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BBC Studios showcases global brands for all ages in Las Vegas

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With Licensing Expo 2022 opening in Las Vegas today (24 May), BBC Studios is set to share an impressive roster of brands with delegates.

 BBC Studios’ raft of titles includes global preschool hit Bluey, adventures in time and space with Doctor Who, multi award-winning animation Hey Duggee, much-loved entertainment show Top Gear and natural history brand BBC Earth.

 “We’re so excited to share our incredible range of brands with the industry, update people on our latest plans and products and meet potential new licensees,” says Stephen Davies, Managing Director of Consumer Products and Licensing, BBC Studios. “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to get together like this and we’ve certainly got a lot to catch up on – not least global hit preschool show Bluey, new Doctor Who and so many more popular brands we have in our roster and in development.” 

Licensing Expo is also a chance for BBC Studios to discuss the recently launched Kids & Family Division, which combines the exceptional talent and expertise of the BBC Children’s Production team and the content investment, customer and brand experience within BBC Studios into a new and integral part of the BBC Studios content powerhouse.

Bluey

Global-hit animation Bluey was Disney Junior’s #1 ratings driver with kids 2-5 in 2021 in the US.

With audiences worldwide falling for the lovable Blue Heeler pup and her family and friends, Bluey has set viewing records in its native Australia and features in the top three Disney Junior shows in five EMEA markets. BBC Studios is establishing a long-term global licensing programme for the brand and has already appointed agencies and licensees in markets around the world. Key existing agreements include master toy partner Moose Toys and master publisher Penguin Random House as well as global and multi-territory deals including VTech, Crayola, Colgate and a recently announced deal with Hasbro.

Season three of Bluey debuted on ABC TV in Australia in November 2021 and is set to be released globally on Disney platforms later this year. It was recently announced that hit stage show Bluey’s Big Play will be touring in the US from November 2022 after a successful debut in Australia. The show has also made international headlines for an innovative partnership with Airbnb which saw the Heelers’ home recreated ‘for real life’ in Brisbane for a lucky family to stay at.

“Bluey has had an incredible couple of years of rapid growth with strong sales across markets and product lines; we’re excited for the future of the brand and we’ve put a strong platform in place to support the development of Bluey for the long-term,” says Andrew Carley, Director of Global Licensing, BBC Studios. “The show itself is so special and touches so many people and we are delighted to have assembled a fantastic global licensing programme with partners around the world who are busy making great products and experiences for fans.” 

Doctor Who

With over 58 years of history as the world’s longest running action-adventure television show and the Doctor’s next regeneration due to air later this year, Doctor Who is a hit global franchise with hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide and over 50 long-standing licensees including Character Options, Moonpig.com Limited, Winning Moves, Eaglemoss, Build-A-Bear and Brand Alliance.

Titan has renewed its worldwide licensing agreement for collectible figurines, apparel, cards, art prints and gifting/novelties. Battlefront Miniatures will continue to produce toys and games across Europe, the US, Canada and New Zealand. 

Hey Duggee

Multiple BAFTA and Emmy award-winning preschool animation Hey Duggee continues to delight fans and was recently commissioned for a fourth series as well as hitting the headlines for special collaborations with fitness guru Joe Wicks, and naturalist David Attenborough who narrated The Green Planet Badge. Hey Duggee has an impressive global footprint in over 150 territories and more than 1.2million fans across its social channels, and its official YouTube channel has more than a billion lifetime views. In 2021 in the UK, Hey Duggee was the most-watched kids’ show on CBeebies and was streamed more than 250m times on BBC iPlayer. 

The licensing programme continues to grow with new UK licensees recently announced for health and beauty products, H&A and an expanded range of wheeled toys from MV Sports. Master toy partners are Golden Bear (UK), Bizak (Spain) and Lansay (France), with wooden toys from 8th Wonder in the UK and roleplay and bubbles from HTI Toys (UK). Master publishing agreements are with Penguin Random House (UK), who recently scored a #1 bestseller for The World Book Day Badge, and Hachette (France). Ypsilon Licensing were announced as agents for Spain last year while France TV are licensing agents for France.

Earlier this year a new attraction, Hey Duggee’s Big Adventure Badge, opened at CBeebies Land at Alton Towers Resort in the UK.

Mandy Thwaites, Director, Magazines & Consumer Products, UK Division, BBC Studios, says: “Hey Duggee continues to delight audiences and we continue to be delighted with the growth of the brand. We have great existing partners for Hey Duggee and we’re continuing to welcome more on board. It’s going to be an exciting year for the brand with new content to share later this year and new partnerships to announce soon.” 

Top Gear

Top Gear still sits in pole position with its 31st series and BBC Studios are looking to expand the licensing portfolio for the hit global brand. Current successful partnerships include Danilo for cards and calendars and TDP and Aykroyds for nightwear, DreamTex as bedding partner, and Assured Products Ltd for car-cleaning gift kits. Kimm and Miller are partnered for food gifting,  Immediate Media for magazines and recently signed Ginger Fox for board games. BB Designs will also be working on the direct-to-consumer website selling multiple product areas.

BBC Earth

As BBC Studios’ natural history content pipeline grows bigger than ever, the BBC Earth brand continues its partnerships with Teemill, who have added a fun children’s collection to its sustainable clothing range, and Danilo for cards and calendars.

BBC Studios is at stand N204 for the duration of Licensing Expo 2022 with representatives from offices in all global markets in attendance.

 

BBC Studios to drive Bluey licensing growth across the Americas with new SVP of consumer products and business development

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BBC Studios – Americas has promoted Suzy Raia to the role of senior vice president, consumer products and business development, where she will oversee and provide licensing planning for the hit preschool franchise, Bluey alongside Doctor Who, Top Gear, His Dark Materials, and Natural History Unit programming.

Tara Maitra, chief commercial officer, BBC Studios – Americas, said: “Bluey has quickly grown to become a favorite brand among preschool-aged children and their families due in large part to Suzy’s fastidious devotion to the brand, as well as her keen insight into smart consumer product strategy.

“This well-deserved promotion acknowledges Suzy’s leadership in developing the Bluey franchise so successfully in such a short time, as well as for the positioning of the brand for continued, record-breaking growth in the future.”

Since joining BBC Studios in 2018, Raia has been responsible for driving the licensing and consumer products strategies across its portfolio of properties for the US, Canada, and Latin America. Her purview includes product licensing across multiple genres, including factual and natural history content, drama series, science fiction, and children’s animation.

Raia said: “I am living and breathing Bluey every day, and could not ask for a better brand in which to be fully immersed. We have launched a robust licensing program in the US, with extensions in Canada and Latin America alongside our Master Toy Licensee Moose as well as many other best-in- class licensees. All I can say is, the best is yet to come.”

Prior to BBC Studios, Raia built her career over 19 years at Nickelodeon, where she most recently served as the vice president of partnerships and collaborations within the consumer products division. In that role, Raia executed ground-breaking deals including Moschino X SpongeBob, Jeremy Scott X Ren & Stimpy, Story X Nick 90’s, TMNT X Melo (Carmelo Anthony), and SpongeBob(RED).

Raia also served as vice president of apparel and accessories for over 10 years, tripling the business during her tenure with hit properties including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Paw Patrol, Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, and more. Earlier in her career, she worked across a variety of categories which included activity, toy, back-to-school, stationery, and seasonal, with an expanded oversight across Viacom properties including Nickelodeon’s children’s portfolio, Comedy Central’s South Park, and Paramount’s The Godfather, Audrey Hepburn, and many more.