Syndicate
BBC WORLDWIDE AT LICENSING EXPO 2012
Featuring key brands Doctor Who, Top Gear, BBC Earth, and Lonely Planet
New York, NY - June 8, 2012 - BBC Worldwide returns to Las Vegas to showcase its continuing strong portfolio of television properties at the Licensing Expo 2012. The commercial arm of the BBC will be seeking new partners for key brands like Doctor Who, Top Gear, BBC Earth, Lonely Planet and more, as they continue to expand internationally.
DOCTOR WHO
The international iconic brand and television hit Doctor Who is the longest-running sci-fi series in the world and continues to earn critical acclaim as BBC AMERICA's highest rated series. From award-winning lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat (Sherlock, The Adventures of Tintin) and starring Matt Smith as the eleventh Doctor, Doctor Who was the #1 downloaded series on the iTunes store for 2011 in North America and has been featured on NBC's Today Show, CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and G4's Attack of the Show.
Doctor Who merchandise has found favor with fans worldwide, further developing a strong following in the US. Leading up to the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who in November 2013, international licensing has grown exponentially throughout the world. With over 100 licensees in 2011 and more additions in the first half of 2012, the brand extends over several categories including: home furnishings, comic books, board games, on/offline video games, home textiles, calendars, seasonal decor, construction toys, science toys, a powered ride-in Dalek, collector sculptures and wide ranges of new clothing designs for both adults and children.
After the success of the in-store signing with the series' stars at Barnes & Noble in Manhattan, the nationwide bookstore has developed a summer promotion featuring Doctor Who merchandise including Blu-rays and DVDs, books, t-shirts, toys, gifts, mugs and action figures.
Over 3 million DVDs and 8 million action figures have sold to date. New licensees in the US include: IDW (The Doctor Who/Star Trek joint comic book), Elope, Inc. (masks, hats and adult costumes), Her Universe (junior apparel and sleepwear), Kurt S. Adler (holiday tree ornaments, stockings and lights), Lady Sandra (pillows, cushions and wall decor), Mead Westvaco (2013 50th Anniversary calendar and The Eleventh Doctor calendar), Rabbit Tanaka Corp. USA (lamps, mirrors and clocks), Robe Factory (robes featuring The Eleventh Doctor, The Fourth Doctor, The TARDIS, and the Dalek, TARDIS beach towel), and USAopoly (The 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Monopoly. & Yahtzee. boardgame).
Doctor Who is a hit for BBC One in the UK and Space in Canada. UK merchandising is led by Character Group's hugely successful range of action figures and role play toys. Matt Smith's debut in 2010 prompted a big resurgence in the toy sales, and last year's launch of the Character Building construction toy range was a huge success. Twenty four new mini-figures and five new play sets are being added this year, including a range-topping giant Dalek Spaceship. Other new UK lines include a new gift toiletries range from Sapona, Scan Computers' TARDIS shaped hard drive and Character's Sonic Blaster role-play toy which comes with Augmented Reality Smartphone technology.
In 2011, stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan made their San Diego Comic-Con debut to over 7000 fans for a Doctor Who panel in the famed Hall H. The banner year also included a BAFTA nomination for actor Matt Smith and SPIKE Scream Award win for Best Science Fiction Action Actor.
Now fans eagerly await the return of the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions - Amy (Karen Gillan), Rory (Arthur Darvill) and the introduction of the newest companion (Jenna-Louise Coleman) - in new epic episodes premiering later this year. The Doctor will meet his new friend in a dramatic turn of events as the show builds towards its enormous, climactic 50th Anniversary year - full of thrills, adventures and big surprises.
TOP GEAR
Top Gear is the world's biggest motoring entertainment show and broadcasts in over 170 territories. In the US it is BBC AMERICA's highest rated unscripted series, just wrapping its 18th season on the channel and arriving on DVD on June 12, 2012.
The US format of Top Gear has been booming on HISTORY channel, bringing in nearly 60 million viewers over the course of its second season and continuing to deliver HISTORY its youngest audience ever. The show is hosted by comedian and car buff Adam Ferrara, champion rally and drift racer Tanner Foust and racing analyst Rutledge Wood, and Season 3 is currently in production.
Witty, irreverent and unabashedly honest, Top Gear is full of stunts and challenges taking cars to the limit and beyond. With Top Gear, cars are just the starting point for epic road trips, ambitious projects and good old-fashioned mucking about.
In the UK, Top Gear magazine is the most-read men's monthly title, and merchandising for the show has been equally successful. Licensees covering the UK, Europe, US, Australia and more, bring fans everything from remote controlled cars and K'NEX construction toy ranges, to Stig Soap on a Rope and iPhone covers. The brand will be expanding into new categories including automotive aftermarket accessories, with a launch scheduled for Spring 2013, and men's apparel with new licensees Trau & Loevner.
