New Waybuloo primed for TV premiere
Zodiak Kid's third series of the hugely successful BBC pre-school series, Waybuloo, premieres on CBeebies from 4th April at 6pm.
Waybuloo has been a huge hit in the UK and it is the number one show among 4-6 year-olds across all of its timeslots (*January-March 2011). It has also increased its audience share by 60 per cent year-on-year (*January-March 2011 versus January - March 2010). *Source: BARB
At retail the brand has been a success with Fisher Price, the master toy licence holder selling nearly 1 million units, while Waybuloo was the number one plush licence in 2010. (Source: NPD EPOS retail tracking 2010).
Master publisher, Egmont, also claims record book sales for the pre-school brand resulting in revenues of over £1.1m and plans to roll-out another 12 new titles this year. Meanwhile 2entertain’s DVD sales have doubled year-on-year (2009 – 2010).
Waybuloo uses a mix of animation and live action to focus on children’s emotions. It transports children to Nara, a live-action world inhabited by animated characters called Piplings who embody a range of emotions such as love, wisdom, happiness and harmony. The new series introduces children to the Piplings’ exciting homes, each spectacularly decorated to their individual personalities and stories that reflect their caring and sharing nature.
Independent research found that Waybuloo was in the top five brands targeted at boys and girls and over 50 per cent of those sampled wanted to see more Waybuloo merchandise.(Source: Brand Trends, KidzBlobal, February 2011 Girls and boys 0-2.)
Internationally, Waybuloo has also had phenomenal success; it currently airs in over 80 countries worldwide. Internationally, licensing programmes are beginning to roll out in Australia and New Zealand. Other key categories will roll out late 2011.
Maria Sze, brand director, Zodiak Kids commented: “Waybuloo continues to be a phenomenal hit both on and off screen. We are delighted that there is still a huge appetite for the television series and the brand at retail. The continued scheduling of it to air on CBeebies and on BBC Two confirms how well the series has been received by children. Retail response continues to exceed all expectations and we are excited to be working with new licensees this year to launch more products to build on the success to date.”
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