Finance

'Peppa Pig' is now a billion-dollar brand

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Peppa Pig graffiti
"Peppa Pig" has become a cultural phenomenon  Flickr/duncan c

Entertainment One is making a killing from "Peppa Pig," the British-made children's television series about a family of pig.

The production and distribution company revealed in its full-year results on Tuesday that "Peppa Pig" related sales hit $1 billion (£640 million) worldwide last year.

Entertainment One called the small pink pig "the most loved pre-school property in the world."

That insane popularity of the animation helped Entertainment One more than double pre-tax profit to £44 million ($68.74 million), despite revenue dipping 5% to £785.8 million ($1.22 billion).

Profit margins at its TV business are higher than in film and Entertainment One, which distributes Peppa Pig, owns half the rights to series.

Entertainment One also owns all of the merchandising rights and Peppa Pig ended the year with over 600 licensing deals to its name.

While Peppa Pig was a big hit, the company said it had a poor year for film. Revenue at its movie distribution business fell by 13% o £581.4 million ($908.25 million).

Entertainment One said it was hoping for a turnaround this year, thanks to films its working on such as the new "Steve Jobs" biopic.

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Oscar is a senior reporter in London. He writes about finance and markets, with a particular focus on fintech.His work on "pump and dump" scams in cryptocurrency markets was shortlisted for the prestigious Gerald Loeb Awards in 2018 in the beat reporting category and the same reporting has also been cited by the US Securities and Exchange Committee.Prior to Business Insider, he was the stock market reporter for the London Evening Standard and Independent newspapers.