YouTube’s Quest to Suggest More

December 31, 2009

By MIGUEL HELFT
SAN BRUNO, Calif. — YouTube, the video site owned by Google, is about 10 times more popular than its nearest competitor. But Hunter Walk still thinks of it as an underdog.

For Mr. Walk, director of product management at YouTube, the competition is not other Web sites: it’s TV.

“Our average user spends 15 minutes a day on the site,” he said. “They spend about five hours in front of the television. People say, ‘YouTube is so big,’ but I really see that we have a ways to go.”

To that end, Mr. Walk leads a team of about a dozen engineers, designers and project managers who are fine-tuning YouTube to give its users what they want, even when the users aren’t quite sure what that is. The goal is to get them to spend a few more minutes on the site every day.

This is easier said than done. YouTube will not disclose the size of its video library, but the company has said that about 20 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute. That is the equivalent of more than 100,000 full-length movies uploaded every week. With hundreds of millions of clips to choose from, the challenge that Mr. Walk’s team faces is to figure out how to select the 5 or 10 or 20 that a user might enjoy most.

The payoff could be large. Google executives have said YouTube is still losing money but is on a path to profitability. Getting users to spend more time on the site would help it get there faster by selling more advertising. It could also go a long way to extend its dominance, shoring up its position against sites like Hulu, which are attracting a growing number of users with full-length movies and television shows.

And it could also help YouTube keep up with other competitors, including video search engines like Truveo and Blinkx, or sites like Clicker.com, which specializes in recommending professionally created videos online.

After Blinkx added better analysis of the visual content of videos to its engine early this year, for example, the average number of clips watched by users jumped to nearly five, from 2.5, said Suranga Chandratillake, founder and chief executive of Blinkx.

For YouTube, part of the challenge is in handling people’s searches. In November, Americans typed some 3.8 billion search queries on YouTube, more than on any search engine other than Google, according to comScore, a market researcher. While Google queries tend to be quite specific, users often come to YouTube with requests as vague as “funny videos.”

But perhaps more important, YouTube must finesse what technicians call discovery. That’s the art of suggesting videos that users may want to watch based on what they have watched before, or on what others with similar tastes have enjoyed. The effort requires mastering data-mining techniques similar to those used by the likes of Netflix and Amazon to make movie or book recommendations.

“I don’t think the YouTube problem is different from the Netflix problem or the Amazon problem,” said Christopher T. Volinsky, executive director of statistics research at AT&T Labs Research. Mr. Volinsky recently helped lead a team that won a $1 million prize established by Netflix to improve that site’s recommendation engine by 10 percent.

That it took his team of top computer scientists three years to make a modest improvement to Netflix, which has some 70,000 titles, illustrates the complexity of the task, Mr. Volinsky said.

YouTube’s work in these areas is largely hidden from users and involves dozens of tweaks, small and large, that Mr. Walk’s team makes every month. Recently, for instance, the group began tackling what it calls topic exhaustion. No matter how much users may like to watch, say, Shaquille O’Neal highlights, they will inevitably reach a point when they will have had enough.

So while YouTube used to suggest more of the same topic to users who watched a particular video, it has gently begun to nudge them toward related topics. The Shaquille O’Neal video may prompt suggestions for Kobe Bryant highlights, N.B.A. clips or even topics further afield, like sports stars who appear in films.

“If we guess wrong, you could leave us sooner,” said Jamie Davidson, a 25-year-old associate product manager on Mr. Walk’s team. “But if we guess correctly, we may get you to watch another 10 videos. This is very hard.”

The techniques involve creating vast graphs, which Mr. Davidson calls conceptual maps, of related concepts like Shaquille O’Neal, the N.B.A. and Kobe Bryant, on which the proximity of two nodes indicates the closeness of two topics. The YouTube recommendation engine uses these maps to find new subject areas that might interest a user.

Over time, YouTube says it plans to rely more heavily on personalization and ties between users to refine recommendations.

Mr. Walk’s team meets weekly to discuss tweaks to YouTube’s software. During a recent meeting, a small group of engineers and user interface designers were brainstorming what might be the next big step in the site’s evolution: pages that would immediately begin playing a stream of clips tailored for a user, instead of offering lists of suggested videos. The idea is to push more videos at users in the hope of allowing them to abandon the keyboard and increasingly experience YouTube from the couch.

“On YouTube, every 45 seconds, you are stuck at a decision point,” Mr. Davidson said. “Any time there is a decision point, people may leave. We don’t want to take out the interactivity, but the default user experience should be a lot easier.”

Palash Nandy, an engineer on the team, suggests a couple of ideas. How about putting an “I’m feeling bored” button next to the search box, echoing Google’s famous “I’m feeling lucky” button? Or why not give users a slider to select the amount of time they want to be entertained, and let YouTube’s software assemble a playlist accordingly?

None of this is likely to appear on the YouTube home page soon. But the team is already working on new ways to let users collectively create lists of videos that share a topic, like cats playing keyboards (youtube.com/bestofkeyboardcat). The ideas may show up first in the TestTube, YouTube’s site for experimental features.

Gauging YouTube’s success so far is difficult. YouTube will not release detailed traffic statistics. But it says improvements in its search and discovery software have helped increase the average time that users spend on the site by 50 percent in the last year.

Data from comScore appears to back that up. The average YouTube user watched 83 clips in October, compared with 53 a year earlier, though it is difficult to know how much of that growth was the result of improvements in YouTube’s algorithms.

Either way, Mr. Walk’s team plans to speed up the pace of innovation to help YouTube users search less and watch more.

“We are the second-largest search engine, and yet search is not even the right paradigm for discovering video,” Mr. Davidson said. “We are trying to move beyond it.”

