g Vodafone smartphone services. With Bluey, the most-streamed title in the US in 2025 at 45.2 billion viewing minutes, BBC Studios is careful about where the brand appears.  The Brisbane cattle dog has spawned toys, books, clothes, games, live shows, $2 coins, and more than 30 pieces of BCF camping gear. Before Bluey became a whirlwind of paraphernalia and an upcoming 2027 movie, creator Joe Brumm watched his two daughters play. The Brisbane animator built a children’s series around the domestic life he saw at home when furniture became props, imaginary worlds took shape, and parents were promptly assigned a role. The children’s show arrived on ABC Kids in October 2018, produced by Ludo Studio and co-commissioned by ABC Children’s and BBC Studios Kids & Family. BBC Studios holds the global distribution and merchandise rights, and now, much of Bluey’s lucrative second life sits in British hands.   For Katherine Price, head of commercial, retail & licensing at BBC Studios ANZ, the breadth of an over 1 billion dollar merchandise empire creates a lot of work, particularly in deciding where Bluey can go. “For us, it always starts with whether there’s an authentic connection to Bluey and the values at the heart of the show,” she said. Partnerships are assessed for their capacity to encourage “play, creativity and shared family moments”, with each category expected to earn its place. “There needs to be a genuine reason for Bluey to be in a category.”  Star Wars: a cautionary tale After The Phantom Menace hit the silver screen in 1999, Lucasfilm sought to capitalise on a major 16-year gap in the Star Wars franchise. The result was too many products and therefore heavy discounts. By the time Attack of the Clones debuted in 2002, Lucasfilm had halved its movie tie-ins and cut licensees from about 85 to less than 50. “Last time, we really went for promotional tonnage,” Howard Roffman, then a Lucasfilm licensing executive, told the Washington Post. “But I think that just contributed to the sense that you couldn’t turn around without seeing ‘Star Wars’ in your face.” By 2012, even Yoda was appearing in Vodafone ads, and that year Disney bought Lucasfilm for over US$4 billion, bringing the franchise into a tighter brand-management system. That experience offers a lesson for Bluey, and BBC Studios already seems to understand it.  Price explained the strongest products allow families to create their own moments of fun, connection and play. She points to BCF: “Bluey is reflective of everyday life, and the new BCF range is inspired by fan favourite episodes ‘Camping’ and ‘Beach’”. Lego turns the show’s make-believe into buildable play; Tonies carries its storytelling into screen-free audio. Even the Royal Australian Mint’s 2026 $2 collection draws on episodes including “Rain”, “Sleepytime” and “Baby Race”. Bluey can travel remarkably far from the television, but the clever partnerships still lead back to something the Heelers actually do.  Star Wars warned retailers about the price of being everywhere. Bluey may be nowhere near that point yet, but the more interesting question is whether BBC Studios can keep it that way and make sure the dog that can sell almost anything never starts selling too much.