In a surprising move last month, Nickelodeon and Mattel entered into a multiyear exclusive agreement giving Mattel master toy status for all new Nick properties outside of the U.S. and in any new markets for existing Nickelodeon properties.

The agreement covers such toy categories as plush, dolls, action figures, handheld games, puzzles, infant products and preschool items and encompasses properties from Nickelodeon entities such as Nick Jr., Nick at Nite, TV Land and the GAS Network.

While existing agreements with other U.S. toy licensees will remain in place, Mattel will be master toy for Blue’s Clues and Rugrats in about 30 countries, including Canada, Australia, the U.K., Latin America, Mexico and Brazil.

Nickelodeon International’s executive VP of international program enterprise, Kathleen Hrcik, says in particular, Nick will look to move into the Asian market with Mattel products.

In a separate agreement, Nick renewed a licensing deal with Mattel Interactive for three of Nick’s most popular properties. Mattel Interactive has been granted all interactive platform rights to The Wild Thornberrys, along with video game rights for Blue’s Clues and CD-ROM rights for Rugrats.

The master toy deal will cover all future franchise properties, including Nickelodeon Movies property Jimmy Neutron, set to hit theaters in 2001. Mattel will develop a Jimmy Neutron toy line along with a video game line from Mattel Interactive.