With the biggest conventions, shows, and exhibitions for TV, movies, comics, games, and more happening during the spring and summer every year, there is bound to be some exciting news about the heroes in green. For 2015, that news has been kicked off by an new partnership project on Tuesday.
During announcements at the 2015 Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, Nickelodeon announced a brand new line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles consumer products in partnership with NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony. The new line, Turtles by Melo, will bring lifestyle products, home furniture, video games, and much more. “I am so excited about the opportunity to work with the Nickelodeon team on this new Turtles venture,” said Anthony.
Carmelo Anthony, a self-proclaimed TMNT super-fan, grew up with the turtles, and currently watches the show with his eight-year-old son. He and Nickelodeon – and parent company Viacom – hope that the line will continue to grow the booming popularity of the Ninja Turtle franchise, and create brand new products that fans of all ages can enjoy. “A product line created and curated by a superstar — and super-fan — like Carmelo is testament to the Turtles’ ever-growing appeal, and it’s a huge part of the drumbeat beginning for new seasons of the TV show and the theatrical sequel from Paramount Pictures next summer,” said Pam Kaufman, chief marketing officer and president, consumer products, Nickelodeon. Though no one is detailing the full list of products just yet, it can be assumed that along with the usual products associated with the turtles (including, perhaps, new toys), the line will also have some sort of basketball inspiration.
The TMNT franchise continues to be a phenomenal success for Nickelodeon, with a fourth season of the TV show beginning later this year, and into 2016. The show has ranked #1 for kids aged 2-11 and #2 for adults 18-49, and the franchise as a whole grossed $1.5 billion in retail sales during 2014 (after only grossing $475 million the first year after the rebrand). TMNT action figures ranked as the number one toy in the United States during 2014 with all kids (boys and girls), even beating other popular franchises like Frozen, according to numbers from the NPD Group.
With the turtles becoming a global powerhouse and the franchise continuing to grow beyond Nickelodeon’s wildest beliefs, it was only a matter of time before partnerships with names that could propel the brand to new heights were announced. With Carmelo Anthony’s help, the only limit for the new line of products is the product itself. Without knowing more about the type of merchandise to be released, any thoughts at this point are pure speculation, but with the turtles being so incredibly popular, it’s hard to believe that they won’t find some success. So what are your thoughts on the partnership and the potential for the TMNT franchise? You can check out the original announcement here. Turtles by Melo is set to hit stores in 2016, just ahead of Paramount’s release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Half Shell, in which Mr. Anthony will make a special cameo appearance.
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The part that I find most interesting about this, Is the video games, What sort of TMNT video games would we be seeing from Turtles by Melo?
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