The Licensing Letter

Entertainment/Character

As Generations Shift, Preschool Market Follows

Broadly speaking, the demographics of the world are changing—on a global level, parents are having fewer children while their financial prospects are improving. For some countries, that translates into increased spending on largely non-essential items, like licensed toys and premium-priced bottles. For other territories, that means decreased spending on essentials like diapers … [Read more...] about As Generations Shift, Preschool Market Follows

Streaming & Experiential Power Up

DreamWorksTV, a division of Awesomeness that creates family-friendly digital content distributed via YouTube, partners with Amazon to launch its first subscription offering. The individual OTT network will offer exclusive programming including Schneck & Eck Crack The Case, Action Figures In Action, Secret Agent Challenge, and Neighborhood Super Watch. Global streaming … [Read more...] about Streaming & Experiential Power Up

Company Spotlight: On Scaling Niche to Mass

Since filing for an IPO last year, Funko has released some of its financial data and offered a few key insights on the fast-growing, ever-volatile market for pop culture collectible merchandise. Here are some of the top takeaways and most interesting tidbits gleaned from a licensee generating around $800 million in licensed retail sales a year. While the company seems to … [Read more...] about Company Spotlight: On Scaling Niche to Mass

Franchises Drive Comics Sales in 2017

According to ICv2 and NPD BookScan, the top-selling comic book titles of 2017 hailed from the '80s—two 30-year-old volumes were the best-selling superhero titles of the year. Marvel’s top new title was Black Panther Book 1 and DC Comics’ top new titles were the collections of the Rebirth launches of Batman and The Flash. Twelve of the top 20 best-selling superhero titles of … [Read more...] about Franchises Drive Comics Sales in 2017

Entertaining Deals & Experiences

Bells are ringing for the latest royal marriage, this time between Nick Jr. and Thomas & Friends. A new agreement between parents Mattel and Nickelodeon will see new seasons of Thomas & Friends premiere on the kid's channel, with specials set to air on the Nickelodeon network throughout the year. Nick will also serve as Mattel's exclusive U.S. agent for Thomas merch … [Read more...] about Entertaining Deals & Experiences

Emerging Content

As we enter into the new year, here are the latest new brands with licensing potential as well as ways to exploit them. Hasbro is planning a new animated TV series for 2019 based on its Micronauts line of collectables. The mini superhero brand will see a live-action movie in 2020 following the TV series, which is aimed at 6–11 year-olds. Hulu teams up with executive producer … [Read more...] about Emerging Content

46 Properties Make the $100+ Million Ent/Char List in 2016

Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com A grand total of 46 properties made the $100 million entertainment/character list for 2016 retail sales, with five new faces joining the pack. See the complete list here. All in all, the top properties generated $43 billion in retail sales of licensed merchandise worldwide. Globally, that marks a $2 billion increase compared to … [Read more...] about 46 Properties Make the $100+ Million Ent/Char List in 2016

$100 Million Superhero Brands Grow 15% in 2016

Karina Masolova, karina@plainlanguagemedia.com While the average $100 million entertainment/character brand grew 8% in U.S./Canada retail sales of licensed merchandise in 2016, superhero brands grew by nearly 15% from the previous year. See the complete list here. The top four superhero brands by retail sales in the U.S./Canada made up almost 11% of the $100 million list's … [Read more...] about $100 Million Superhero Brands Grow 15% in 2016