The Electric Company, Sesame Workshop

The second season of Sesame Workshop's series The Electric Company (12x30) is set to premiere January 25, 2010 on PBS Kids Go (check local listings).

Targeted to K6-9, the new season of The Electric Company, which airs five days a week, will begin with a special three-episode recurring role by Kyle Massey (Cory in the House), playing Keith's cousin PJ.

Following the debut week, new episodes will bow each Friday. The new season will also feature celebrity appearances by NBA player Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic/center), John Leguizamo, LL Cool J, and Sherrie Shephard among others.

Season two of The Electric Company is made possible by the support of American Greetings and Beaches Resorts. The series is part of PBS Kids Raising Readers national literacy initiative, which focuses on using public media to improve reading skills of K2-8, particularly for kids from low-income families.

Smart Kids Group debuts Live at the Hive, a new social networking community targeted to kids/tweens and their parents.
The bee hive-themed community features Bert the Bee and other characters that lead users through Live at the Hive, which includes a range of areas or in this case neighborhood hives like The Healthy Hive, The Travel Hive, and The Safety Hive among others.
Safety is a key component of this social network. So, it will include various features such as monthly reports to parents that show where their kids have visited and who they have been interacting with on the site.

The NPD Group leisure time activities research

Despite the excitement generated from new platforms, America is still mostly a nation of couch potatoes who spend a vast majority of their leisure time in front of the boob tube, according to the latest update to the "Entertainment Trends in America" consumer tracking surveys conducted by The NPD Group. Some 81% of respondents reporting watching an average of 10 hours of TV per week (not including movies.)

Other finding included:
Despite the proliferation of iPods and other MP3 players, 78% of Americans still spend 5+ hours/week listening to traditional AM/FM radio

with 60% still listening to music on a CD

70% of Americans spend 4 hours/week on average on IM and email

Some 47% visited social networking sites, spending an average of 5 hours/week

11% of respondents reported tweeting an average of 3 hours/week

Top 5 Leisure Time Activities in the U.S.
(based on % of consumers who took part in prior week)
Watch TV show/sports/news (excluding movies): 81%
Listen to music on traditional AM/FM radio (not satellite): 78%
Instant-messaging or e-mailing: 70%
Listen to music on a CD: 60%
Watch a movie on TV (excluding PPV and VOD): 58%


Source: The NPD Group

Kenn Viselman presents

Producer/marketer Kenn Viselman, he brought Teletubbies and Thomas the Tank Engine to the US, forms a new film and TV production company Kenn Viselman presents ... The company recently completed filming its first feature film The Oogieloves In The Big Balloon Adventure.

Targeted to kids, the interactive movie features Cloris Leachman, Chazz Palminteri, Jamie Pressly, Toni Braxton, Cary Elwes and Christopher Lloyd. Directed by Matthew Diamond, Viselman plans to release The Oogieloves In The Big Balloon Adventure in November 2010 on 3000+ movie screens.

The company's development slate includes eleven movie projects including Sleeping Rudy, Step Off and a follow-up of The Oogieloves, which heads into pre-production this January. Kenn Viselman presents

... appointments include Angela Rivet as SVP/Production; Eileen Potrock as SVP/Marketing and Third Party Strategic Alliances; Julie Polkes as VP/Public Relations; Kara Moline as Director/Ancillary Rights; and Mitchell Rivet as Manager/Investor Relations.

Our Little Genius, Sprout

Actor Kevin Pollak will host Fox's new kid-centric game show Our Little Genius. The series, which challenges kids that are expects in select areas, will makes its debut on Wednesday, January 13 as the lead-out to American Idol and then find its permanent home the following Tuesday, January 19 at 9p.

Mark Burnett Productions and Zoo Productions are the producers behind the Our Little Genius game series. Pollak is best known for his roles in the movies A Few Good Man, The Usual Suspects and Casino, with upcoming movies including playing opposite Bruce Willis in Kevin Smith's A Couple of DICS and Middle Men with Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi.

Given the time slots, the series is more likely for adults which is good because most average kids don't likely want to watch genius kids on a regular basis.

Hit Entertainment teams with Sprout, the 24/7 preschool TV, on demand and online destination, to launch Let's Grow, a DVD series that will focus on life skills and lessons for preschoolers.

The new line will feature themed DVDs comprised of episodes of Hit Entertainment series, such as Barney, Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends, among others, and tied together by live-action interstitial segments starring hosts from Sprout's Sunny Side Up Show.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment, a longtime distributor of Hit's home entertainment, will release the first DVD title, Lend a Helping Hand on January 12, 2010, followed by a second title in 2Q 2010. Additionally, each DVD will come with a parent resource guide including information and suggestions that correspond with the theme of that DVD.

Sesame Street is headed for Nigeria!

Sesame Street is headed for Nigeria! Sesame Workshop is developing a new series targeted to Nigerian kids, which will offer messaging about staying in school, girl empowerment and HIV/Aids.

Sesame Street Nigeria (working title) is being produced through a 5-year grant from the American people via the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and will initially include 78x30 (making up three seasons) as well as outreach materials.

Sesame Workshop is working closely with an advisory board of local exporters in order to determine the focus and content for the new series. The series will feature Kami and Big Bird among other characters. The first three seasons will address these goals through the following themes:

Season 1: We Can - will focus on empowering kids to aspire to be anything they want and encourage them to stay in school. Show content will portray community participation in the learning process and suggesting there is also time for play, fun and creativity in kids' lives.

Season 2: We Do It Right will highlight honesty and integrity, courtesy and coping with mistakes. Themes will include mutual respect and understanding and gender parity.

Season 3: We Live Here will focus on community activities that reflect the importance of culture and caring for the environment.

