Bulldog Licensing – the licensing agent for darts game show and brand Bullseye – is celebrating a busy 2024 and looking forward to an even busier 2025 as it enters its second decade partnering the hit property.
Strong awareness of the property is about to be further boosted by the news that former England cricket captain and Top Gear presenter Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has signed to present a special Christmas episode of the darts-themed quiz show for ITV.
Freddie has told news outlets that Bullseye was one of his favourite shows as a kid and that he “can’t quite believe” he has secured the hosting gig.
The TV return will also raise awareness of the successful licensing campaign, rounding off a busy 10 years for Bullseye as a brand. Bullseye first aired on ITV in the 1980s, to peak audiences of 19.8 million, and has remained popular, notably on Sky Challenge since 2006, where it is regularly among the top shows on the channel.
Licensing success has further built on the popularity, with partners across categories such as apparel, gifts, games, publishing and food and drink.
This year has seen UK holiday park operator, Away Resorts, launch its own Bullseye-inspired game show as part of its evening entertainment. Following an earlier trial at Tattershall Lakes, the format was rolled out to three additional Away Resorts locations throughout the summer, with further locations to be added in 2025.
Most recently, new company, Bully Beer & Crisps brought the brand into a highly appropriate partnership with a craft lager and a session lager brewed using a combination of 100% British Challenger and First Gold hops, along with small-batch hand-cooked crisps in four flavours.
Bullseye and Bulldog have also been working with the Defence Darts Community (DDC), a fast-growing organisation of darts enthusiasts from both serving military and veteran personnel, from across the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Its aim is to see darts enjoy official military recognised status and to see service personnel officially represent their service at darts, while also promoting the benefits of darts as a great way of encouraging camaraderie and friendship.
So what’s next for this perennial favourite? Bullseye products at the PDC World Championship in December? Quite possibly.
“We are indeed working with National Merchandise on Bullseye support for the Championship – and many other plans are in the pipeline for 2025,” commented Rob Corney, md at Bulldog Licensing. “That’s no surprise to us. Bullseye has been enormously popular for over 40 years, remains a favourite with darts fans of all ages and has also been an enduring success as a licensed property. And now a whole new generation is about to share the fun, participation, humour and entertainment of this classic game as ‘Freddie’ Flintoff brings Bullseye to screens for Christmas and shows fans old and new why you can’t beat a bit of Bully.”
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