The Smurfs is a Belgian comic book series created by Peyo in 1958. It became well-known worldwide with the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series in the 1980s. With the popularity of the Smurfs came a wide range of toys and spin-off products and use of the Smurfs in merchandising. In 2008, Smurfs merchandising generated about 5 to 12 million euro in Europe alone, while the total figure after fifty years worldwide is about $5 billion. In 2020, ViacomCBS (later renamed Paramount Global in 2022) partnered with LAFIG Belgium and IMPS (the worldwide licensors for The Smurfs) to manage licensing rights to the Smurfs in several territories, as part of a deal that will also see the company's Nickelodeon channel air the IMPS-produced animated Smurfs series.