Chello Multicanal and Zon Multimedia

Chello Multicanal and Zon Multimedia ink a partnership for the production, marketing and distribution of kid's movie and entertainment channels across Portugal and Portuguese-speaking Africa.

The partnership sees the creation of a new company to handle these projects, Dreamia Servicos de Televisao, of which Chello and Zon are equal partners. The three companies will launch a Panda Biggs, a tween-targeted channel.

Dreamia will broadcast four channels, with the other three being the kid-aimed Panda, a movie channel titled Hollywood, and MOV, which will offer movies and TV series. Chello will distribute the Dreamia channels in Portugal, while Zon will do so in Portuguese-speaking Africa.

Branded content and Educate to Innovate

Disney Online launches a new Clorox sponsored web series, The Possibility Shop, from The Jim Henson Company. Hosted by Courtney Watkins, The Possibility Shop offers various kid activities and projects and will update every two weeks with season and/or holiday-based content.

With Clorox as its exclusive sponsor, specifically supporting its Clorox2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster as well as its disinfecting wipes and toilet-cleaning products, The Possibility Shop features ads for these products in and around the episode.

President Obama yesterday launched the Educate to Innovate campaign, a nationwide initiative designed to encourage US kids to work hard to move to the head of the class in science, technology, engineering and math (also known as the STEM education courses) over the course of the next decade.

To support this new effort, the White House has entered into partnerships with several companies, foundations, non-profits and science and engineering societies that work to educate and motivate young people in the areas of science and math. Among the many plans, an annual science fair will be held at the White House, featuring winners from across the country.

Some partners and their efforts include:
Sesame Workshop in partnership with PNC Bank launches Sesame Street's Early STEM Literacy Initiative, a two-year and $7.5 million investment the science and math effort aimed at encouraging young kids to have positive attitudes towards nature and care for the environment.

In the new season of Sesame Street, which includes its My World is Green & Growing as part of the new 2-year initiative, 20 of the 26 episodes will focus on STEM, 13 will focus on science and seven on math. Additionally, Sesame Workshop, with PNC Bank's Grow Up Great Program, introduces a new math program for preschoolers entitled Math is Everywhere.

Time Warner Cable, in partnership with FIRST Robotics and the Coalition for Science After School, launches a campaign to connect 1+ million students to after-school STEM activities that are already available in their area. Time Warner will support this with a searchable website, connectamillionminds .com, public service announcements (PSAs), and has committed $100 million over the next five years, as well as further corporate philanthropy.

Discovery Communications launches Be the Future, a five-year campaign in partnership with universities and federal agencies to create content including PSAs for air on its 13 US networks, a commercial-free kid-targeted educational programming block on the Science Channel and other programming including its Curiosity series. Additionally, Discovery is creating interactive educational content for schools, and via a partnership with Siemens Foundation, will create STEM Connect, a resource for teachers.

National Lab Day, a grassroots effort that aims to upgrade science labs and support learning projects and support STEM teachers. The effort is a partnership with science and engineering societies with financial support from the Hidary Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other partners.

The MacArthur Foundation, Sony Computer Entertainment America and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and its partners launch National STEM game design competitions. The competitions will include the 2010 Digital Media and Learning Competition, an annual effort supported by the MacArthur Foundation that advances innovative approaches to learning through games, social networks and mobile devices. One competition will be open solely to kids. Sony will participate in one segment of the competition this year, encouraging the development of new games that build on the existing video game Little Big Planet.

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! DVD

Anchor Bay Entertainment will release a new Earth-themed Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! DVD, Wubbzy Goes Green (58-minutes), Tuesday, April 6, 2010. Featuring the star of Nick Jr.'s Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! preschool series, the DVD release coincides with the 40th annual celebration of Earth Day on April 22.

Comprised of five episodes, Wubbzy Goes Green will also offer two consumer promotions with two new partners. The first (April-December 2010), offers consumers a $3 rebate (via mail) with the purchase of any two First Juice Brand 8-0z reusable and recyclable sippy top or 32-oz. multi-serve refill bottles and any Wubbzy DVD. The second, (April-June 2010), consumers will receive $3 (via mail) with the purchase a MaMa Rosa's refrigerated pizza and any Wubbzy DVD.

Cookie Jar Entertainment, Marblemedia

Indie kids producer Cookie Jar Entertainment has engaged Gorilla Nation's GNKids and Teens to handle the online advertising for Jaroo.com, its new streaming video portal for kids.

Marblemedia has established a new department that will be responsible for working in tandem with broadcasters and brands to develop new and innovative Canadian programming to multiple screens. To support this movie, marblemedia names Lisa Reis as Director/Brand Integration.

Integrations will be customized and developed collaboratively on in house projects as well as special initiatives with marblemedia partners including broadcasters, brands and producers. Marblemedia is currently in talks with several partners about branded entertainment initiatives for several upcoming projects such as Just Like Mom ... and Dad a remake of the classic Canadian family game show that is currently in development, which teams-up parents and their kids in two rounds of family-related trivia plus a frenetic bake-off challenge.

An online game will allow Just Like Mom ... and Dad viewers at home to play along online. Marblemedia recently partnered with Fresh TV, creators of the tween-targeted, animated and music-centric series Stoked, which currently airs on Teletoon. Marblemedia executed Stoked's interactive component as well as sourcing, negotiating and executing cross-platform brand integration initiatives.

Adult Swim

Cartoon Network's Adult Swim brand launched a new website allowing users to create their own custom DVDs made up of Adult Swim programming from shows such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Robot Chicken.

Fans can mix-and-match up to 110 minutes of programming for a flat rate of $20 per DVD, including shipping. Warner Bros. Archive Collection launched a similar site earlier this year.

Generation gap-shmeneration gap!

