Hot Properties
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nickelodeon Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the latest re-imagining of the classic property, with a new look, new weapons, new powers, new villains and new voices. However, the four same enduring themes remain; brotherhood, heroism, action and humour. The new series had its UK debut in September 2018 on Channel 5’s Milkshake and Nicktoons, following a sneak peek Nickelodeon VOD launch on Sky. The series follows the Turtles as they encounter a mystical world beneath the streets of New York. With reinvention rooted deep within its DNA, the 2D series embraces a fresh look and feel, including a brighter contemporary style, as well as new aspects of character development. Between Nicktoons and Channel 5, the series has already reached more than 2.8m fans, with premieres on Channel 5 averaging 53.2k kids, +7% vs the FY18 slot average. Master toy partner Flair launched the toy range in October 2018, including action figures, vehicles, play sets and role-play, all supported by Nickelodeon with crowd-pleasing activations in collaboration with leading high street retailers. Viacom Nickelodeon Consumer Products (VNCP) staged a raft of retail activity including a costume character appearance debut at Hamleys, an in-store Which Turtle are you? quiz at The Entertainer and an unboxing video with Diversity’s Perri in collaboration with Smyths. This year will see even more episodes, retail activations and product ranges spanning apparel, publishing, dress-up, arts and craft, stationery, FMCG and health and beauty, all ahead of the launch of Season 2.
Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed Beano Studios Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed is a CGI action-adventure series which first aired in 2017. Starring Beano’s iconic and dynamic duo, it became the highest rated show on the UK’s BBC at launch, as well as the highest rated show across all kids’ TV. The series’ success continued, as it became the Top 10 show for kids across all channels (including network family shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and The X Factor etc.) and the No. 1 show on CBBC for first three weeks of transmission, with a 26% average share. The series stars Dennis, a kid with an extraordinary imagination, awesome skills and a fearless attitude. He is inseparable from Gnasher, a stray dog adopted by Dennis and now his faithful sidekick. They are joined by their irrepressible and adventurous friends Rubi and JJ, plus Pieface and his pet potato, Paul. Together they cook up crazy plans, get into all sorts of scrapes, and take on every challenge going, no matter how big. Last year saw Dennis travel the globe as the series aired on the world-leading free-to-air public service broadcasters Super RTL in Germany, ABC in Australia, SIC in Portugal and YLE in Finland. Further international deals were also announced for Beano Studios’ first landmark TV production. These included TVE in Spain, HSCC 8 in Israel and France Télévísion. Fans of Dennis and Gnasher are also able to play DGU themed games and access further content on Beano.com; the award-winning digital network is the fastest growing UK digital destination with a reach of 5m.
Superzings Lisle Licensing The collectibles brand SuperZings saw record sales in 2018. Five Superzings products are listed in the latest YTD NPD data for the Top 20 New Items (action figures), with all five appearing within the 10 highest positions. Over 7m units were sold in the UK in 2018. Series 2 SuperZing sales outperformed Series 1 by 125%, driven by fans trying to find the new and elusive Professor K. Series 3 is set to launch in 2019, followed by partnerships with licensees for magazines and games in the UK.
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