Licensing/2017 EXPO
Sunrights
Sunrights has signed a flurry of broadcast and merchandising partners in the western markets for Beyblade Burst, the newest generation of the Beyblade franchise. Canada was the first to launch the show in September 2016 on Teletoon with recurring broadcasts on weekends and reruns on Disney XD Canada. In December 2016, the series premiered in Australia on Channel 9 GO! and GO! Kids, and is now airing regularly on weekdays. The U.S. premiered Beyblade Burst with a two-week stunt event on Disney XD in December. The series is also available on Disney XD’s digital platforms and the official Beyblade Burst YouTube channel in the U.S. The animated series debuted in French markets in March on Canal J and Sunrights secured a partnership with Gulli to begin airing the series this fall. Programming is set in other European markets including K2 in Italy, Boing in Spain, Nickelodeon in Israel, Kadet in the Netherlands, Panda in Portugal, and Star Channel in Greece. Cartoon Network also picked up the series for Latin America and Turkey. Corus Entertainment will launch the second season of the animated series Beyblade Burst: Evolution in Canada this fall, with other partners to be announced. The second season was produced by d-rights and premiered in April in Japan on TV Tokyo. The Beyblade Burst toy line from Hasbro launched in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. at all major retailers. European and Latin American markets will follow later this year. In the Beyblade Burst app, players scan their Beyblade Burst tops into the app and battle both locally and internationally in the Wi-Fi enabled multiplayer mode with virtual tops. In the U.S., Sunrights has also partnered with Bioworld for apparel, Super Impulse for novelty toys, and Amscan for party goods. The brand has also secured more than 20 licensees in anticipation of its European launch across back-to-school, puzzles, publishing, apparel, home video, footwear, and food categories. Sunrights plans to fill remaining open categories during Licensing Expo.
72 tfe Licensing June 2017
Alpha Group
Alpha Group will showcase its preschool 3-D CGI-animated series Super Wings at the Expo. Super Wings follows the adventures of a plane named Jett who travels the world delivering packages to children. On every delivery, Jett encounters a new problem that he and his friends must work together to solve. The show focuses on issues of creative problem solving and cultural diversity. The characters visit 52 cities in 45 countries over the course of the series. Season two of the series recently launched on Sprout on April 3, introducing new characters, adventures, and destinations. Super Wings is also available for viewing on YouTube and Amazon Prime. Alpha Group is seeking partners for the property in publishing, party goods, sleepwear, footwear, back to school, headwear, hosiery, home, and sporting goods.
Brand Central
Brand Central is highlighting several clients at this years’ Licensing Expo. The agency works across a variety of licensing genres ranging from food and beverage brands (Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, SONIC Drive-In, Snyder’s-Lance, and Tapatio Hot Sauce) to lifestyle and entertainment brands (True and the Rainbow Kingdom, Rube Goldberg, and Pantone) and digital and media brands (WIRED, musical.ly, Roman Atwood, and Cute Girls Hairstyles).