The Point. 1888 secures 12 EMEA sub-agents for Moonbug Entertainment’s preschool portfolio

Moonbug Entertainment has set a course for global expansion, having signed with 12 sub-agents across the EMEA region for a number of its popular preschool properties. The string of sub-agent partnerships was secured by the firm’s master licensing agency, The Point. 1888.

The sweep of new licensing agents is just the latest move for Moonbug Entertainment who continues to bolster its presence on the international licensing scene. The firm has already secured a number of licensee partners for its brands Blippi, CoComelon, and My Magic Pet Morphle, courtesy of The Point. 1888.

The brand extension specialist was appointed last summer as the master licensing agency across EMEA for Moonbug. Since coming on board, The Point.1888 has sought to leverage the shows’ popularity with children by bringing the brand closer to its audience across a broad range of categories, including clothing, puzzles, arts & crafts, games, outdoor to name just a few.

The Point.1888 has also now secured a wealth of sub-agents to  help it deliver its licensing plans across EMEA. These include the German brand licensing expert, The Brand Residence, in Germany, Austria and Sweden; the award winning Spanish agent, El Ocho, in Iberia; the leading agent for the Italian market, The Evolution of Licensing, and Spacetoons, one of the largest and most successful kids entertainment conglomerates in the Middle East.

Further partners include LDI in Israel LDI in Turkey and Cyprus, ELC to cover Eastern Europe, Brand4rent in Russia, CLM in South Africa, License Connection for the Benelux region, Ferly in the Nordics, and Brand Energy – headed up by Benoir Roque and Alex Ardant – will be covering France.

So far, all sub-agents are in discussion with prospective licensees in their territories and a number of agreements are now in place. Jazwares and Bandai are working with the sub agents and The Point.1888 on the master toy launch of CoComelon and Blippi across EMEA this year, following a strong 2020 launch in the UK.

Character Options is planning for the launch of its master toy range for My Magic Pet Morphle this Autumn.

Bethan Garton, commercial director at The Point.1888, said: “Every agent we’ve signed really understands the new digital world that kids live in and that properties on YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and others can have just as successful a launch at retail as those on a traditional broadcaster, if not more so.

“Our agents will all act as ambassadors of Moonbug and The Point.1888 in their region and so a retail approach is key. They will be working with and educating retailers across EMEA on the strength of digital content brands.”

Jo Galpin, international licensing manager at Moonbug, added: “The success that we’ve seen so far has been phenomenal and allows families across the globe to connect with their favourite Moonbug characters. The Point.1888 have been excellent partners and we look forward to what each sub-agent will bring to their region.”

Poetic Brands grows its pre-school portfolio with Moonbug’s My Magic Pet Morphle

Poetic Brands is continuing to expand its baby, children’s wear, and accessories division, this time through an extended partnership with Moonbug Entertainment to develop an apparel range based on the My Magic Pet Morphle brand.

The deal was brokered by The Point. 1888 who manages the rights for Moonbug’s properties across EMEA and will see the apparel specialist create a collection of accessories, children’s clothes, outerwear, and swimwear.

Morphle is Mila’s magic red pet, who can morph into anything – a sweet puppy, a giant truck, a cool dinosaur or anything that Mila’s playful mind can imagine. With over 250 episodes in its library and content in 12 languages, the show teaches preschoolers the themes of friendship, problem solving and creativity, and is available on a range of digital platforms including YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, Apple TV, and most recently, was part of a deal to be shown on Virgin Media platforms.

The consumer products programme for the imaginative and playful kids’ brand, managed by The Point.1888 has also begun with a deal with Thinkway Toys as Master Toy partner. 

Anne Bradford, director, Poetic Brands, said: “My Magic Pet Morphle offers fantastic animation based around a magic pet store, which will enable us to create some interactive and fun products. It completes a strong portfolio of properties for this area of the retail market.”

Becky Langer, senior commercial manager, soft goods at The Point.1888, added: “We are thrilled to partner with Poetic Brands on this exciting range for My Magic Pet Morphle fans. We believe that their design, manufacturing and speed to market capabilities will ensure that fantastic products come to market in 2021, quenching the pent-up consumer demand for this phenomenal growing brand.” 

