Lego in deal to sponsor kids’ TV show

Lego Toys will be the first sponsor of a pre-school television programme following a deal between Carlton UK Sales and CIA Medianetwork in which the Duplo brand will sponsor Tots TV.

The Independent Television Commission says it will be monitoring the 15-week sponsorship.

“The status of the sponsor’s relationship with the programme may be hard for young children to comprehend and we will look at tracking research to see how parents feel about it,” says ITC director of advertising and sponsorship Frank Willis.

Carlton UK Sales head of sponsorship David Prosser says the sponsorship will be researched to assess parents’ reactions.

“Pre-school is a new area of TV sponsorship and its growth will be handled in a responsible manner,” says Prosser.

The announcement comes a week before a conference on children’s TV, being organised by consumer body The Voice of The Viewer and Listener. It will examine the effects of branding and hype on young viewers.