Doctor Who, Top Gear, Hey Duggee, Strictly Come Dancing to be showcased.
BBC Studios, which recently merged with BBC Worldwide to form a single commercial entity, is ready to bring its raft of brands to Licensing Expo next month.
Andrew Moultrie, director of consumer products and publishing, UK, described the BBC’s content pipeline as “super exciting” for the next few years and the company was looking forward to expanding its network of licensees.
He commented: “The BBC has a very strong heritage of producing pioneering content that engages audiences across the globe. With franchises such as Doctor Who, Top Gear, Earth, Hey Duggee and UK favourites including Strictly Come Dancing and Something Special, we have content that appeals to consumers of all ages.
“The BBC content pipeline for the next few years is super exciting and we are looking forward to expanding our network of best in class licensees to support our ambitious growth plans.”
Doctor Who will undoubtedly be a main attraction as excitement builds for the new season, which will see Jodie Whittaker as the first ever female Doctor.
Titan has renewed its licensing deal for the US, Canada and UK for figurines, apparel and gifts/novelties, while Funko has renewed for Pop Vinyl figurines, ‘Rock Candy’ figurines and novelties for the US, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Other new deals in the US and Canada include Lady Sandra and Rabbit Tanaka.
Preschool hit Hey Duggee airs on Nick Jr in the US and reached over 7.4 million people in its first four weeks of launch in July 2016. Jazwares is the master toy partner in the US, while several other licensees are planning new launches in the territory in time for the holiday period.
Meanwhile, BBC Studios is looking to expand on the programme for Top Gear, following the success of the refreshed presenting line-up.
Strictly Come Dancing will also be a key focus – series 15 was the highest rated series of all time, with an average audience of 11.3 million and an average share of 48.3. This made it the second highest rated UK programme of 2017 – meaning interest from licensees and retailers continues to grow apace.
Hopes are high for the first official Strictly Come Dancing board game, which launches from John Adams in July.
Meanwhile, the programme for Something Special continues to grow, while the BBC Earth brand is becoming a big draw following the success of Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
Recently, Whitehouse Leisure inked an agreement to create plush toys for the UK and EMEA, ACCO has signed a deal to create BBC Earth-branded calendars for the US and Canada, plus Museums & Galleries is on board to create BBC Earth calendars, cards and stationery for the UK. More deals are also in the pipeline.
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