BBC EARTH
BBC Earth brings unprecedented and inspirational content to new and established audiences around the globe. The phenomenally successful and Emmy® award-winning Planet Earth and Life, both BBC/Discovery Channel co-productions, are just two examples of the programming that comprises the BBC Earth brand. The BBC's Natural History Unit prides itself on pushing the boundaries of filming in the wild, using groundbreaking technology and unmatched expertise to create stories audiences will never forget. The current range of BBC Earth licensed products includes calendars, bookmarks, posters and puzzles, as well as activity and coloring books.
BBC Earth Facts:
BBC Earth's new landmark high definition series, Frozen Planet, from the award-winning team behind Planet Earth, took viewers on the ultimate polar expedition into a breathtaking landscape most humans will never experience. A BBC/Discovery Channel co-production four years in the making, Frozen Planet is ambitious and epic in scale, capturing the power of natural elements and the fragile, jaw-dropping beauty of scenery unlike anywhere else in the world. Frozen Planet premiered on Discovery Channel March 18, 2012 and Blu-ray and DVD were released on April 17, 2012. BBC Home Entertainment supported the release with an augmented reality experience in New Jersey, Illinois and California. Four distinctive broadcast quality 3D scenes gave the consumer the opportunity to place themselves right inside the content, where they interacted with the animals of the Polar Regions. This event acted as an organic cross between an art installation and advertising. With live streaming from each event, family and friends were able share their experience around the world.
BBC Earth also presents Walking With Dinosaurs 3D - the ultimate dinosaur movie in 3D for the entire family. The movie hits theaters in 2013 and is a thrilling story of families born and families torn apart, of growing up, rivalry and competition. Drawing on the wealth of recent paleontological discoveries, the film features compelling dinosaur characters, shown in state of the art photo-real CGI against real 3D backgrounds. It's like taking cameras back 70 million years to create a big screen dinosaur adventure like no other. The film builds on a successful BBC franchise:
Another BBC Earth title, Deadly 60, is one of the BBC's most popular factual programs, with viewers captivated by wildlife presenter Steve Backshall's quest to track down the world's deadliest animals. Deadly 60 toys launched in the UK at retail in 11/12 and the Character Options micro-deadly figures immediately became a best-selling line. Eighteen licensees are already signed up and launching product for the autumn.
Deadly 60 is mainstream family viewing, though still retaining its core audience of boys aged 7 to 12. 41 million people in the UK have seen the program and there are 61 hours of TV in the franchise.
The brand naturally lends itself to a number of specifically targeted play patterns: adventure (product categories such as outdoor toys); knowledge (trivia based products including books, partworks and games); collectability (trading cards, stickers etc.); allegiance (to include products displaying the logo such as apparel, stationery and bedding); role play (dress up and products to help kids emulate Steve) and adventure battle play (products which encapsulate the circle of life and the battle between creatures).
In the gifts category, Peter Black launched a range in M&S last autumn and this has now been opened up to a trade-wide gift license with EB Brands. Imagination Games has signed for board games, TV Mania for apparel and Portico for cards and stationery.
LONELY PLANET
Established almost 40 years ago, Lonely Planet is the world's number one guidebook publisher with 22% primary market share. Over 450 titles have been published and more than 100 million guidebooks have been printed, detailing over 300,000 points of interest across almost every destination in the world. Lonely Planet continues to inspire and guide travelers to explore and connect with the world around them. Global travelers consider Lonely Planet to be Adventurous and Free-Spirited in comparison to key competitors. Travelers are more likely to recommend Lonely Planet than any other global guidebook brand.
In addition, Lonely Planet has seen almost ten million mobile app downloads to date. Its magazine has an average monthly circulation of 60,125 copies in the UK and is also published in ten other countries, including France, Spain, Singapore and India. In the future, the range of Lonely Planet licensed products will be expanding into branded luggage, travel accessories and apparel.
DANCING WITH THE STARS
In the US and Australia it's Dancing with the Stars, in the UK it's Strictly Come Dancing, but around the globe it's one multi-award-winning, primetime entertainment dance phenomenon that has swept the world off its feet. Featuring opinionated judges, talented pro dancers, adventurous celebs, glitter and spray tans, Dancing with the Stars is sexy, thrilling, uplifting, inspiring and entertaining. It's the biggest show on earth.
Dancing with the Stars: Live in Las Vegas has been delighting packed houses at the New Tropicana Las Vegas with an 80-minute live entertainment show that brings the excitement of the ABC smash hit series Dancing with the Stars to life. The live show transports the stars to the stage for a night of sexy, stunning and surprising performances featuring fan favorite contestants including Joey Fatone, Carson Kressley, Kyle Massey and more.
Dancing with the Stars facts:
BBC GOOD FOOD
BBC Good Food was the UK's first dedicated food magazine in 1989, and this well respected and trusted market-leading brand has evolved to become one of the world's largest food media brands. BBC Good Food now also features a website, recipe books, Live Events, a dedicated TV channel in the UK, and the recent additions of iPad and iPhone applications. Now for the first time ever, a full style guide and creative direction will allow licensees to take the brand into a wide range of kitchenware, tableware, utensils and food products.
Submitted by News on Tue, 2012-06-12 17:13