Loved this article by devin leonard for Bloomberg UK - fascinating to delve into the #Bluey backstory, and a bit professionally inspiring too; oh to have been a part of launching such a globally loved phenomenon 😍 - let's all try and create more of these!
It’s really worth a read, but some good nuggets in the meantime:
🔹 In 2023, Bluey was the second most streamed show across all genres in the US… second only to Suits. This is all the more impressive given the relatively limited amount of Bluey that exists… just 17.5 hours of Bluey episodes translated into 731 million hours of Bluey watched by Americans (via Disney ) in 12 months. Imagine what the number is with YouTube added… 🙃
🔹 Bluey has definitively achieved the dream of appealing to *everyone* - not just to a global preschool audience, but to parents, teenagers, grown-ups without kids, no doubt grandparents, and TV critics too. Oh, also dogs apparently. In fact, “appealing” is under playing how much audiences of all ages have fallen in love with it… Adored is perhaps a better word. 💙
🔹 That the ABC doesn’t profit from Bluey’s success must really rankle - not just because of the $$$, but for such an homegrown success to not be more intrinsically linked to the ABC’s fortunes feels like such a missed opportunity. Speaking of which, apparently Disney turned down the opportunity to license Bluey’s merchandising rights from BBC Studios early on. Oops. 🙄
🔹 Last summer, BBC Studios reported that they’d surpassed £2b in annual revenue for the first time in fiscal 2023 - thanks in large part to Bluey. With that in mind, the estimated $2b valuation for Bluey cited in this article feels conservative. Compared to sale prices achieved by EOne ($4b in 2019, predominately for Peppa Pig) and Moonbug ($3b in 2021, predominantly for CoComelon), I have a feeling Bluey could be worth more. 💸
🔹 Finally, lots of people are worried that ‘The Sign’ could spell the end of Bluey 😬 and that no more episodes will be forthcoming… let’s wait and see what happens when that feature drops on 14 April... In the meantime, I’m booking my tickets for Bluey World in Brisbane… I’m headed there next Easter so will do a special report 🧐 😂 🇦🇺
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5moGreat going Fluttr team, Kaushik Banerjee Anirban Banerjee. All the very best