WWE and Mattel team up with kids

WWE Slam City is the name of a new kids-oriented entertainment property from sports entertainment producer WWE and Mattel.

The companies said WWE Slam City would include action figures and wrestling ring sets along with a 26 episode series of animated shorts featuring the WWE Superstars in the animated world of Slam City. The first four episodes have begun airing at WWESlamCity.com and Cartoonium on YouTube.

In addition to toys, a full WWE Slam City merchandise line, including apparel, back-to-school accessories, books, graphic novels and home videos will be available in stores by the end of 2014. Next year, plans call for a WWE Slam City mobile game, as well as health and beauty items, home goods, party supplies and stationary.

WWE said it would use all of its assets, including TV broadcasts, live events, digital and social media to generate awareness for its new kid’s property which is part of a larger strategy to reach kids. In 2013, WWE’s national TV programming reached nearly three million kids each week, representing more than 20% of WWE’s average weekly TV audience.

The new series, filmed in the next generation of stop-motion animation, features a new WWE animated character called “The Finisher,” who fires all of the WWE Superstars and sends them to WWE Slam City to find day jobs.

“WWE Slam City is a multi-platform property that takes our superstars out of the ring and introduces them to kids through entertaining and action-packed animation,” said Michelle D. Wilson, WWE’s chief revenue and marketing officer. “This strategic initiative is perfectly complemented through our partnership with Mattel and adds to an already dynamic portfolio of content designed to create lifelong WWE fans.”

“Slam City is the result of a seamless collaboration with WWE where we are bringing kids a completely new and invigorating entertainment experience,” said Doug Wadleigh, Mattel’s SVP of global brands marketing for boys and entertainment. “Combining fun to watch content that features Superstar favorites, along with an engaging line of toys, enables Slam City to further expand the WWE Universe while opening new avenues of play for the franchise.”