TV News: Cartoon Network Enterprises Partners with The LEGO Group to Create Construction Toys Based on the Ben 10 Franchise

Inaugural Licensing Deal Between the Two Companies Introduces the First Range of Construction Toys Based on the Top-Rated Ben 10 Television Series, Launching Globally in Spring 2010


Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE) and The LEGO Group today announced a global agreement that adds the Ben 10 franchise to the world’s leading construction toy manufacturer’s portfolio of only the best licenses in construction toy form. The deal marks the first time the two companies have partnered on product development, and will bring Cartoon Network’s global sensation boy brand to life in a full line of construction toys based on the popular Ben 10 Alien Force adventures.

Featuring never-before-seen LEGO® elements and a new twist on the LEGO building system, LEGO Ben 10 Alien Force is sure to bring novelty and excitement to the construction toy category and provide a dynamic way to engage consumers in the core propositions of transformation and action for which the Ben 10 property is known.

“Over the past four years, Ben 10 has established itself as a global brand that continues to expand and thrive in different categories and markets,” said Christina Miller, vice president, Cartoon Network Enterprises. “Expanding this relationship with LEGO, the leading construction toy brand, is an exciting opportunity for Ben 10 that will continue to build towards years of future success at retail.”

”We’re thrilled to expand our very successful partnership with Cartoon Network to now include licensing and product development,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president of licensing and entertainment for LEGO Group. “There is such a natural synergy between fans of the LEGO brand and the loyal audience that Cartoon Network engages, and Ben 10 Alien Force is the perfect property on which to base a new way to build and play with LEGO elements.”

The LEGO Ben 10 Alien Force line is scheduled to launch in the construction toy aisles in the U.S. in spring 2010, and will roll out in additional territories thereafter.

As one of the top-rated Cartoon Network original series for boys since debuting in April 2008, Ben 10 Alien Force is the latest chapter in the continuing Ben 10 saga and picks up the story five years later when 15-year-old Ben Tennyson chooses to once again put on the OMNITRIX and discovers that he can transform him into 10 all new aliens. Joined by his super-powered cousin Gwen Tennyson and his equally powerful former enemy Kevin Levin, Ben is on a mission to find and save his missing Grandpa Max by defeating the evil DNALIENS, a powerful alien race intent on destroying the galaxy, starting with planet Earth.

The first-ever CNE licensed product in the LEGO portfolio builds upon an existing and powerful relationship between the toymaker and Cartoon Network. Most recently, they partnered to promote the LEGO CITY Building Competition via on-air promos driving children to the LEGO CITY website (http://city.LEGO.com) to build and submit their creations for a chance to star in an upcoming LEGO CITY initiative. In October 2008, Cartoon Network featured an exclusive BIONICLE® on-air video and an exclusive online game at CartoonNetwork.com to promote the toy line at the start of the holiday shopping season. LEGO Group has also premiered two exclusive mini movies – LEGO Indiana Jones™ and the Raiders of the Lost Brick and STAR WARS™ Revenge of the Brick – as commercial events on the network while also creating custom games on CartoonNetwork.com, all supported by on-air promos.

In the U.S., new episodes of Ben 10 Alien Force debut on Cartoon Network on Friday nights at 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT) with replays throughout the week. Globally, the Ben 10 television series franchise, which includes both Ben 10 and Ben 10Alien Force, is currently seen in 160 countries throughout the world.