Above: David Born attending Brand Licensing Europe 2026
Brand Licensing Europe 2026 took place this week and, despite the headwinds our industry is facing right now, I walked out of ExCeL London at the end of Day 3 with a real mix of pride, optimism and excitement about what’s ahead for licensing.
Here are my main takeaways:
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery become Skydance
One of the most talked-about topics at BLE this year was Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which closed on Day 1 of the show (October 6) and created a combined company now called Skydance, in a deal reported at around US$110 billion.
The two booths were conveniently next to each other: two of the biggest stands on the entire show floor, with full tables, lines out the front and some of the most recognizable IP on the planet. Both licensors held showcases during the week and, to the surprise of attendees, featured a Skydance logo on the main screen on arrival.
The conversations I had with Paramount and WBD team members were interesting. Most of them knew only what the rest of us knew, and none of them knew whether they would still have a job in the weeks and months to come. I’ll be covering this historic deal and what it means for licensing in more detail soon.
New exhibitors
I’m always looking out for new exhibitors at licensing events because they’re a bellwether of how well our industry is attracting new licensors, agents and service providers. New blood plays a critically important role in our industry’s continuing innovation. BLE 2026 had a record 325 exhibitors, 85 of them exhibiting for the first time, including Hearst, the National Gallery, Tate Enterprises, the ATP Tour, Universal Music Group UK, Hammer Film Holdings, Del Monte Europe and the Royal Spanish Football Federation. That list is worth reading closely: museums, sports bodies, music and food brands. A strong reminder that licensing is not just an entertainment business.
Content, content, content
Every showcase and meeting I attended with a licensor was jam-packed with news of new content. Major film releases like Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew (February 2027) and The Bluey Movie (August 2027), and TV series like HBO’s new Harry Potter series (premiering December 25), will be impossible to ignore over the coming months, not to mention games, live events, activations and anniversaries. The next 36 months offer the licensing industry zero downtime.
Above: David Born at the BBC Studios booth showcasing The Bluey Movie.
Characters
I had a chat with the team from Rainbow Productions, who provide the show’s meet-and-greet characters. They confirmed there were 78 characters attending this year, an incredible number and, I suspect, more than Licensing Expo had. The character parade is always a popular moment of the show, and I made sure I was there with my Content Supervisor, Eduardo, to capture as many of the characters as I could.
Above: David Born at Brand Licensing Europe with Pikachu, Scooby-Doo, The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat
Care Bears joins Authentic Brands Group
This recent news was a little overshadowed by Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, but it still caught my attention. The Care Bears stand looked incredible, but what caught my eye most was the lanyards on the booth staff, which read Authentic Brands Group instead of the previous licensor, Cloudco. Authentic closed its acquisition of the Care Bears IP in August, and it had tongues wagging during the week for another reason too: on October 1, the Wall Street Journal reported that Authentic had approached Mattel about a takeover that could value the Barbie maker at around US$6 billion or more.
Best photo opportunities
One of the things I love most about licensing trade shows is that they don’t look like B2B events. The licensing community has the privilege of working in an industry that spans entertainment, sports, celebrities and consumer products, among many other things, and all of them are on display at Brand Licensing Europe. I’m always hunting down the best photo opportunities for content, and this year BLE did not disappoint. Here are my faves:
Scooby-Doo Café: Instead of a plain, boring café, Warner Bros. Discovery ran a fully branded Scooby-Doo Café with sandwiches, snacks, drinks and coffee. Behind the café was a chance to be photographed in the Mystery Machine, with regular appearances from the famous canine himself, Scooby-Doo.
Mr. Tickle Chair: Mr. Men is one of the most iconic IPs in the UK, and although the brand doesn’t have a huge presence at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, it usually makes a strong statement at BLE. This year, visitors could get a photo sitting on a chair in front of Mr. Tickle, who was lending his hat for the occasion.
Harry Potter Letters: The Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio is bursting with incredible IP, and this year Harry Potter was front and center of its booth. A bench surrounded by flying Hogwarts letters, a nod to the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which turns 25 this year, was a hit with visitors.
The Beatles’ Abbey Road: BLE attendees could recreate the iconic Abbey Road album cover on its famous zebra crossing, a fitting photo op in a year when Apple Corps and Universal Music Group took the main stage for the show’s headline Beatles keynote.
Ozzy Osbourne’s Chair: With Sharon and Jack Osbourne discussing Ozzy’s legacy and the future of the Osbourne brand at Licensing Expo in May, it wasn’t surprising to see this photo opportunity.
Care Bears Rainbow: One of the most colorful booths at the show belonged to Care Bears, complete with a fun rainbow backdrop.
Shrek 5: A fun display that let guests step into Shrek’s swamp home, ahead of Shrek 5’s release on June 30, 2027. Plus, Shrek himself made several appearances!
Paramount and WBD Booths: Two of the biggest booths on the floor, side by side, for the last time as separate companies.
The Bottom Line
Over the last year, the licensing industry has faced a lot of challenges. From consolidation and redundancies to tariffs and inflation, it has felt like there was always something trying to hold us back. But licensing touches so many different areas, industries and markets that it is often more resilient than expected. At BLE this year, there was a level of energy that can only be described as electric. The event was yet another reminder of how creative, talented and wonderful the licensing community is, and it gave me another reason never to leave it.
want to connect?
The Born Perspective is one part of a bigger conversation. If you want more, you can find me on LinkedIn for industry commentary, Instagram for what's happening day to day, and YouTube and the Born to License Podcast for deeper dives into the world of licensing. Pick your platform. I'll be there.
Explore the Born Collective
Everything I build connects back to licensing. Here's where to go depending on what you need: