[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilMonkeyPope

If even the master licensee can't afford the TMNT license anymore, will others be able to?

Could be. The TMNT brand is worth a lot more today than it was when Playmates negotiated the original master license deal. That original deal included financing the 1980's cartoon and a bunch of other sweetheart deals that made Playmates millions during the 1980's and 90's. However, in 2025, the Playmates brand is almost extinct on toy shelves in the USA at least. They lost Star Trek. Power rangers went to Hasbro. Monsterverse went clearance almost immediately. I don't know about Winx coz that's not my thing, but I've never seen it on an endcap nor kids walking around with fairy dolls.

Might not be a case of can't afford. Playmates might not have been given an option. Viacom might have told Playmates "your sweetheart deal is over. Period. Better make what you can via the existing deal coz you are out." I think Viacom put a tremendous amount of pressure on Playmates to allow Neca to make their figures which opened the floodgate to all the other TMNT merch now flooding the collectibles market.