Generation gap-shmeneration gap! According to a new Nickelodeon Research study, The Family GPS, the gap between generations is closing and technology and cultural attitudes are at least some of the reasons. The Family GPS study was conducted as part of an ongoing partnership with Harris Interactive that looks at the changing face and role of the family in the US.

Looking specifically at the technology and entertainment factors findings include that 82% and 77% of families are watching TV or movies together at home respectively each week.

Additionally, 41% of parents and kids are listening to the same music, which really isn't all that surprising for the most part as rock n' roll and country music, for example, have remained strongholds for the music industry for 40+ years now. Gender-wise, 56% of sons 8-21 share the same taste in movies as their dads, and 48% enjoy listening to the same music. Meanwhile 64% of daughters 8-21 share similar tastes in movies as their moms, and 44% share the same sense of fashion and clothing as mom.

On the importance of being together as a family, 83% of parents said they spend at least some time each week just hanging out and talking with their kid(s); and 86% eat dinner together at least once a week. Additionally, 51% of parents say they worry a lot about spending enough time together as a family, equal to their concern about their own or their family's health (53%) and paying their bills (51%).

Attitudinally, parents of Boys 2-21 believe the most important value to instill in a son is to be respectful of women (70%), while for daughters the top values include self-sufficiency and independent thinking (66% each). Parents have equal educational expectations for sons and daughter, however, it is a bit more important to parents of girls than those of boys that their kid gets good grades (92% vs. 86%). One of the nicest findings, to me anyhow given that the kid entertainment industry has been stressing cultural tolerance messaging for some time now, is that 88% of kids believe that it's important to learn about different cultures, and 95% of kids value the importance of respecting other cultures.

Our Little Genius, Google, Bollywood Bob, Gigapix, dirtgirlworld

FOX approved a new game show, Our Little Genius from Mark Burnett in association with ZOO Productions, producers of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. The game show features real child prodigies, from 6 to 12 years old, answering increasingly difficult questions and trying to win hundreds of thousands of dollars for their families.

The caveat at play is how far the little geniuses keep going will depend on the parents who gauge how a panel of leading experts, from Ivy League professors to world-famous doctors and scientists perform with the same questions. If a child is pulled by the parent, the tiny genius can still try to answer the question to prove his/her amazing ability.

The host of Our Little Genius will be announced at an upcoming date. Families interested in participating with their little genius can send inquiries to ourlittlegenius@yahoo.com. Mark Burnett, Barry Poznick and John Stevens are executive producing.

Google began testing a new "skippable" pre-roll ad format on select YouTube advertisements yesterday, in an effort to address high abandonment rates. (This measure when viewers click off the site rather than watch a pre-roll ad.) Abandonment rates, which tested as high as 70% when in-stream ads were first launched on the site in 2007 according to the company, are affected by several factors including length of the ad and the relevance of the creative.


Nickelodeon UK caps off the 10th anniversary celebration of SpongeBob SquarePants with a new live-action two-minute film Bollywood Bob. Choreographed by Longinus Fernandes (Slumdog Millionaire), Bollywood Bob will premiere on November 14 as part of Nickelodeon UK's weekend SpongeBob marathon, SpongeBash, and then across Nickelodeon channels around the world.

The short features a Bangra/Bollywood modified version of the SpongeBob theme song, arranged by Akbar Sami and Firoze Patel. A 30-second version of the film will screen in the Vue and Cineworld movie theaters in the UK from November 13 through January 1. Nickelodeon UK produced Bollywood Bob in collaboration with Nickelodeon International and Nickelodeon India.

Essential Entertainment inks a multi-picture deal with Gigapix Studios for five kid-targeted pictures (rated G or PG) through its Recess Films, per IndieWire. The movies, most of which will be live-action and one CGI animated, will be produced by Gigapix over a period of three years. The live action movies will have budgets of $8-10 million each and the CG title will carry a budget of $20 million.

Anchor Bay Entertainment has first look rights in the US while Essential Entertainment will handle all international rights to the movies. The first movie under the agreement is The Return of Captain Kidd, which features a script by Jymn Magon (DuckTales, A Goofy Movie) and Kern Konwiser (On Hallowed Ground, Miss Evers' Boys'), with Konwiser directing.

Production on The Return of Captain Kidd is slated to begin in early 2010. Kip Konwiser, head of production at Gigapix, said information about two other live action movies and the CG animated movie will be announced in the next few weeks.

The music-centric preschool series dirtgirlworld (52x11) is set to premiere in Australia on ABC1 and ABC 2 this December 4. A mixed live action, animation with photomontage and illustrated series, dirtgirlworld was developed by mememe productions and is a co-production with Decode Entertainment.

The series recently launched on CBeebies (UK) and CBC (Canada). The dirtgirlworld rights are held by mememe production in Australia, where it has appointed Merchantwise to manage the publishing and retail licensing program. In the UK, BBC Worldwide holding the UK rights, while for the rest of the world Decode Enterprises takes all TV, home entertainment and digital rights and DXK Licensing manages licensing and merchandising.

Do you know where your children are? Probably...

Nielsen reports television viewing by Americans (Persons 2+) reached a record high during the 2008-2009 TV season with an average of four hours and 49 minutes per day spent watching TV.

This total is up four minutes compared to last year and up 20% from 10 years ago. Furthermore, the average household watched an average of eight hours and 21 minutes per day, another record increase.

Primetime viewing per day was flat compared to last year though it is still at its highest level since 1991. Nielsen says the TV viewing increases may be due to more TV sets existing in homes, Americans have more channels and content to choose from and DVR usage is also on the upswing.

75% of Students Prefer Downloading Music To Streaming

• Press Release
• Source: Comtex IT - Internet Research
• On 10:53 am EST, Tuesday November 10, 2009

NEW YORK, Nov 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent survey of 10,000 university students by the University of Reading, found that 75% of students download music, rather than buy in stores or pay for on music-streaming sites.

