Brand Licensing Europe is launching a TV Lounge at this year’s show to allow production companies and television studios to unveil brand new properties to retailers on high quality AV equipment and in an exclusive lounge area. Brand Licensing Europe – Europe’s leading event for licensing and brand extension – takes places at the Grand Hall, Olympia, London, from 1-2 October 2008.

BBC Worldwide, ITV and Sky will use the TV Lounge, which will be situated in the Olympia Room at the front of the hall just off the main show floor, to present a scintillating line-up of new licensing opportunities.

Richard Hollis, head of UK licensing at BBC Worldwide, will present a raft of brand new and existing BBC properties in the TV Lounge. He will cover the phenomenal success of the best-selling pre-school brand In the Night Garden, which continues to grow both in the UK and internationally, as well as revealing exciting plans for Doctor Who in 2009, including a brand new style guide. Richard will also touch upon the success of Primeval, the prehistoric inspired family drama.

Fresh new pre-school properties, 3rd and Bird and Harry and Toto will also be given star treatment in the presentation by introducing the show’s creators Josh Selig and Paul Shuttleworth who will both say a few words.

Richard Hollis commented: “We’ve enjoyed a fantastic year so far with amazing brands and especially with Doctor Who, which regenerates perfectly every time into high quality, innovative toys and other merchandise. We’re delighted to be able to showcase our newer properties like 3rd and Bird in the TV Lounge environment and look forward to their promising success.”

ITV is presenting its fresh new look and line-up for 2008/9 including new properties Britannia High and The Prisoner, as well as new directions on its existing brand portfolio including Hell’s Kitchen, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Thunderbirds, Dancing on Ice, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, Rank film catalogue, Bella Sara, Numberjacks and Pocoyo.

Gustavo Antonioni, commercial brands director at ITV, said: “The TV Lounge at Brand Licensing Europe is the perfect opportunity to communicate all the recent hard work we have been doing at ITV: how we aim to create compelling brand extensions for some of the UK’s most watched TV shows and launch new product such as Britannia High on a multi-dimensional platform.”

Sky will present Brainiacs, Gladiators and Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old?

“Following the success of the Screening Suite, which we launched in 2006 to a warm welcome from the movie studios, we wanted to provide the television studios exhibiting at Brand Licensing Europe with an equally impressive and relevant platform from which to present their forthcoming properties to an exclusive audience,” commented Jessica Blue, Brand Licensing Europe event director.

Access to the TV Lounge, and this year’s Screening Suite, is strictly by invitation only from the participating exhibitors.