing $2 billion annually in liscensed merchandise sales, with some 20,000 new products rolled out each year across more than 40 countries. Iconix, which also owns the brands London Fog, Candie’s and Starter, said it expects “Peanuts” to generate about $75 million in annual royalty revenue.

[Yahoo]

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