Nickelodeon and Carmelo Anthony Team Up To Launched New TMNT Products

Nickelodeon and NBA Superstar Carmelo Anthony today announced plans for a partnership to create Turtles by Melo, a brand-new consumer products line inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hit franchise. A self-professed Turtles super-fan, Anthony would serve as Creative Director of this cross-category, global program spanning lifestyle, home furnishings, publishing, video games, and more. Turtles by Melo is expected to debut in spring 2016, in advance of the summer theatrical release of Paramount Pictures’ sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in which Anthony also appears.

“I am so excited about the opportunity to work with the Nickelodeon team on this new Turtles ‎venture,” said Anthony. “The Turtles were such a huge part of my childhood, so to now be partnering with Nickelodeon on Turtles by Melo is honestly something I never could have imagined.” 

Added Pam Kaufman, Chief Marketing Officer and President Consumer Products, Nickelodeon: “We are so happy for Carmelo Anthony to join the Nickelodeon family for Turtles by Melo.  A product line created and curated by a superstar—and super-fan—like Carmelo is testament to the Turtles’ ever-growing appeal, and it’s a huge part of the drumbeat beginning for new seasons of the TV show and the theatrical sequel from Paramount Pictures next summer.”

In addition to Anthony’s status as a Turtles super-fan and Creative Director of Turtles by Melo, he will make a special guest appearance in next summer’s sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the follow-up to Paramount Pictures' blockbuster 2014 hit. The NBA Superstar will also be a featured part of the second annual Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports, live from LA,Thursday, July 16.

Since arriving in the NBA, Melo has not only been one of the top scorers in the league, he has also diversified himself as a player, a family man, a businessman and a philanthropist.  Drafted third overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, Anthony has surely made a name for himself in the league. As he showed the world during his championship season at Syracuse University, Melo continues to prove to his fans, teammates and coaches that he is a hard worker, a leader and a competitor.  The Olympics proved to be the perfect display of his passion, maturity and excellence for the sport—and winning the Gold Medal in both the 2008 and 2012 games has been the ultimate token of redemption, success and global recognition for the NBA All-Star and three-time Olympian.

In July 2008, Anthony was honored as Basketball Player of the Year at the First Annual Univision Premios Deportes, an awards show celebrating the best Hispanic athletes. Melo proudly accepted the award in appreciation of his Puerto Rican father, Carmelo Sr., who passed away when Melo was just two years old.

Last year, he created Melo7 Tech Partners to help invest in and develop tech start-ups, the first of which is the Silicon Valley smart kitchen company, The Orange Chef. He has also helped develop Be Everyware, a leading provider of mobile technology for small businesses. In 2013, Melo partnered with Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson to create SMS Audio, a premier audio headphone and accessories brand. Melo is known to have the latest gadgets and avidly keeps up with his over 10 million social media followers. 

Melo also has excelled off the court through his philanthropic efforts. He established The Carmelo Anthony Foundation (CAF) in 2005 as the vehicle for which he and his family would give back to the community through a variety of outreach programs and donations. In 2006, The Giving Back Fund, the premier philanthropic resource for the sports and entertainment communities, ranked Carmelo in their top ten of the “Giving Back 30” report surrounding celebrity philanthropists in America, the only basketball player on the list.  Anthony currently resides in New York City, with his wife, LaLa Vazques Anthony, and their son, Kiyan. 

Nickelodeon’s CG-animated series, which re-launched in 2012, has re-energized the iconic characters of this wildly popular franchise.  Currently in its third television season, the series is seen in more than 170 countries and territories and is translated in more than 50 languages.  Executive produced by Ciro Nieli and Brandon Auman, the series is created at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif.    

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is also wildly successful in consumer products, having ranked as the overall number-one toy in the U.S. for 2014 (Source: The NPD Group, Inc.).  The feature film from Paramount Pictures premiered Aug. 8, 2014, and landed in the number-one spot opening weekend.  To date, the film has grossed almost half-a-billion dollars worldwide, and a sequel is set to be released in 2016.