Press Release from Nickelodeon U.K.
The licensing programme for Nickelodeon's Diego brand is rapidly expanding with products across a variety of sectors coming to market.
Diego is the star of GO, DIEGO, GO, the Nick Jr. show that is proving a huge hit with pre-schoolers across the country. The show comes from the creators of Dora the Explorer and features the bi-lingual hero rescuing exotic animals and protecting their environments. As well as being great fun, the show teaches children Spanish language and problem solving skills, as well as the importance of conserving the natural world.
GO, DIEGO, GO is a global phenomenon and is shown in 84 countries around the world. In the UK, new episodes set to air in Autumn/Winter 09 will take the total of available to more than 70.
Despite Diego being relatively new to the UK market a number of leading licensees are already on board: the master toy licensee is Fisher-Price, Paramount Home Entertainment has a range of DVDs available, Accessories for Technology has just launched a range of fantastic products, and 2K are set to launch GO DIEGO GO: THE GREAT DINOSAUR RESCUE game on Nintendo DS and Wii. Diego is also featuring in books from Leapfrog, Simon and Schuster and Alligator.
Diego greeting cards from Gemma International have also entered the market - they are selling across ASDA and all the major toy stores, and are set to become available in Tesco and Sainsbury's later on in the year. Tim Rudd-Clarke, Licensing and Product Director at Gemma is delighted by their performance: "Whilst we knew that Diego was a very strong brand, the level of sales has completely exceeded our expectations and we are confident that Diego will continue to perform very strongly for us."
Clare Piggott, Vice-President Consumer Products Nickelodeon UK, believes that there is more to come from Diego: 'Diego is incredibly popular amongst pre-schoolers and I'm very confident that we will be able to build on the existing licensing programme. Diego is a positive role model for pre-school boys, offering great role play opportunities through the combination of saving animals and real action adventure.'
About Nickelodeon UKNickelodeon is the number 1 commercial kids' TV network in the UK. Launched in 1993, it comprises six dedicated award-winning entertainment channels for kids aged 2-12: Nickelodeon, NickToons, NickToonsters, Nick Jr, Nick Jr 2 and Nick Replay, plus Nick Jr on TMF available on Freeview.
The Nickelodeon network now reaches more than 10 million viewers a month and is available in 12.7 million cable and satellite homes (with network programming available in all 22.5 million multi-channel homes thanks to the Nick Jr block on TMF)
The company has built a diverse multi-platform business by putting kids first in everything it does and includes critically acclaimed and hugely popular television programming and production in the United Kingdom and around the world, plus consumer products, online, events, recreation and feature films. Nickelodeon UK is a joint venture between MTV Networks and BSkyB.
