Hasbro takes on Tractor Tom

Toy manufacturer Hasbro is launching a Tractor Tom product line in the US next year, after inking a licence for the UK preschool series with Contender Entertainment Group.

Hasbro is now the master toy licensee in North America and plans to take Tractor Tom into the shops in the second half of 2004. With Vivid Imaginations covering the UK and Irish markets, Contender is looking to issue further licences over the next 18 months.

Tractor Tom centres around a farm populated by Farmer Fi and Matt the Farmhand, voiced by local actors Liza Tarbuck and James Nesbitt. The show currently airs in a weekly CiTV slot in the UK.

{With Hasbro entering the frame in North America, it looks like Tractor Tom could really hit the big league and with Bob sales declining, the glittering prize is there to be taken,{ said Vivid ceo Nick Austin.