Despite the recent popularity of music-streaming sites such as Spotify, 75 percent said they wouldn't pay for a music-streaming service but would rather use sites such as iTunes to download and keep tracks on hard drives or MP3 players.

The industry is in for a shake up as more students and teenagers are looking at pricing and sites that offer songs without copy-protection technology known as digital-rights management, or DRM. This prevents customers from being able to copy music or play the MP3 music on other devices other than Apples iPods or using iTunes player.

The industry is taking note of the growing demand for cheaper downloads; one such site that has already lowered prices considerably is TunesPro.com. Launched 3 months ago, the company has reduced the cost of its tracks already, to attract the younger customers.

A spokes man for TunesPro said, "We have seen a huge surge of younger people using our site as more and more of torrents and P2P files contain viruses, so our pricing must be competitive enough for the younger students with perhaps less disposable income than professionals. We keep our prices low and concentrate of making money through volume sales. Currently we charge 19c per song and offer a further 10% when a whole album is purchased. We believe this will attract the younger users away from iTunes, which charge almost 6 times more than we do."

Recording companies pick the prices, much as they did for CDs sold in stores and online. On day one, songs including "Jai Ho" from the "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack, "Single Ladies" by Beyonce and "Chicken Fried" by the Zac Brown Band were bumped up to $1.29. TunesPro have made agreements with a number of record companies and have decided to keep profits on single downloads at reasonable levels. iTunes have become greedy, but things look set to backfire as more and more download site open for business and like TunesPro.com, cash in on the younger users by keeping prices low.

    Contact:
  Comtex IT - Internet Research
  922 W. Beverly Dr.
  Beverly Hills, California 90210
  Dr. Richard Jones - Chief Researcher
  Website: www.certifiedby.com
  Media Relations info@certifiedby.com
  Telephone: 818-475-2935

40th anniversary of Sesame Street

Today is the official 40th anniversary of Sesame Street that includes the debut an all new look and format for the series, which continues to air on PBS. Produced by Sesame Workshop, the new season includes the launch of a new two-year environmental curriculum-based initiative titled My World is Green and Growing.

Among the many honors the series has received, NYC has proclaimed today Sesame Street Day. Also, opening today is a photo exhibit, Sesame Street: The longest Street in the World, open today at Washington D.C.'s Union Station. Additionally, the Smithsonian's Discovery Theater will throw a birthday celebration for the series on November 15, and the Brooklyn Public Library honors Sesame Street with a three month-long exhibition of the show's memorabilia.

Rise of the FLIP, ABC3, Mar Vista Ent.

Cisco's Flip Video division is launching a new multi-million dollar national marketing campaign this week with BIRD Design, Urgent Content and Media Storm, utilizing both everyday users and celebrities to communicate how empowering the little handheld cameras can be.

Famous Flip users including Tony Hawk, Dwayne Wade and Stevie Wonder will appear in 10-30 sec. spots with the content they shoot for personal are charitable reasons.

The spots will appear on broadcast and cable, select websites and via outdoor digital advertising platforms. From Jan- Aug. 2009 Flip captured 75% of the handheld "shoot and share" camcorder market and 26% of the HD Camcorder unit market in the US, according to the NPD Group.

MORE for the UGC thirsty brands -

Nokia is partnering with Island Def Jam Music and UMG International artist Rihanna to promote its new X6 handset, which ships with Nokia's Comes With Music unlimited streaming service.

Rihanna will perform select tracks from her new album "Rated R" in London on Nov. 16, and the show will be broadcast live at nokia.com/rihanna and streamed to Nokia handsets.

The site will also feature UGC-uploaded videos shot by attendees via their Nokia X6 phones. Nokia will make an exclusive Rihanna application and exclusive footage from her London gig available at the Ovi Store and in selected territories, as well as an exclusive window to the track, 'Wait Your Turn' from the album before its release.

ABC3, Australia's new kid-targeted digital and online channel, commissions an Australian version of the series Prank Patrol (26x30), which will be produced by activeTV. Currently in production, ABC3 will launch Prank Patrol in primetime from Q4.

Created by Canada's Apartment 11 Productions, the original Prank Patrol is a long running series on YTV (Canada) with a UK format version airing on CBBC (UK). The Australian adaptation of Prank Patrol is the first production resulting from a partnership between activeTV and MarVista Entertainment. MarVista will also handle worldwide distribution of the Australian version of the program.

The youngest development execs ever!

PBS Kids Go! and WNED-TV Buffalo/Toronto are partnering to launch the PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest, a national-local contest designed to promote the development of kid's reading skills via hands-on learning. The Writers Contest invites kids in grades K-3 across the country, to create and illustrate their own stories and submit them. Beginning on January 27, 2010, PBS stations nationwide will partners in the PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest and work with schools, public libraries and other literacy organizations to encourage kids in their communities to participate in the contest. Local winners will be entered into the national contest where a panel of noted judges will select the winners. The contest website, www.pbskids.org/read, will launch in early 2010.

Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

Posted by
Jack Schofield Wednesday 4 November 2009 14.44 GMT
guardian.co.uk

The Big Bird Google Doodle celebrates 40 years of Sesame Street

It's somewhat shocking to discover from a Google Doodle that Sesame Street is 40 years old. The educational show created by the Children's Television Workshop certainly has legs, as they say, and Google has chosen to highlight the ones belonging to Big Bird rather than exploit Kermit, Bert and Ernie, Elmo or other likely candidates…

Well, that's true for the US and Canada, though your local version of Google may vary. There are different logos and different characters in different countries, as The Next Web has pointed out. And in the UK, where Sesame Street (as distinct from The Muppets) has not had the same cultural impact, Google has gone with Wallace and Gromit's 20th birthday instead.

