News of new kids’ TV distribution deals made by Netflix and Amazon last week drove home a discussion we have increasingly been having with licensing executives about the ability of digital platforms to launch new properties (as well as boost business for existing brands).
While hard data showing a positive causal relationship between viewership on digital platforms and licensed merchandise sales is still hard to come by, in part because Netflix closely guards its viewership data, many industry executives nevertheless see a strong correlation. “Netflix has moved the [merchandise sales] needle on shows that have gone from broadcast” to the digital platform, one licensing agent assured us.
Launching a new property on Netflix is beneficial in markets were the service is well-established, named the U.S., Canada and the U.K., agreed a licensor.
Netflix– and to a lesser extent Amazon and Hulu, which have not been as aggressive in pursuing original kids content—provide a welcome expansion of the kids’ television market. Netflix recently launched DreamWorks’ Animation’s Dinotrux , for example, and Amazon last month bowed live action Just Add Magic. Industry experts are quick to note, however, that licensing success still comes down to the appeal of the content itself and the space available at retail.
With that in mind, we offer six new series—five from Netflix and one from Amazon—with licensing potential.
Show | Producer | Distributor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Beat Bugs | Grace: A Storytelling Company, Thunderbird and Beyond Screen Production | Netflix | Animated series featuring renditions of Beatles songs by artists including Eddie Vedder, Pink and Sia premieres this summer. |
Word Party | The Jim Henson Co. | Netflix | Vocabulary building show to preschoolers premieres June 3. |
Lalaloopsy | MGA Entertainment | Netflix | This 13-episode animated series emphasizing self-expression and friendship is part of a revitalization effort for the doll property. Starts in the fall. |
Stretch Armstrong | Hasbro Studios | Netflix | Teen Jake Armstrong and his two best friends become superheroes after being exposed to experimental. |
The Greenhouse | Nutz Productions | Netflix | Live-action series for 2017 about rival houses at an elite boarding school that unite to fight evil forces. |
Thunderbirds are Go | ITV Studios | Amazon | Amazon has ordered four seasons of the animated series based on the 1960s British teen sci-fi property. |