H20 Licensing Deal For France And UK
Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products have signed a deal with ZDF Enterprises for licensing and merchandising rights to the hit Australian live action kids' TV show, H20 -- JUST ADD WATER, in France and the UK.
NVCP in France and the UK will exclusively represent the property across publishing, interactive (PC and console games), apparel, accessories, toys, games and paper products.
The deal, announced Wednesday by Laurent Taieb, Vice President, Nickelodeon and Consumer Products France, will see the first phase of a licensing program roll out in the French market, from spring/summer 2009, followed by a larger range of product launches in fall/winter of that year.
The products will target girls 7 to 12 years old.
H20 premiered in France on December 20, 2007 exclusively on terrestrial broadcaster, France 2. It airs on kids' block KD2A every morning at 10 a.m., and has proved to be an instant success, ranking as the most watched show amongst 11-14 year olds during its launch month.
Already a smash hit in Australia on Channel Ten and the Number 1-rated show in the UK on Nickelodeon, the magical adventure-drama series is about three teenage friends, with a splash of magic.
Emma, Cleo and Rikki are 16-year-old girls growing up on the sun-drenched beaches of the Gold Coast with a twist: they're mermaids with incredible powers over water.
H20 is already extremely successful in Australia, enjoying great sales on publishing -- one of the top selling ranges in the country -- and DVDs.
Through an exclusive partnership, a fashion line, including apparel, footwear, bags, headwear, sunglasses and jewelry, has also been launched.