BBC Studios promotes Andrew Carley to Director of Global Licensing

BBC Studios has promoted Andrew Carley to the newly created role of Director of Global Licensing, which will see Andrew help drive the long-term strategy to capitalise on the explosive expansion of children’s pre-school brand Bluey. 

Reporting to Chief Marketing Officer Nicki Sheard, Andrew will be responsible for leading a five-year strategic growth plan for BBC Studios’ global licensing business, in partnership with the regional licensing teams.

Nicki Sheard said: “I’m delighted that Andrew is taking on this new role to help us fuel the growth of Bluey which is quickly gaining worldwide fame. His experience of taking pre-school brands global will be invaluable in unlocking the potential of Bluey, and his strategic approach to licensing will benefit BBC Studios’ wider portfolio of hero brands.”

Andrew Carley added: “The BBC has long been synonymous with high quality children’s programming. To be given the opportunity to use my experience to help build a long-term global licensing programme around such fantastic programming, including Bluey, is hugely exciting. Bluey has many of the rare attributes associated with evergreen global preschool success stories. With that potential comes the opportunity to build on its success and cement BBC Studios’ position as a global player in licensing and consumer products.” 

Bluey is the smash hit pre-school show which has taken Australia by storm and is now gaining fans around the world. Featuring a loveable Blue Heeler pup and her family, Bluey has already won a raft of awards including an International Kids Emmy and a plethora of Kidscreen awards. It is the number one children’s show in Australia and topped DisneyNow’s ratings chart in the US for 17 consecutive weeks in the summer. Bluey also made history earlier this month by becoming the first ever children’s album to top the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) charts and reached the top spot on the billboard for Kids Music in the US. Bluey’s success in the US was further highlighted when it was listed as the #2 top new growth property last year for the Total Toy Industry*. BBC Studios has also appointed Penguin Random House (PRH) as its master publishing partner for Bluey and Moose Toys as its global master toy licensee. Both partners have seen exceptionally strong sales in Australia where PRH has sold +1m books, and in the USA. Product is due to launch in multiple territories this year including the UK.

Andrew joined BBC Studios as Senior Vice President, Sales, last year and has over 25 years’ experience working in licensing and consumer products. Prior to joining the company, Andrew was Executive Vice President, Global Licensing at eOne where he and his team built a successful global licensing programme around shows including Peppa Pig and PJ Masks. His career in licensing and consumer products began at Marks and Spencer where he worked in the buying team on children’s clothing and then he moved to the licensing agency CPLG where he managed entertainment and sport properties including Star Wars, FIFA World Cup and the English FA. On leaving eOne in 2019, Andrew set up the Brand and Licensing Consultancy TILT Licensing with clients including Penguin Random House, Roald Dahl and the BBC.