By Marcy Magiera
The following is an excerpt from TLL’s feature story on entertainment/character licensed brands. See the complete run-down here, including retail sales by product category and retail distribution.
While “TV licensing in general is up,” as one licensor explains in The Licensing Letter’s Annual Licensing Business Survey, the continuing popularity of edgy TV series for adults contributed to growth. Adult collectors were strong spenders in 2015, particularly for TV shows such as “Breaking Bad,” “The Walking Dead,” “Outlander,” “Doctor Who,” and “Game of Thrones.” Edgy entertainment is the basis for relative pricy collectibles, apparel and other merchandise, such as a “Dr. Who” Tenth Doctor Sonic Screwdriver Universal Remote ($115) or a “Game of Thrones” Targaryen Zip Up Hoodie ($50). “A lot of the growth was in properties that cater to fandoms,” says one licensee.
Specialty toy companies and retailers “get excited for something that isn’t Disney,” adds a licensing agent. Merchandise tied to adult hits including “Game of Thrones” and “Walking Dead” propped up retailers like Hot Topic and Spencer’s, the agent says. “These guys are doing great because the content is so strong.”
While some respondents continued to bemoan the short life span of movie properties, as in past years, others pointed to the power of entertainment properties that have both movie and TV exposure and the growing potential of digital platforms to launch or extend properties.
“Movies popping in and out, while having baseline TV stuff. That’s what retailers want, to be honest with you,” said one licensor. Examples of this strategy at work include Disney’s use of its cable network Disney XD to keep properties including Spider-Man, Avengers and Star Wars on boys’ radar between feature films with shows including “Ultimate Spider-Man,” “Star Wars Rebels” and “Avengers Assemble”; Warner Bros.’ seeding of primetime network TV with “Supergirl,” “Gotham,” “Arrow” and “The Flash” to maintain awareness of the DC Comics properties that it is drafting for a steady flow of feature films; and Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series as a companion to the 2014 and 2016 theatrical films.
Digital platforms like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and Amazon Prime can also effectively extend media exposure for licensed properties, and possibly even launch the licensing programs of some properties. “Netflix has moved the needle on shows that have gone from broadcast to Netflix,” one agent says. And while respondents were split on how well digital platforms serve to launch new properties, it should be noted that Marvel’s “Jessica Jones” and “Daredevil” both are distributed as Netflix originals.