Google's Sesame Street celebration is slightly early -- it should be on 10 November, when there will be an anniversary show featuring First Lady Michelle Obama, with or without Hula Hoop. There will also be a couple of books: Sesame Street: A Celebration of Forty Years of Life on the Street, and Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street.

When I was growing up in Canada in the early 1970s*, I almost never missed Sesame Street, and while Big Bird was never the best character, I enjoyed his jousts with Mr Hooper Hooper. In the UK, however, the series was considered too fast-paced and people frowned on its use of advertising techniques. Of course, a series made for disadvantaged inner-city kids also had lots of elements unfamiliar in suburban Surrey, or even Islington. And even the most brilliant of those early episodes would not pass through the Political Correctness barrier today.

* Technically, I was doing an MA at UBC at the time, but I also did some toddler-sitting with some of Sesame Street's biggest fans.

Cookie Jar TV, jaroo.com, PBS and Disney XD

Children's entertainment producer Cookie Jar Entertainment is introducing a new ad supported premium video content destination for kids.

Jaroo.com launches in pubic beta in the U.S. and Canada this morning with about 500 full-length episodes from more than 50 of its popular shows including Inspector Gadget, The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Johnny Test, Super Mario Bros. and Zelda. Cookie Jar's digital team decided to keep the portal focused on video, so don't look for social networking, games or other interactive features.

But new shows and episodes will be added daily, with the online schedule spelling out the rotation and over 2,000 episodes planned for the site over the next 3 months. Cookie Jar is currently in talks with other kids programmers about licensing additional titles, according to Frederic Soulie, VP/Digital Media.

Sesame Workshop is awarded a grant from MetLife Foundation to promote Healthy Habits for Life with the help of the Sesame Street Muppets in India and Mexico.

The initiative will launch in India via Galli Galli Sim Sim, a multimedia educational initiative that facilitates young kids learning basic and life skills, as well as delivering health messages to kids, parents, and educators, and in Mexico via the expanded Plaza Sesamo Habitos Saludables para la Vida, a multimedia effort that provides age-appropriate, educational health messages to meet the needs of Mexican preschoolers.

The grant will enable the production of special themed episodes, public service announcements (PSAs), online content, storybooks, posters, and community events. The PSAs begin airing in Mexico this month and distribution of the outreach materials is slated for the spring of 2010. In India, PSAs will begin airing this winter, along with the launch of mobile community viewings of Galli Galli Sim Sim content and online health messages and activities.


Disney XD will launch its new short-form sports-themed series Moises Rules! (4x2.5) on Monday, December 7 at 5p. The series features Moises Arias (Hannah Montana) going up against other kids in unique sporting events such as foam tetherball and finger football. The episodes will debut Monday-Thursday, December 7 10. Additionally, new features and exclusive show content will debut Tuesday, November 10 at DisneyXD.com, viewers can send a message to Moises, play sports-themed games and download all-new wallpapers.

Disney, PBS and Nelvana

Disney Television Animation and Disney Channels Worldwide have begun production on Fish Hooks (working title), a new 2D digital and photo collage animated comedy.

The 21-episode series follows the underwater adventures of three aquatic pals that live in the same fish tank at a local pet store trying to make it through their tween/teen years and high school.

Created by kid's book illustrator Noah Z. Jones, and developed for TV by Alex Hirsch The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack) and Bill Reiss (Chowder), Fish Hooks features the voices of Kyle Massey Cory in the House), Chelsea Staub (Jonas) and Justin Roiland (The Sarah Silverman Program).

PBS Kids will premiere four new regular episodes and a holiday episode of the preschool series Super Why this month. First up is, Super Why and Hansel and Gretel: A Healthy Adventure debuting November 9 (check local listings). While Super Why regularly helps kids with their early reading and decoding skills, this new episode also focuses on making eating choices. The other new episodes and their respective premiere dates are as follows: Cinderella: The Prince's Side of the Story (November 11); The Princes and the Pauper (November 11); The Ugly Duckling: Becoming a Swan (November 12); and Super Why and The Nutcracker (November 25).

Nelvana Enterprises (Canada) inks broadcast deals with KI.KA (Germany) for two of its kid-aimed series. KI.KA picks up:
Pearlie (26 episodes), which revolves around a less than two-inch high fairy. Co-produced with Sticky Pictures, Pearlie debuts this afternoon and will air weekdays.
Jane and the Dragon (26 episodes), a CGI animated co-production with Weta Productions. Based on Martin Baynton's Jane and the Dragon books, the series debuts Wednesday, November 18 and will air weekdays.

US kids are watching more TV

US kids are watching more TV than they have in years; in fact kid TV viewing is at an eight-year high, according to new findings from The Nielsen Company.

The report says K2-5 are spending an average of 32+ hours a week in front of the TV, while K6-11 (who spend a chunk of their day in school) are watching about 28 hours per week.

Being in front of the TV includes actually watching what is on TV, as well as watching programming on DVR, DVDs and videos as well as video games. Nielsen says that increases in kid TV screen time mirrors that of overall increases in media consumption they've been tracking over the last two years, which includes TV, internet, video games and mobile phones, but still most of that is watching live TV.

