BBC WORLDWIDE APPOINTED LICENSING
AGENT FOR BABY JAKE
VIVID AWARDED UK MASTER TOY
LICENCE
BBC Worldwide today confirmed its
appointment as licensing agent for new CBeebies show Baby Jake. Darrall
Macqueen, which created the brand new show for pre-school audiences, made the
appointment and confirmed its ambitions for an extensive range of consumer
products to support the show.
Baby Jake (26 x 11’), developed by Production
Company Darrall Macqueen, combines gentle, enchanting storytelling, carefully
crafted humour and stunning warm animation to bring to life the magical
imagination of a young child and celebrate the special bond between two young
siblings. A mixture of live action and 2D photographic animation, the series is
narrated by Baby Jake’s six-year-old brother Isaac, who can understand his
giggles and gurgles and opens the door to an imaginary world where Baby Jake
sings, dances and baby-talks with his animal friends Pengy Quin, Sydney the
Monkey, Nibbles the Rabbit and the Hamsternauts. The episodes will air on
CBeebies from Summer 2011.
Billy Macqueen, Joint Managing
Director of Darrall Macqueen, said: “Baby Jake taps into the love and
understanding between young children and their baby siblings. The consumer
products really capture this connection and reflect the unique visual appeal of
the series, and we’re sure they will be enjoyed by all the family.”
Darrall Macqueen and BBC Worldwide
have awarded the UK master toy licence to Vivid, which will develop the initial
line of toys, puzzles and games to hit retail shelves in January 2012, timed to
ensure a strong loyal fan base has been built in advance of arrival at retail.
Julie Kekwick, Senior Licensing
Manager BBC Worldwide said: “We’re delighted to be working on Baby Jake which
has all the early signs of a successful pre-school property. Our strategy has
been to sign-up world-class partners across formats and working closely with
Darrall Macqueen, we’re delighted that Vivid are on board and look forward to
further conversations at Licensing Expo next week.”
“Baby Jake is a
funny distinctive show that we all believe will entertain pre-schoolers and
convert to strong toy sales,” states Emma Weber, Vivid’s Marketing and Licensing
Director. “CBeebies is a fantastic platform for this ground-breaking show and we
believe Baby Jake will very quickly secure a Top 5 position in pre-school
toy licensing.
For more information, contact Emma
Burch emma.burch@bbc.com or on 0207 612
3134
About BBC
Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the main
commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC). The company exists to maximise the value of the BBC’s assets
for the benefit of the licence fee payer and invest in public service
programming in return for rights. The company has seven core businesses:
Channels, Content & Production, Digital Media, Sales & Distribution,
Magazines, Home Entertainment and Global Brands. In 2008/09, BBC Worldwide
generated profits of £102.6 million (before exceptionals) on sales of over £1
billion.
BBC Worldwide was awarded with the
Queen’s Award for Enterprise in April 2009. This prestigious award for
International Trade recognised the company’s substantial growth in overseas
earnings and commercial success at outstanding levels, based on 3 years’ trading
results, which benefit the UK creative industries and ultimately the licence fee
payer.
Emma
Burch |
Communications Officer
BBC
Worldwide and 2 entertain
2
entertain Ltd, 33 Foley Street, London W1W 7TL
T:
+44 (0)20 7612 3134
E:
emma.burch@bbc.com
