Los Angeles, California: June 14, 2010 – The Jim Henson Company has finalized a slate of licensing agreements for its CGI-animated preschool series DINOSAUR TRAIN. The announcements were made today by Peter Schube, President and COO, The Jim Henson Company.
In Europe, terrestrial television rights for DINOSAUR TRAIN have been licensed to France 5 in France, SVT in Sweden, YLE in Finland and TG4 in Ireland; and basic television rights have been licensed to Canal + in Poland for their MiniMini Channel. Cable and satellite rights have been licensed across Eastern Europe to Chello TV. In Italy, all TV and DVD rights have been licensed to Dall’Angelo Pictures; in Portugal, all television rights to Atxilipu; and in Scandinavia, home entertainment rights to AB Svensk Filmindustri for Sweden, Finland and Norway.
Outside of Europe, pay cable and satellite rights for DINOSAUR TRAIN have been licensed to E-Vision for the United Arab Emirates; basic cable rights to HOP! in Israel; broadcast rights to On Digital Media in South Africa; and home entertainment rights to Beyond Home Entertainment.
DINOSAUR TRAIN launched recently (May 10, 2010) on Discovery Kids Latin America, and has been licensed to additional previously announced partners TVO and TFO in Canada, Knowledge in British Columbia, NRK in Norway, Selecta Vision in Spain, Al Jazeera for the United Arab Emirates and Nick Jr. in Australia–who will debut the series this year. ―
DINOSAUR TRAIN is the perfect marriage between the two elements that 3–6 year old kids love the most—trains and dinosaurs, and the series reflects The Jim Henson Company’s ongoing commitment to offer our international broadcast partners content that seamlessly merges entertainment and education with top quality production value,‖ said Schube. ―We look forward to working with our partners to ensure that DINOSAUR TRAIN is a global hit.‖
Created by Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!), DINOSAUR TRAIN airs on PBS KIDS® in the U.S. and embraces and celebrates the fascination that preschoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains while encouraging basic scientific thinking and skills. Each 30-minute episode includes two 11-minute animated segments with live action sequences featuring well-known paleontologist, Scott Sampson, Ph.D. Dr. Scott brings to life the show’s natural science and natural history curriculum for preschoolers as he gives specific facts about dinosaurs and compares their features to animals of today. This top rated show has enjoyed many rave reviews since its September 2009 debut and was picked by People Magazine as one of ―The Year’s Best New Kids’ Shows.‖
PBSKIDS.org/dinosaurtrain welcomes more than 2.4 million visits each month, offering engaging content designed to continue dinosaur exploration beyond the television series, including printables, games, and a dinosaur field guide.
Created by Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!), Brian Henson, Lisa Henson, Halle Stanford and Craig Bartlett serve as executive producers for DINOSAUR TRAIN. The series is co-produced with Singapore animation company Sparky Entertainment, with the participation and assistance of the Singapore Media Development Authority. UK production and financial support is provided by Ingenious Media.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Michelle Orsi & Carol Holdsworth
Three.Sixty Marketing & Communications
310.418.6430
michelle@360-comm.com
Nicole Goldman/Ann Schwarz
The Jim Henson Company
323.802.1608/323.802.1667
ngoldman@henson.com
aschwarz@henson.com
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The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include the Emmy® nominated “Sid the Science Kid,” “Dinosaur Train,” “Wilson & Ditch: Digging America” and “Pajanimals.” Features include “The Dark Crystal,” “Labyrinth,” “MirrorMask,” and “Unstable Fables” and television productions include “Fraggle Rock” and the sci-fi cult series “Farscape.”
With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand has recently launched the national tour of “Stuffed and Unstrung,” a live puppet improvisational show named one of the top 10 “Best Stage Shows of 2010” by Entertainment Weekly.
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