Average Weekly TV and Peripheral Consumption
Among All Kids 2-5
Total Over 32 hrs
TV 24hrs 51mins
DVR 1hr 29mins
DVD 4hrs 33mins
VCR 45min
Game Console: 1hr 12mins

Among All Kids 6-11
Total Over 28 hrs
TV 22hrs 9mins
DVR 59mins
DVD 2hrs 28mins
VCR 18mins
Game Console: 2hrs 23mins

It is no surprise that both K2-5 and K6-11 are using DVRs easily, but the findings also point to the fact that K2-5 (50%) are watching more TV commercials in DVR playback mode in primetime for the four big broadcast networks during May sweeps, versus K6-11 (44%), Teens 12-17 (43%), People 18-34 (44%), People 35-54 (43%) and People 55+ (44%). Source: Nielsen Media Research

BBC kid's content

Following the BBC Trust's mostly positive review of children's services earlier this year, the BBC lays out plans for the additional $41.8 million it pledged for BBC kid's content across its services over the course of three years:

The funds will help support of existing big budget successful programs such as The Sarah Jane Adventures, Horrible Histories and My Almost Famous Family, as well as further seasons of 3rd & Bird and Kerwhizz for CBeebies. Additionally, funds will be earmarked for development of new original series, specifically comedy and dramas.

Funds will also go towards bolstering kid-targeted audio offerings such as streamed, downloadable audio content for kids. The CBeebies website is set to re-launch next month with every page featuring a link to a new version of the CBeebies Radio Player.

Plans also include growing the CBBC website, which had seen a decline, to achieve its weekly reach to 900,000 by April 2010. To achieve this goal, the site will see improved navigation. The site will be refreshed in early 2010, and feature newly created areas for kid shows like Horrible Histories, Tracy Beaker and Serious Explorers to keep visitors longer.

Money will go towards regaining audience lost when kid's programs were shifted earlier in BBC One's afternoon schedule, and development of a new weekday program to play during the CBBC block on BBC One at 5:30p, which would serve as a strong lead-in to the 6p news. If a new show is developed and is successful, over the next two years the BBC will consider reinstating Blue Peter and Newsround to their original time slots. In the meantime, however, the CBBC programming block on BBC One will stay put at 3:05-5:15p.

BBC will also continue to address digital programming for kids by looking to extend CBBC channel hours and providing its programs on-demand via the kid's iPlayer.

Baby Abuelita Productions

Baby Abuelita Productions, a manufacturer of Spanish-lullaby singing dolls that look like grandparents and animated DVDs focusing on Hispanic heritage, partners with Procter and Gamble (P&G) for a grocery store promotion aimed at Hispanic consumers nationwide.

Shoppers who buy a designated amount of P&G products will be able to mail-in for an Abuelita Rosa and/or Pancho doll. Retailers in P&G Food Channel can run the promotion any time between November 23, 2009 and June 30, 2010.

CBBC

CBBC commissions new kid-targeted reality and factual series about different cultures and environments around the world and also focus on teamwork:

Hai! Karate - Journey to Japan (10 episodes) - the reality series follows five UK kids, each with a parent, as they travel to Japan for an intensive three-week karate training course with the hope of qualifying to participate in the World Karate Championships in Okinawa. Each kid also has a goal of improving their relationship with their respective parent. In addition to karate, during their time in Japan the kids will also be educated in Japanese culture and traditions. Slated to debut on CBBC in 2010.

Natural Born Hunters (13 episodes) - hosted by wildlife presenter Steve Backshall and CBBC's barney Harwood, the series explores the animal kingdom's greatest and dangerous predators and how they survive day to day. The series features footage from the BBC's Natural History Unit. The series is set to bow in spring 2010.

Serious Explorers: Livingstone (11 episodes) - The Serious adventure series returns in spring 2010 with this new expedition to East Africa's Tanzania. The series features 8 kids as they retrace the steps of explorer David Livingstone in a month-long expedition.

Safari 8 (13 episodes) - eight kids, four from the UK and four from South Africa, team up to train for a month to become game rangers in South Africa's Kruger Game Reserve. Set to premiere in January 2010, the kids will learn to work as a team and develop a range of skills.

Barney's South America (26 episodes) - This time around Barney Harwood and Gemma Hunt use their humorous approach to investigate the various wildlife living in South America. A joint production with CBBC and NHU, the series will premiere in spring 2010.

satisfied subscribers

ID, The Investigation Discovery Channel, ranked as the basic digital network that satisfied subscribers the most in the most recent Beta Research Digital Cable poll with 65% of viewers expressing satisfaction.

PBS Kids Sprout ranked second with a 63% score. Gospel Music Channel and NFL Network tied in terms of Ave. Perceived Value, pegged at $2.06.

Nat Geo Channel was the favorite among Men 18+ and Hispanics; NickToons TV was tops among teens and TV One and Nat Geo Channel tied for tops among African Americans.

Top Basic Digital Cable Networks in terms of Viewer Satisfaction
Top-Ranked Digital Basic Networks Viewers of Network Very Satisfied
ID, Investigation Discovery 65%
PBS Kids Sprout 63%
Gospel Music Channel 62%
Discovery Health Channel 62%
History International 59%
National Geographic Channel 59%
Source: Beta Research Corp.

Moonscoop,PBSKids

Moonscoop begins production on the new 2D HD flash-animated series, The DaVincibles (52x11), co-created and co-produced with Italy's Neo Network, which is part of Zodiak Entertainment.

Targeted to K7-11, the series is a co-production with Rai Fiction, SLR, Telegael and Big Animation. The show has already pre-sold to Gulli (France) and Seven (Australia) and is set for delivery in late 2010.

Worldwide distribution for The DaVincibles will be handled by Moonscoop, with Neo Network managing the rights in Italy, and Big Animation handling Asia and SLR overseeing sales in Australia and New Zealand. The comedy caper revolves around siblings, Lisa and Pablo, and their inept Uncle Leo DaVinci as they travel the world in search of artifacts to sell at Leo's shop and meet up with villains trying to thwart their efforts.

PBSKids will premiere a special episode of the preschool science series Sid The Science Kid, entitled Getting a shot: You Can Do It!, on Monday, October 26 (check local listings).

