Anthony Plans to Serve as Creative Director for Turtles by Melo,
New Cross-Category Consumer Products Program, Expected to Debut Spring
2016
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Nickelodeon and NBA Superstar Carmelo Anthony today announced plans for
a partnership to create Turtles by Melo, a brand-new
consumer products line inspired by the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles hit franchise. A self-professed Turtles
super-fan, Anthony would serve as Creative Director of this
cross-category, global program spanning lifestyle, home furnishings,
publishing, video games, and more. Turtles by Melo is expected to
debut in spring 2016, in advance of the summer theatrical release of
Paramount Pictures' sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in
which Anthony also appears.
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NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony debuts Turtles by Melo onstage at the Nickelodeon presentation at Licensing Expo on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, in Las Vegas, NV (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
"I am so excited about the opportunity to work with the Nickelodeon team
on this new Turtles venture," said Anthony. "The Turtles were
such a huge part of my childhood, so to now be partnering with
Nickelodeon on Turtles by Melo is honestly something I never
could have imagined."
Added Pam Kaufman, Chief Marketing Officer and President Consumer
Products, Nickelodeon: "We are so happy for Carmelo Anthony to join the
Nickelodeon family for Turtles by Melo. A product line created
and curated by a superstar—and super-fan—like Carmelo is testament to
the Turtles' ever-growing appeal, and it's a huge part of the
drumbeat beginning for new seasons of the TV show and the theatrical
sequel from Paramount Pictures next summer."
In addition to Anthony's status as a Turtles super-fan and
Creative Director of Turtles by Melo, he will make a special
guest appearance in next summer's sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles, the follow-up to Paramount Pictures' blockbuster 2014 hit.
The NBA Superstar will also be a featured part of the second annual Nickelodeon
Kids' Choice Sports, live from LA, Thursday, July 16.
Since arriving in the NBA, Melo has not only been one of the top scorers
in the league, he has also diversified himself as a player, a family
man, a businessman and a philanthropist. Drafted third overall in the
2003 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, Anthony has surely made a name for
himself in the league. As he showed the world during his championship
season at Syracuse University, Melo continues to prove to his fans,
teammates and coaches that he is a hard worker, a leader and a
competitor. The Olympics proved to be the perfect display of his
passion, maturity and excellence for the sport—and winning the Gold
Medal in both the 2008 and 2012 games has been the ultimate token of
redemption, success and global recognition for the NBA All-Star and
three-time Olympian.
In July 2008, Anthony was honored as Basketball Player of the Year at
the First Annual Univision Premios Deportes, an awards show celebrating
the best Hispanic athletes. Melo proudly accepted the award in
appreciation of his Puerto Rican father, Carmelo Sr., who passed away
when Melo was just two years old.
Last year, he created Melo7 Tech Partners to help invest in and develop
tech start-ups, the first of which is the Silicon Valley smart kitchen
company, The Orange Chef. He has also helped develop Be Everyware, a
leading provider of mobile technology for small businesses. In 2013,
Melo partnered with Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson to create SMS Audio, a
premier audio headphone and accessories brand. Melo is known to have the
latest gadgets and avidly keeps up with his over 10 million social media
followers.
Melo also has excelled off the court through his philanthropic efforts.
He established The Carmelo Anthony Foundation (CAF) in 2005 as the
vehicle for which he and his family would give back to the community
through a variety of outreach programs and donations. In 2006, The
Giving Back Fund, the premier philanthropic resource for the sports and
entertainment communities, ranked Carmelo in their top ten of the
"Giving Back 30" report surrounding celebrity philanthropists in
America, the only basketball player on the list. Anthony currently
resides in New York City, with his wife, LaLa Vazques Anthony, and their
son, Kiyan.
Nickelodeon's CG-animated series, which re-launched in 2012, has
re-energized the iconic characters of this wildly popular franchise.
Currently in its third television season, the series is seen in more
than 170 countries and territories and is translated in more than 50
languages. Executive produced by Ciro Nieli and Brandon Auman, the
series is created at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is also wildly successful in
consumer products, having ranked as the overall number-one toy in the
U.S. for 2014 (Source: The NPD Group, Inc.). The feature film
from Paramount Pictures premiered Aug. 8, 2014, and landed in the
number-one spot opening weekend. To date, the film has grossed almost
half-a-billion dollars worldwide, and a sequel is set to be released in
2016.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 36th year, is the number-one
entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by
putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes
television programming and production in the United States and around
the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature
films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost
100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable
network for 20 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com.
Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks
of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA, VIAB).
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For Nickelodeon
David Bittler, 917-513-4080
david.bittler@nick.com
or
Maggie
Wang, 212-846-6381
maggie.wang@nick.com
Source: Nickelodeon
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