Aardman's "Timmy Time" Debuts, Many Deals Signed

U.K. animator Aardman has signed a number of deals for "Timmy Time," its first venture into the preschool sector, which debuted on CBeebies in April.

According to BARB figures, which measure U.K. television audiences, "Timmy Time" has been watched by 4.8 million individuals since the program launched, Aardman says.

A number of licensing deals and other major broadcast deals are also in place. In the U.K., Aardman has signed a deal with Trade Mark Collections to launch a range of bags and accessories in high street and supermarket stores for the fall. This follows deals with Golden Bear for wooden toys in the U.K., and with Jakks Pacific as master toy partner for the U.S. and Canada.

Also in the U.K., Vivid Imaginations is on board as master toy partner, Egmont has picked up U.K. and Commonwealth publishing rights to Timmy Time, and in a separate deal, Titan Magazines will produce a monthly comic for the U.K. and Republic of Ireland.

International licensing agents signed for the property are HIT Entertainment for North America, Super RTL for Germany, Kidz Entertainment for Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, Haven Licensing for Australia, TF1 for France and Pro Entertainment for Argentina and Brazil. 

"'Timmy Time' has quickly established a huge fanbase on CBeebies, in particular with mothers and their children, which is at the core of any successful preschool licensing program," says Sean Clarke, head of Aardman Rights. "We aim to capitalize on this, and will be announcing some fantastic new partnerships over the next few weeks following a very successful licensing show in Las Vegas."

Broadcasters on board include Disney Channels worldwide, including the U.S., along with ABC TV Australia, TF1 France, and SuperRTL for Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.

Nickelodeon has acquired the show for Benelux and Aardman has also secured broadcast licenses with Estonian TV, Minimax for Hungary and CEE, HOP! for Israel and Romania, and Al Jazeera Children's Channels for the Middle East.