Character Group PLC
29 January 2008
Issued by Citigate Dewe Rogerson Ltd, Birmingham
Date: Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Embargoed: 7.00am
The Character Group plc
Major New Toy Licence secured for Hannah Montana
Products to be unveiled tomorrow at The UK Toy Fair
The Character Group is pleased to announce that its principal trading subsidiary
Character Options Limited ('Character Options') has secured a major new toy
licence with The Walt Disney Company Limited ('Disney') in relation to the
highly successful Disney Channel television series, Hannah Montana, which has
just finished airing on the Channel Five and continues to air on the Disney
Channel daily.
The Disney rights with Character Options will initially cover the UK and Eire
territories and will allow the Group to manufacture and distribute a wide range
of products which include a digital range of wireless and karaoke microphones
and interactive MP3 & Karaoke systems, MP3 Sound system, Digitone watches and a
range of cosmetic accessories.
Starring Miley Cyrus, and her father Billy Ray Cyrus (the 1980's country music
star of hit 'Achey, Breaky Heart' fame), Hannah Montana follows the daily life
of Miley Stewart, a 14-year-old who lives in Malibu with her older brother and
widowed father. A normal girl by day, unbeknown to her friends, Miley lives a
double life as pop star Hannah Montana, keeping her identity a secret.
Richard King, Chairman The Character Group commented:
'We are very pleased to have secured the rights to Hannah Montana. This is a
very popular series aimed at 'tweenagers' who love music and fashion. We are
confident that our range of products which has been developed in-house and will
be unveiled at tomorrow's UK Toy Fair at Excel London, will meet the demands of
both the retailer and the consumer. We look forward to launching the full range
of Hannah Montana products and expect to enjoy the benefit of the sales from
this great girls brand through to Christmas and beyond.'
Hannah Montana smashed all records when it premiered in the UK on 5 May 2006,
making it the best live action series launch ever on Disney Channel. The show is
currently Disney Channel's Number 1 UK live action show. The show premiered in
the United States to the highest series ratings in the channel's history with a
staggering 5.4 million viewers and has become the Number 1 cable show amongst
tweens. Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds is the first TV series soundtrack to
debut at Number 1 on the Billboard Top 200. In the UK, it was the first TV
soundtrack to achieve pole position since High School Musical topped the charts
in 2006, achieving Gold in the UK and Platinum in Ireland.
Enquiries:
Richard King, Executive Chairman
Kiran Shah, Group Finance Director & Joint MD Fiona Tooley, Director
The Character Group plc Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8949 5898 Tel: +44 (0) 121 455 8370
Mobile: +44 (0) 7956 278522 (KS) Mobile: +44 (0) 7785 703523 (FMT)
+44 (0) 7836 250150 (RK)
www.thecharacter.com
www.character-online.co.uk
Richard Thompson / Philip Davies
Charles Stanley Securities (Nominated Adviser)
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7149 6000
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