Moonbug Entertainment partners with Virgin Media to expand kids’ programming in the UK

Moonbug Entertainment is partnering with Virgin Media to expand its children’s programming across the UK. Under the partnership, ten new shows will air on Virgin Media’s TV platform, starting with a roll out from mid October.

The children’s programming set to air includes Blippi, Little Baby Bum, Playtime with Twinkle, Go Buster, Toddler Fun Learning, Digley and Dazey, Dr Poppy, Supa Strikas, My Magic Pet Morphle and Gecko’s Garage.

“We couldn’t be more delighted to enter this strategic partnership with Virgin Media, one of the leading platforms in the UK,” said Nicolas Eglau, head of EMEA and APAC at Moonbug.

“Brands like Blippi and Morphle have become household names in the UK and by bringing them to Virgin Media customers, even more families will have the opportunity to enjoy these blockbuster titles. We look forward to working with Virgin Media on bringing more Moonbug shows to their viewers in the future.”

David Bouchier, chief digital entertainment officer at Virgin Media, added: “We’re constantly looking for ways to expand our kids offer and we’re very pleased to add Moonbug’s impressive range of popular children’s characters for our customers.

“Not only will families gain access to more than ten new franchises, but they’ll have exclusive access to new episodes of Blippe before anyone else, from November 2nd.”

Blippi is the most recent program to join Moonbug’s impressive lineup. Through singing, dancing, and exploring, Blippi helps children understand the world around them and encourages vocabulary development. Virgin Media exclusively gets a selection of new Blippi episodes for one month before they air on other platforms in the UK.

My Magic Pet Morphle, an animation show loved by children aged aged three to six, follows Little Mila and her magical pet Morphle as they turn playtime into a series of fun and educational adventures while teaching themes of friendship, problem-solving and creativity.

Gecko’s Garage is a show about friendly neighbourhood mechanic Gecko and his team of clumsy robot Mechanicals who together help any vehicle in need. Whether it’s a bus with a leaky oil tank, or a goldfish trapped in an exhaust, they’ll always try their very best and get the job done.

Moonbug and The Point. 1888 eye ‘evergreen retail space’ for CoComelon, Blippi, and rest of portfolio

Following on from last week’s Moonbug and MGA Entertainment partnership announcement, the global entertainment company has now turned to the brand licensing agency, The Point. 1888 to expand the Moonbug portfolio, including CoComelon, Blippi, My Magic Pet Morphle, ARPO, Supa Strikas, and T-Rex Ranch.

Under the new partnership, The Point. 1888 will look to ‘provide streamlined consumer products roll-out across EMEA’, with the ambition of owning evergreen retail space for the collection.

“As our audience continues to grow, we remain focused on widening consumer engagement touchpoints at a global level, and part of that is having a trusted partner in EMEA,” said Simon Philips, Moonbug. “We’re confident in The Point.1888 and look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”

Collectively, Moonbug receives over 7 billion monthly views, and will now operate the largest network of kids channels on YouTube, encompassing 235 million subscribers, and its beloved kids’ brands are available on over 100 platforms globally, including major on-demand streaming services such as Netflix, Apple TV, Sky and Hulu.

Will Stewart, founder and managing director at The Point.1888, said: “We are so excited to get started on this. It is not often that you find a unique digital IP partner like Moonbug that is ahead of the crowd producing safe and fun content, with such speed that appeals to all the family, every gender and all our diverse nations.

“The stats speak for themselves proving the success across all the properties and really offer endless opportunities for this licensing programme.”

The Point.1888’s retail-first brand extension model has been one of the biggest drivers of the agency’s growth in the last 12 months. Its team, headed up by Commercial Director Bethan Garton is rapidly expanding and is currently made up of 19 industry professionals with vast and relevant experience having previously worked with other big brands such as the Gruffalo, Star Wars, LOL Surprise, Marvel, Clangers, Mr Men, Noddy and Sesame Street.