Some things to watch for at Brand Licensing Europe in London next week:

*eSports and videogames. Licensing efforts surrounding the booming eSports business will be highly visible at BLE, particularly via Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League and the 21-year-old Germany-based ESL (formerly Electronic Sports League), represented by Beanstalk’s Tinderbox Division. The Overwatch League, which launched in the U.S. last January, earlier this year announced plans for new franchises, including teams in London and Paris. Activision also will highlight its Call of Duty league and Major League Gaming Network. ESL operate leagues based on Valve Corp.’s “Dota-2” and “Counter-Strike Global Offensive” games.

“Call of Duty” and Epic Games’ “Fortnite,” the latter represented by IMG, will bring their competition in videogames consoles to the show floor. Activision is releasing “Call of Duty: Black Ops 4” on Oct. 12 and retailer Primark has signed for a DTR. UK streetwear brand Hype also will have a collection. Hasbro has a license for Fortnite toys.

In addition to new releases, retro games also will be in evidence. Capcom will promote Street Fighter, Mega Man, Resident Evil and other properties, while Beanstalk has signed to represent Activision’s Crash Bandicoot in Europe. Ubisoft will be highlighting its Tom Clancy-based games, while Sega will be pushing Sonic the Hedgehog and other properties.

*Food and Beverage. This category will be highlighted throughout the show. There will be licensing of brands for food (think Candy Crush and Bailey’s ice cream and Guinness meats) and non-food items (Guinness jewelry and Master Chef cookware). Both Guinness’ agent Beanstalk and Endemol Shine Group (Master Chef) are featuring cooking demonstrations. And there will be emphasis on licensing into healthy foods, such as British adventurer Bear Grylls’ brand being applied to a line of insect powder-based health bars that licensee Tobar Group Trading will ship later this year.

*Anime. The market for anime isn’t nearly as well developed in Europe as it is in the U.S., but there are recent signs of growth. Many of the better-known properties – Dragon Ball, Naruto, One-Punch Man, Ghost in a Shell – will be shown alongside up-and-coming properties. The latter includes Viz Media’s “My Hero Academia,” a film version of which was released to 400 screens in the U.S. on Sept. 25. Other titles expected to be promoted for the first time at BLE include Manga Entertainment’s “Cannon Busters,” expected to launch on Netflix in first half 2019 with a licensing program handled by agent Reemsborko. The Crunchyroll anime streaming service also will seek additional licensees for the Juji Ito Collection, an animated series based on author Juji Ito’s manga books.

Children’s properties. There will be a mix of new properties and IP being positioned for older age groups. Bento Box Entertainment Sutikki Division’s “Moon and Me” animated series, expected to debut on the BBC’s Cbeebies this fall before launching on NBCUniversal’s Universal Kids channel in the U.S., has landed a range of UK licensees, including Hasbro (toys) and Scholastic (books). Much of the interest in “Moon and Me” stems from the series’ creator, Andrew Davenport, who developed Teletubbies. Millimages’ “Molang” will be repositioned at BLE for 3-9-year-old girls versus the 2-5-year-old mixed audience it originally targeted, says Licensing Link’s Ian Wickham, whose firm handles licensing for the property. The decision comes as the series moves to Sony Pictures Television’s Tiny Pop channel in the UK from Turner Broadcast Systems’ Cartoonito.

Click on Inside Licensing during and after BLE for updates.

Contacts:

Activision Blizzard Entertainment, Philippe Bost, VP International Consumer Products, +31 207 15 77 00, phillippe.bost@activision.com

Beanstalk, Louise French, VP Marketing and Business Development,+44 20-8396-0511, louise.french@beanstalk.com

Bento box Entertainment/Sutikki, Andrew Kerr, Partner, 647-389-0180

Capcom, Michele Pearce, Licensing Consultant, +44 7949118876, michele.pearce@capcom.com

Endemol Shine Group, Jane Smith, Group Dir. Brand Licensing and Gaming,+44 870 333 1700, jane.smith@endemolshine.com

Licensing Link, Ian Wickham, Co-Founder, +44 7540 122077.

Manga Entertainment, Jerome Mazandarani, Managing Dir., +44 20 7025 7415, Jerome@mangauk.com

Reemsborko, Max Arguile, Founder, +447736 300253, max@reemsborko.com

Ubisoft, Claire Besson, +33 6 77 57 59 27, claire.besson@ubisoft.com