NEW YORK - (KRT) - The Toy Guy chose BTR Transformers as one of his Picks of the Year.

Every holiday season, the Toy Guy, aka Christopher Byrne, appears on scores of local and national television and radio shows with his selections of the best and hottest toys.

But what the parents and children don't know, and are not told by anchors and reporters, is that Byrne is paid hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by those toy manufacturers to hawk their products.

Byrne, 47, a renowned and ostensibly objective consumer advocate, is the paid spokesman for the manufacturers, which have included Nintendo, Mattel, Fisher-Price, Leapfrog and Hasbro.

Representatives for several toy companies who pay Byrne said his arrangement is an accepted and unquestioned longtime industry practice.

Asked whether television viewers should be informed that Byrne is paid, Shannon Eis, spokeswoman for the Toy Industry Association said, "I don't know if it's right, I can't say yes or no."

Byrne, who operates out of offices in Manhattan's Toy Building, is probably the best-known pitchman in a business that posted $30.6 billion in sales last year.

Each fall and spring for more than five years, he has appeared on CBS, NBC, Fox, and CNN national shows, including "Oprah," "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee" and "The Today Show," in addition to local programs.

In New York, for example, he appeared on "WB11 Morning News" and Fox's "Good Day New York" on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22.

Spokesmen for several stations and broadcasts said they were unaware of Byrne's financial arrangements and were not informed by him.

All said that viewers should be told of Byrne's allegiance to the toy industry.

"Channel 11 won't have him back on unless he agrees to disclosure," said Ted Faraone, a spokesman for WPIX, where Byrne was paid by manufacturers. "Viewers should be informed if a spokesman is paid."

In most of Byrne's broadcast interviews, only toys made by companies that pay him are mentioned, he acknowledged.

He has different deals with manufacturers depending on how his commentary is broadcast.

Smaller companies that can't afford the fees - which begin at $15,000 per product in a broadcast "package" - are ignored.

Byrne, in the midst of his fall national toy-media tour, readily agreed to a phone interview last week after arriving in Denver, where he was to appear on local NBC, ABC and Warner Brothers news and talk show broadcasts.

"I am not a hired gun. It's not like somebody says, `Here's a product, here's a check, go on TV and talk about it,' " said Byrne, who has worked in the toy business for 25 years.

For this fall's tour, he said the toys mentioned are among those "Hot Dozen" chosen by Toy Wishes magazine, where he is a contributing editor.

Byrne said his publicist, Michel Litsky, solicits manufacturers' paid participation in the media tour. He is paid as an employee of Litsky Public Relations.

A 1999 solicitation letter sets a $10,000 fee per product mention in the New York, Boston, Washington, Seattle, Cleveland and Pittsburgh markets.

The letter extols the "credibility of local television and radio personalities" as providing "a formula that no advertising program can match.

"The return on your investment is higher than virtually any other kind of promotional effort," Litsky writes.

Litsky declined to detail Byrne's current charges but said that participation in prepared video segments aired on scores of stations around the country cost $15,000.

"I'm really not sure about the numbers (the money)," said Byrne.

Pressed on how much money he makes, he said, "I'm going to pass on that question; I'm paid what a typical spokesman is paid, I guess."

Litsky said four toy manufacturers are bankrolling the Byrne operation during his current live tour. They are KIDdesigns for the Barbie toy; Hasbro for BTR Transformers; Fisher Price for Elmo and Powertouch Learning System; Thinkways Toys for Neopets Voice Activated Plush, and Leapfrog for the Leappad Plus Writing Learning System and the Leapster Educational Game System.

"Our contract with Chris Byrne, all our relations with Chris are confidential," said Jaeme Sines, spokeswoman for Leapfrog.

"Chris is one of the most credible people in the industry, and we don't disclose what we pay for that," said Laurie Oravec, spokeswoman for Fisher Price.

Asked whether viewers should know about Byrne's arrangement, Oravec said, "I think the value is there for consumers as long as it's a credible person, but I don't know the answer to that."

Spokesmen for Hasbro, KIDdesigns and Thinkway Toys did not return calls.

Mary Wiggins, spokeswoman for Zapf Creations, said her company pays between $5,000 and $15,000 per product mention in Byrne's current pre-packaged pitch.

"This is the nature of the beast," she said.

Byrne is also a paid spokesman for the Toy Industry Association during the Toy Fair exposition, held in New York each February, and operates the Toy Guy Web site.

"I have credibility," said Byrne. "I won't take a toy on TV that I haven't played with with kids. My reputation is everything. The toys have to meet specific criteria."

He said he occasionally mentions toys on local broadcasts for free.

"This morning, I was in Atlanta and I was talking about Go Go My Walking Pup by Hasbro, and I wasn't paid for that," he said.

Byrne said he does not charge manufacturers for newspaper stories. Interviews with him have appeared in the Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and dozens of other publications.

He also said he does not charge manufacturers for his appearances on national shows such as NBC's "The Today Show" and CNN's "American Morning" with Paula Zahn.

"I do those for free. It enhances my credibility and exposure," he said.

At the same time, an examination of several national broadcast transcripts shows that Byrne mentions the same toys he cites on shows for which he has been paid.

A spokeswoman for CNBC, where Byrne appeared twice this year on "Early Today," said the show's producers "had no idea" Byrne was paid by toy companies.

"The viewer and we should have been told," said Amy Zelvin, a CNBC vice president.

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Some of this year's picks"

_Barbie Cook With Me Kitchen

KIDdesigns. 3 and older. $129.99.

A fully electronic kitchen. "The most realistic make-believe cookery ever. And the kitchen recognizes each of more than 50 different foods. You'll wish a grownup kitchen could do all that!" said Byrne.

_BTR Transformers

Hasbro. 6 and older. $7.99-$29.99.

The transformers "let kids build vehicles that convert to robots. These sets make big toys that are packed with features and excitement for kids," said Byrne.

_Hokey Pokey Elmo

Fisher-Price. 18 months and older. $29.99.

A puppet. "A red and furry friend who sings the classic song and actually does the dance ... everyone will be having a wonderful time," said Byrne.

_Leapster Educational Game System

LeapFrog. Ages 4-8. $79.99.

"It's not too good to be true - it's here! The Leapster has a large, touch-activated screen, and the games are all designed to actively engage children as they learn 60 essential skills. We love it," said Byrne.

_Neopets Voice Activated Plush

Thinkway Toys. 4 and older. $34.99.

"A sensational line of voice-activated pets. These 9-inch-tall best pals respond to voices and talk back," said Byrne.

_Powertouch Learning System

Fisher-Price. Ages 3-8. $49.99.

"This interactive educational system encourages kids to learn in a natural way - by touching pictures and interacting with the books. Thanks to innovative technology, the result is pure magic," said Byrne.

Quotes from Byrne's article in Toy Wishes Magazine and broadcast transcripts of interviews with him. All firms paid for product mentions.

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