The Flintstones is an American animated sitcom that has become a famous and popular culture reference. It is particularly famous in the US.
The series follows a family called the Flintstones during the Stone Age. It was particularly beloved for its humor and transposition of everyday issues to a prehistoric environment.
The Flintstones was first broadcast in 1960 on the ABC channel and made history by becoming the first animated series to be shown during prime time.
It was continually broadcast on that same channel until its finale in 1966.
In total, the series is made up of six seasons and 166 episodes. Each episode lasted approximately 25 minutes.
Nowadays, the series is still shown on television and continues to shape the current pop culture scene. It has been translated into various languages and can also be found on foreign television channels.
Streaming platforms such as HBO Max and Tubi have relatively recently added The Flintstones to their streaming catalog. By doing so, they have renewed the audience’s interest in this classic and iconic series.
Although it remains a series at its very core, The Flintstones has now become a successful franchise. But how has it transitioned from series to franchise?
How has it managed to become so successful?
This article will explore how the series became a franchise and some of the key reasons behind the success of its franchising.
What is a franchise?
Before exploring the success of The Flintstones franchise, it is worth defining the term itself. So, what is a franchise?
A franchise is essentially a type of license that a franchisee acquires from a franchisor. With this license, a franchisee is granted the authorization to use the franchisor’s business name to sell products.
In exchange for this license, the franchisee is usually asked to pay a basic start-up fee and annual licensing fees on top of that.
Some franchise contracts require the franchisee to pay more annual licensing fees if the sales of the products increase considerably. So, these contracts can vary and have certain conditions imposed by the franchisor.
How did The Flintstones become a successful franchise?
The Flintstones creators and production company agreed to give a franchise license to other companies which allowed them to grow from a series to a franchise.
Here are some of the services and derived products that are part of The Flintstones franchise.
- Games
At the Jackpot Party Slots Casino there is a free Flintstones slot, the game even features Dino awarding the player random multipliers. All of the key characters are involved, including Fred, Wilma, Barney and the rest of the gang.
Choosing to expand The Flintstones franchise by offering The Flintstones-themed games was a masterful and highly profitable move for its production company and creators.
Not only are the games perfect for fans of the series who want to immerse themselves in the characters’ universe, but it is also a wonderful way for gamers to discover the series itself.
Those who are unfamiliar with the series will discover it through the games which helps promote the original work, boost its popularity, and bring attention to other The Flintstones franchise products.
- Television specials, movies and live-action films
After the series finished in 1966, the characters continued to exist and to be developed in television specials, movies and live-action films.
The first television special with the characters was A Flintstone Christmas, released in 1977. The television specials continued until 1993.
As for television movies, the first The Flintstones one was created in 1987 and the last one in 2001.
As of today, there have been two live-action movies around The Flintstones. The first one was released in 1994 and the second one in 2000.
The most recent on-screen appearance of The Flintstones characters was in the hybrid movie Space Jam: A New Legacy that came out in 2021.
In 2021, it was revealed that a Flintstones sequel was in the works.
- Comic books
After the series’ success, several The Flintstones comic books were released.
The Flintstones universe was explored in greater depth in these comic books and several characters received more dedicated attention than they could in the series.
- Products
Several The Flintstones-themed products were sold over the years.
Some of the most famous ones include The Flintstones vitamins are still very successful and are described as “the number 1 pediatrician-recommended vitamin brand for kids”.
- Ads
This is a little-known fact about the series, but some ads were placed within the series itself when it first came out. Although some might argue that it is not franchising per se, it helped the series earn some extra money by promoting external products.
One of these sponsors that paid the series’ creators to promote its products was Winston Cigarettes.
Final thoughts
With the availability of the series on popular streaming platforms like HBO Max, The Flintstones will most likely continue to grow as a franchise.
It will most likely remain a highly successful franchise and series over the next decades.
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