Something just occurred to me about LEGO's licensing deals

[Fivrik Toa of Building]

Hey there, I decided to stop by and post this, ending my BZP hiatus.
Something just occurred to me about LEGO's licensing deals - they go both ways. Think about it. LEGO works with Nickelodeon, and Hero Factory happens on TV. They work with Warner Bros, and we get Ninjago and Chima on Cartoon Network, which they own, plus The LEGO Movie. I recently discovered something has been done with Disney - A LEGO Friends TV show on The Disney Channel. Now, with The Simpsons set, what is going on with Fox?

 

- Fivrik

Edited February 19, 2014 by Fivrik Toa of Building

[Aanchir]

Hey there, I decided to stop by and post this, ending my BZP hiatus.

Something just occurred to me about LEGO's licensing deals - they go both ways. Think about it. LEGO works with Nickelodeon, and Hero Factory and Chima happen on TV. They work with Warner Bros, and we get Ninjago on Cartoon Network, which they own, plus The LEGO Movie. I recently discovered something has been done with Disney - A LEGO Friends TV show on The Disney Channel. Now, with The Simpsons set, what is going on with Fox?

 

 

 

 

- Fivrik

 

 

Chima is on Cartoon Network, in the U.S. at least. Might be different in other countries.

 

You make a good point. I never thought about that being odd, but come to think of it, I can't think of a whole lot of companies that have shows/TV specials on so many networks, especially kids' networks. I guess it speaks to the strength of the LEGO brand!

 

Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if it's partly a matter of which networks would be most accommodating. Hero Factory came first, and went on Nicktoons — possibly because they had been the ones to air the BIONICLE movies on TV, and presumably got decent ratings for those. Other TV networks might not have jumped to give a decent timeslot to a show made by a toy company with little to no TV experience. Cartoon Network has been acquiring most ongoing LEGO programs since LEGO Ninjago was so wildly successful for them — not sure why they chose to take on Ninjago, but it's easy to see why they'd take on Star Wars, Legends of Chima and Mixels. But Cartoon Network might not have wanted LEGO Friends because they don't seem to have a whole lot of interest in explicitly girl-oriented programs, judging from the rest of their lineup. Disney Channel, on the other hand, has had great success with girls, considering they were the jumping point for franchises like High School Musical. As for the Simpsons deal, the reason for that is obvious — Fox owns the franchise, so it stays in their hands.

 

Alternatively, the LEGO Group might be deliberately pitching their shows to different networks in order to avoid putting all their eggs in one basket. I don't know enough about the TV programming business to really make an educated guess.