‘Peppa Pig’ agent France TV Distribution to manage the consumer products program for ‘PJ Masks’ with merchandise to begin debuting January 2017.
LONDON -- Entertainment One has announced its plans for the launch of PJ Masks merchandise in France. The licensor has appointed France TV Distribution, the agent for Peppa Pig in France, to manage the consumer products program for PJ Masks in the region. eOne and FTD are now collaborating on the merchandise launch for the preschool property in France which will see toys debut at mass market and toy specialists from January 2017 and additional categories including footwear rollout from Autumn/Winter 2017.
Leading toy firm Giochi Preziosi is on board to distribute Just Play’s master toy line, which will include action figures, play sets, vehicles, plush, dress-up and role-play based on eOne’s hit preschool superhero animated TV show, which currently airs to strong ratings in France on both the Disney Junior cable network and France 5.
Following the toy launch, the merchandise program will be expanded in Autumn/Winter 2017 as Paris based footwear licensee, Royer, introduces a line of PJ Masks kids’ footwear. In addition, ATM is now on board for back-to-school accessories and will roll-out its range from 2018. Further partners are soon to be announced for apparel, accessories, games and puzzles.
“The property’s French heritage means that France is a key European territory for PJ Masks,” said Ami Dieckman, Head of International Licensing for Entertainment One. “Response from both local and international trade has been phenomenal and we look forward to welcoming a premium licensee list in 2017. Audiences are tuning into the TV series in big numbers and with the expert guidance France TV Distribution we’re keen to harness this popularity with the launch of consumer products in January.”
Produced by eOne and Frog Box in collaboration with animation studio TeamTO, and co-producers Disney Junior and France 5, PJ Masks (52 x 11min) launched on France 5 in December 2015. Since launch, the animated series reached an average of 390k viewers for a 7.2% audience share amongst kids 4+ years and a 19.3% audience share among kids 4-10 years. It also airs on the 24-hour preschool Disney Junior channel in France where it debuted on 29th August 2016. Series 2 of PJ Masks has been greenlit and is currently in production.
PJ Masks is fast gaining traction in international territories and the brand’s first app, Moonlight Heroes, released in June 2016 has already racked up over 2 million global downloads. The property has proved to be a smash hit in the U.S. where toys from Just Play launched in July 2016 followed by publishing from Simon and Schuster, apparel from Happy Threads and additional licensees across accessories, dress up, partyware, outdoor play, stationery and back to school, all of which hit retail from fall 2016. The first lines to debut are already performing above expectations at retail with Toys “R” Us reporting that the PJ Masks backpack was the bestselling licensed backpack during the back-to-school period.
eOne also recently announced partners due to launch products in the UK from February 2017 including Flair’s Just Play division (toys), Hachette (publishing), Aykroyd TDP (nightwear and underwear) and Immediate Media (official magazine). Other international territories are slated to debut merchandise from 2017.
Source: Entertainment One
