Entertainment One Licensing’s (eOne) Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, the Emmy and BAFTA award-winning preschool series created and produced by Astley Baker Davies, continues to break ground internationally and is building momentum in Australia, the Company announced today.
A groundswell of affection for the Ben and Holly brand has been building in Australia. The programme made its on-air debut in 2009 and now broadcasts twice-daily on ABC4Kids. Ben and Holly consistently tops the channel’s broadcast ratings chart and also leads downloads on the catch up service – ABC’s iView.
Penguin has published a full line of books and a retail exclusive with ABC Stores has launched with toys (Big Balloon), apparel & footwear (Caprice), bedding (Network) and bags (Courier Luggage). Master toy partner, Big Balloon, will be rolling out Ben and Holly toys to the wider Australian market from February 2015.
Consumer engagement has been enhanced with a busy schedule of costume character appearances which have recently been made available in the territory and a full Christmas appearance schedule has been planned for the festive season. Ben and Holly fans and retailers have embraced the new DVD release, Ben and Holly’s Christmas which launched nationally in November. The title was supported in-store with branded POS displays.
The brand new Ben and Holly website www.benandholly.tv will go live in January 2015.
Trish Padoinand Con Goutzoulas, Joint Commercial Directors, eOne Licensing Australia, said: “We are thrilled by the success of Ben and Holly in Australia. Broadcast is performing very strongly and our licensing programme is expanding rapidly with great partners on board. It’s an exciting time for Ben and Holly and we look forward to working with new and existing partners as we continue to build the brand in this key territory.”