Fred Rogers Productions, the company behind the Emmy-winning PBS KIDS series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and 9 Story Brands, its worldwide licensing agent, have signed agreements with new and existing partners that will help deepen consumers’ connection to the popular animated show for preschoolers.
Best Ride-On Cars, Children’s Apparel Network, Cottage Door Press, Fisher-Price, Hybrid, M&M Sales, Peejamas, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, and Steel City Apparel will all help to expand the “neighborhood” for the popular property with a broad range of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood apparel, publishing, and toys, set to arrive at retail this year. New Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood adaptive clothing for special needs children from Zappos, in conjunction with PBS KIDS, will also be available by early 2021.
Commenting on the deals, Fred Rogers Productions president and CEO Paul Siefken said, “We’re very excited to further expand our array of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood offerings, so that children can interact with the brand in new and meaningful ways every day. It’s especially satisfying to be working with such important category leaders that create high-quality and lasting products that will keep children engaged while having fun with Daniel and his friends beyond the screen.”
Potty training and publishing continue to be popular categories for the brand. The success of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood potty training books, toys, and apps has led to the introduction of the ‘Daniel Tiger Fisher-Price 3-in-1 Potty Training Set’, featuring a potty chair with a removable seat that fits on full-sized toilets, a fold-down lid that transforms into a step stool, and activated sound effects and music from the series. It will be available by fall 2020.
Added 9 Story Brands Consumer Products VP Kyra Halperin, “Children and families continue to learn and grow with Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and the demand for new, exciting products continues to increase. We’re thrilled to be working with leading partners to make available more premium products, like the highly-anticipated 3-in-1 potty training aid from Fisher-Price that will help families tackle key milestones with their favourite tiger.”
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is a successful preschool property for master publishing partner Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, with more than 10 million books in print across formats. This year, the publisher will release new storybooks, Ready-To-Read titles, picture books, boxed sets, and more, which will tackle some of Daniel’s most helpful lessons. These include the 8x8s ‘Naptime in the Neighborhood’, ‘Daniel’s First Day of School’, and ‘Daniel Plays in a Gentle Way’, in addition to ‘Daniel Goes Camping,’ a Ready-To-Read.
Other existing licensees have a range of new offerings debuting this year, including Best Ride-On Cars (floor-to-foot ride-ons), M&M Sales (play tent and swing), and Cottage Door Press, which has newly released the board book, “Let’s Look with Daniel and Friends” (now available online), and will introduce other titles later this year.
New Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood licensing partners for 2020 include:
Children’s Apparel Network – Tees, sets, outerwear and more (now available)
Hybrid – Jumping Beans co-branded tees, hoodies, and more (now available)
Peejamas – Absorbent training pajamas and underwear
Steel City Apparel – Stylized apparel, socks, and pennants (now available online)
Zappos – Adaptive apparel, including Tubsies (coming by early 2021)
