According to Japan Economic Times, Kadokawa Group Holdings has announced its plan to establish a new content management division, which will handle content copyrights.

From a translation by ANS:

The new company will handle the copyright of about 500 titles, including Tokikake, to start off with. A game unit spin-off will produce the first ever Haruhi Suzumiya video game adaptation as its initial project.

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ICv2 reports that famed video game company Namco Bandai Holdings, publisher Kadokawa and animation house Toei have recently completed a series of cross-investments. The deal is seen as a effort to strengthen the relationship among all three content producers.

Source: ANN

The Beat reports on a rumor that ever since the departure of Kurt Hassler, Borders has been cutting back on its graphic novel division, and as a result "a few publishers are feeling the pinch."

According to a report filed by The Research Institute for Publications, the total sales of domestic manga in Japan last year (2006) were 481 billion yen, a 4.2% decline from 2005. This is the first time ever sales of the manga market dropped below 500 billion yen.

The report says that tankoubon sales have been decreasing for the past two years, and that manga magazine sales have been decreasing 11 years in a row. The decline of manga magazine sales was especially noticeable, which indicates that the readers are moving away from the magazine field.

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After the bankruptcy of distributor Publishers Group West (PGW), former PGW client Dark Horse and Broccoli Books' have now found new distributors: Dark Horse distributions will now be handled by Diamond Book Distributors, while Broccoli Books will have its distribution handled by Perseus.

Source: ICv2

Wholesale distributor Cold Cut announced that it has added yaoi manga publisher DramaQueen to its lineup:

This week, we have added a new publisher to our lineup: Dramaqueen Books! Formed in 2004, Dramaqueen has primarily focused on publishing yaoi and b/l manga, but has also published all-ages fantasy as well as heterosexual adult manga. With several books already published, Dramaqueen has an ambitious publishing schedule for 2007. Cold Cut has recently added a dozen new books from Dramaqueen to our catalog, and we will be adding several more in the months to come!

Source: Icarus Blog

Yaoi manga publisher Yaoi Press has announced a new joint venture with Korean manhwa publisher NETCOMICS. The new deal will have Yaoi Press titles featured on NETCOMICS' online website:

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PARIS (February 28, 2007) -- On the heels of the recent announcement regarding Hachette Book Group USA's graphic novel imprint Yen Press' first acquisitions comes another exciting announcement from Hachette's parent company Lagard??re. Today, Lagard??re announces that Hachette Livre is acquiring PIKA, the third largest manga publisher in the French market. The acquisition of PIKA will also contribute to manga businesses across Hachette Livre, including Yen Press.

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Nippon Television has announced that it will purchase a 16% capital stake in manga publisher Dijima for $1.3 million, according to a report from Variety.com. Dijima is the publisher of the free manga magazine Comic Gumbo, which made Japanese headlines as a free weekly manga magazine.

Source: Journalista

According to the ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference at this year's New York Comic-Con, graphic novels are outselling the traditional comic periodical format. "Based on our latest analysis, graphic novels passed comic periodicals in 2005 and held that lead in 2006," said ICv2 President Milton Griepp.

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