is about the show which captivates them. Natalie Llewellyn, Platinum’s head of international programming, explained: “Matt Hatter is attracting boys aged 5 to 12 years with an audience sweet- spot of between 6 to 9 years. It is captivating audiences worldwide because it delivers on every aspect of a young boy’s action-adventure wish list: unexpected heroes, fearsome Super Villains, super-cool gadgetry, high-stakes drama and rich digital content. Matt Hatter is also emerging as appointment family viewing with boys, girls and parents alike tuning in to watch the show. The universal draw for audiences is that Matt
Hatter is not a stereotypical action series: it focuses on adventure, discovery, mythology, friendship, imagination and comedy. Every episode has been conceived as a stand-alone mini-movie and pays homage to the very best family adventure flicks with a contemporary twist. So whether Matt is up against ancient Minotaur with deadly dread- breath, an Egyptian Mummy who fires web-slinging bandages, or an urban Werewolf that can conjure up his own full moon, the winning format is always
guaranteed...as the next Hatter Hero and guardian of another dimension known as the Multiverse, Matt must battle and capture Super Villains from famous monster movies in order to defeat evil Lord Tenoroc and save his imprisoned Grandpa.” The show has been a huge ratings success
across the world. Nigel offered an overview of the current global broadcast schedule: “The momentum behind Matt Hatter internationally has been phenomenal with the show airing in over 80 countries worldwide and dubbed into 18 languages by the end of 2013. Broadcast partners include ITV and Nickelodeon in the UK, Network Ten in Australia, TVNZ in New Zealand, Nickelodeon ANZ, RTVE (Clan TV) in Spain, Canal Panda in Portugal and Spain, Disney Benelux, Megamax in Central Europe, Syfy Kids in SE Asia, Africa, Australia and Central Europe, Mega TV in Greece and Cyprus, SABC in South Africa and JCC in Middle East. The dual platform broadcast across Free and Pay
TV in several key markets has enabled Platinum to expand the commercial reach of the property and appoint the very best licensing partners in each territory, including agency heavyweights Exim in Latin America, ITV Global Entertainment in the UK, Haven in Australasia, Biplano in Iberia, License Connection in the Benelux, B-Rights in Greece and Cyprus and Revolution in South Africa. Many broadcasters are positioning Matt Hatter as a channel driver and the show has topped the ratings charts across UK, Australia, Portugal, Spain and South Africa. “ Here in the UK, Matt Hatter Chronicles has
performed exceptionally well on ITV’s terrestrial and digital channels with Season 1 fast becoming a ratings hit following its launch in March 2012 and Season 2 increasing its slot average audience share by 35% overall and an impressive 60% for boys. Since repeating on ITV/CiTV on Saturday and Sunday mornings in 2013, the show has pulled in bigger audiences than ever with an impressive 3.5m individuals tuning in between January and April and an episode high of 327,000 viewers, up a staggering 92% on the slot average. Due to the show’s popularity, Matt Hatter is
repeating at weekends this autumn with the new series set to air in Q2, 2014. The ITV audiences have complimented significant ratings success
on Nicktoons in the UK after debuting in October 2011. Following a channel rebranding Nicktoons have recently re-launched the series in a primetime evening slot. With the third series now in production, Nigel told me: “We are raising the stakes like never before. Season Three is a game-changer. Matt becomes a ‘Hero in Training’ and dutifully masters his skills and gadgetry in order to face his toughest challenge yet. We’re introducing a whole host of formidable Super Villains, an impressive new realm, and an armoury of new ‘Hatter Hero Tech’. What makes the process so much more collaborative is that we are able to share every aspect of the production with Simba at a very early stage, allowing them to take a deep-dive into the DNA of the Matt Hatter brand and perfectly align the master toy line to the TV series.” Simba has an extensive licensed range, so I
was curious to understand where the company sees Matt Hatter fitting into the portfolio? Alex was unequivocally clear on this point: “Right at the top of the pile. Whilst we are really proud of our Nickelodeon and Disney ranges in particular, those are not master toy deals; with Matt Hatter Chronicles we can work with Platinum to shape the entire toy offering. From a commercial standpoint too, there is also a very strong belief in Matt Hatter within Simba. We think this is going to be the
pre-eminent boys brand in the toy industry for the next few years and as such will be one of the most important revenue streams in our business.” As master toy partner, I wondered what Alex saw as the key attributes that Simba will bring to the party? He told me: “An impressive mix of commercial strength and creativity. As a group, only Mattel, Hasbro and Lego can claim to be stronger across Europe. That strength brings massive advantages in terms of capacity and expertise, especially in new product development and manufacturing, where we own our own facilities in Germany, France, Spain, Czech Republic, Thailand and of course China. The group structure, however, allows us to be innovative, creative and responsive to our individual market places; much more so than other large multi-nationals. It also allows us to keep our cost base down and therefore hit the key price points that are so essential for success.” During my conversations with Platinum and
Simba, both companies were keen to stress that they would be adopting a highly collaborative approach to product development for the Matt Hatter range. Alex commented: “Matt Hatter product development will be absolutely unique. However, since all new brand projects within the Simba Dickie Group are given the space for brand specific creative development, this isn’t really a fresh approach. What is new for Matt Hatter,
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