The German licensing market is always in motion and every year it remains exciting to find out about new properties and which existing licenses are brought back into the focus of the market. In 2017 the German licensing market is once more looking forward to some great new brands and licenses.
Find out more about selected properties below.

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Almost 20 years ago Anne Wood caused a worldwide stir with her new TV show; a stir that we had never experienced before. Thanks to her, the original Teletubbies moved into child rooms around the world.

Now they return with another 60 episodes as fully animated TV show. In close cooperation with educators, the BBC have strengthened the series most unique feature: being an educating series for the very young, aged between 0 and 3 years. Just in time of the 20th anniversary of the children’s channel, KiKa starts airing the first 26 x 11 minutes’ episodes prime time at 18.40 on 10 April 2017; the next 34 episodes follow in May.

The playful, age-appropriate characters make the life of young children more colourful. And parents will find a large range of books to the show from Egmont. What is more: The popular soft toys are now also available in Germany: Spinmaster and selected retail partners launch the products exclusively to the German market in May.

On 24th August 1990 Diddl was born – a cartoon character created by Thomas Goletz. During the following two decades the cult mouse has written an unparalleled success story and moved into child rooms across 26 countries. Postcards and writing pads have been collected and swapped in countless school yards. 28 mice and friends belong to the large Diddl family and more than 5.000 products constitute the broad dedicated product range.

In 2014 things became quiet around the little jumping mouse. Until – on occasion of his 25th anniversary – the cult mouse set off on totally new, colourful Diddl adventures with KIDDINX Media. New, up-to-date 3D design – with high recognition value – brought Diddl and his friends back into the hearts of their large following. Strong long-term partners like United Labels, Bullyland, b-interactive and mypostcard.de establish high quality standards for their products.

What is more, today Diddl is also “diddlital”, that is digital. He comes in apps or games, on facebook and Instagramm. New moving images are already in the pipeline.

QPootle5 travels at full throttle, and not just aboard his spaceship! The hero of the outer-space animation series of the same name, and his band of alien friends, are about to take off in international commerce as well. WDR mediagroup (WDRmg), the licensing agency that holds the rights to commercial exploitation of the original children’s format in the GAS region, has cleared the way for a broad range of new merchandising products. At the Toy Fair in Nuremberg, for the first time, renowned manufacturers NICI and Bullyland were presenting QPootle5 plushes, toy figures and sets, cups and much more. QPootle5 prescht mit Volldampf voraus und nicht nur an Bord seines Raumschiffes! Der Held der gleichnamigen Weltraum-Animationsserie und seine außerirdischen Freunde starten auf dem internationalen Markt gleichfalls durch. Die WDR mediagroup (WDRmg) hält die kommerziellen Rechte an dem ursprünglichen Kinderformat für deutschsprachige Regionen. In dieser Eigenschaft hat die Lizenzagentur jetzt den Weg für ein breites Angebot an Merchandise geebnet. Bereits auf der Spielwarenmesse in Nürnberg präsentierten namhafte Hersteller wie NICI und Bullyland QPootle5 Plüschtiere, Spielfiguren und –sets, Tassen und vieles mehr.

Julia Wurzer, Head of Brands at WDRmg, said: “QPootle5 is all about adventure and friendship. The programme alternates action-packed space scenes with quiet moments in which the focus is upon the lovingly crafted characters. This combination makes the series popular with children around the world and boosts demand for the brand in the licensing market.”

aprilkind has an interesting licence to watch this year. The creative duo partnered with NICI to release the Schlafmützen soft toys in September 2016. Schlafmützen – which means “sleepy hats” in English – help children find healthy sleep with a clever trick. Children can flip the Schlafmützen’s sleepy hat over and send them to sleep – literally. Schlafmützen aren’t just playful and adorable plush toys but an important support for parents in their daily struggle to send their children to sleep.

A big TV campaign, which will continue during 2017, helped to make Schlafmützen an instant success in Germany. Further Schlafmützen characters will be released in 2017.

The story of Chubby Unicorn sounds like a fairy tales: Chubby Unicorn has been developed as part of a hobby project by Stephanie Engel from Mettmann, Germany.

The secret to Chubby Unicorn’s success is obvious: It is a formidable character. Chubby Unicorn is not only a magical unicorn, it features human traits. The world of Chubby Unicorn is made of hilarious everyday events and – of course – cookies. Weight is always considered with tongue in cheek and Chubby Unicorn has both feet firmly in glitter.

The product range is just as varied as his character. Klaus Herding GmbH offers various home textiles. Bullyland GmbH creates collectible figurines, while Josef Hölscher GmbH & Co.KG (EQuest) makes horse accessories. United Labels AG expands the product range by adding stationery, kitchen supplies and other products. Many new licensing partners are already in the pipeline.