"The notion of a toy company owning a television channel for the sole purpose of promoting their toys is egregious practice," said Susan Linn, director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which has emerged as one of the Hub's harshest critics. Linn acknowledged that she had yet to see any of the network's new shows.
Shows/Products that are mentioned in the article are GI JOE, Transformers, My Little Pony and Pound Puppies.
Still, neither partner is backing off the idea that one of the objectives of the Hub is to move Hasbro's products. Nonetheless, such TV-toy tie-ins are as old as the marionettes, board games and wristwatches that sold because of the popularity of NBC's "The Howdy Doody Show," whose run began in the late 1940s.
See the full article here.
What do you think? Share your opinion in the Energon Pub Forums.