With flu season upon us, the special explores the basic science of germs and viruses and how to stay healthy, including the use of vaccinations, in a kid appropriate way.

Produced by The Jim Henson Company and KCET/LA, the special episode is also supported by online games, activities and resources for kids, parents and educators at
PBSKids.org/sid ( www.pbskids.org/sid ), PBS Parents ( www.pbsparents.org ), and PBS Teachers ( www.pbsteachers.org ), the latter of which will host a live webinar for educators about staying healthy at school. Getting a shot: You Can Do It! is funded by The Department of Health and Human Services, The Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR), First 5 California and The Boeing Company.

Networking quotes: Branded Content Networking Lunch

(Branded Entertainment | MIPCOM, 07.10.09)

When leading brands like Red Bull show up at MIPCOM, you know they’ve reached beyond product placement: they’ve become entertainment media. Bringing brands and content creators together was the theme of Tuesday’s Branded Content Networking Lunch, sponsored by the Branded Content Marketing Association.

The BCMA’s Chairman Morgan Holt sparked a spirited conversation, navigating the thorny issue of measuring the estimated $20 billion in worldwide branded content spend. The Association showcased its branded content evaluation system (BCES), which it hopes will become the universally accepted tool worldwide to measure and evaluate branded content effectiveness before, during and after placement.

Here’s what they said:
“Advice to brands: If it’s not about the audience, it isn’t branded content. Advice to producers: brands are not attached to single TV shows.”
Morgan Holt, Chairman, Branded Content Marketing Association, London

“Consumers interact because they can, that’s the role of mobile apps developers. They’ll opt if they’re incentivised, that’s the role of brands.”
Richard Morris, Director of Video, TV & Applications, Player Mobile Media, London

“Reality check for content producers and distributors, your role now is to drive a 360 marketing strategy for brands.”
Doug Scott, Senior Partner, President, Ogilvy Entertainment, New York

“Producers talk about 360, but what matters to brands is the upside and downside of each platform.”
Julius Just, CEO, Just News International, London

Children's TV: The problem with kids... | In-depth | Broadcast

Children's TV: The problem with kids... | In-depth | Broadcast

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A gURLs wURLd, Penelope K, FlickerLab

Southern Star Singapore, Southern Star Entertainment (Australia) and Nord Deutscher Rundfunk (Germany) unveil their US$9million international co-production of A gURLs wURLd (26x30), a tween-targeted live-action series supported by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and Screen Australia, Australia's film and TV agency. The series will be distributed by Endemol Worldwide Distribution, and is set to premiere on ARD Network (Germany) and Channel Nine (Australia). Shot in part on location in Singapore, A gURLs wURLd is a multi-platform property that will feature unique content and virtual communities online for fans around the world created by Southern Star Singapore and Southern Star Entertainment. The series revolves around three teen girls, one each from Australia, Germany and Singapore, who become friends while attending school in Singapore. At the end of the term the girls return home and find that through technology they can transport them via a chat room portal to one another's home and thus a range of adventures.


BBC Worldwide Channels commissions a new live-action preschool series Penelope K, By The Way (25x12), the first original production for the international CBeebies channel. Developed by Australia's Blink Films the property was selected earlier this year from 100 submissions as part of a local production initiative in Australia. Produced by Blink Films in association with Freehand, Penelope K, By The Way will debut on CBeebies in Australia next year, followed by CBeebies in the UK and then rollout around the world. The series revolves around Penelope K and the Information Station she runs, which is a place where one goes to find answers to questions. Penelope K and her friends help collate information and provide answers to inquiring minds.

FlickerLab launches its newest K8-12-targeted animated series, The Wild Life (26x5), at Mipcom. The story driven series, which debuted earlier this month on TV2 (Denmark), is designed to teach kids about climate change and is produced using FlickerLab's real time animation software, Go. Each episode is comprised of a three minute story introducing a theme, followed by a two minute animated Climate Cartoon on that theme. Additionally, viewers can use FlickerLab's Animtoon animation software to create and share their own Climate Cartoons, the best of which will be shown with customized introductions by the series characters. There is also a corresponding website for the show that features a range of information, games and activities and other interactive elements. FlickerLab plans to expand The Wild Life into a longer form series (40x11) with production set to begin in fall 2010.

Gonzoft Television and the boss, Rich Ross and loads of Freemantle news

FlickerLab and Gonzoft have agreed to merge to prepare for the launch of Gonzoft Television Animation's live animation software in the U.S. The newly renamed FlickerLab LLC focuses on socially and environmentally conscious media and the building of sustainable media brands, such as an animated segment in Michael Moore newest feature Capitalism: A Love Story.

Rich Ross steps up to Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. Ross, currently President/Disney Channels Worldwide, takes over the position left vacant last month when former Chairman, Dick Cook, announced his resignation. Ross will oversee worldwide production, distribution and marketing for the studio's live-action and animated movie banners, including Walt Disney, Touchstone, Miramax and Disney/Pixar. No word yet on who will take over Ross' responsibilities at Disney Channel etc. though now that Ross' appointment has been confirmed the rumor mill has shifted to that topic. Ross joined Disney Channel in 1996 and has since overseen the growth of the channel domestically and internationally across brands such as Disney Channel, Playhouse Disney and Disney XD, their respective websites. He has also overseen Radio Disney. Under his watch, Disney Channel has delivered a range of TV successes including the tween series and TV movies Lizzie McGuire, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and High School Musical among others. Prior to Disney, Ross was part of the team that launched FX Networks, and held senior positions at Nickelodeon for several years.


http://www.mipworld.com/en/Industry-insight/articles/FremantleMedia-CEO-Tony-Cohen-keynote-report/


FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) launches a new kid's division and appoints Sander Schwartz as EVP, Head/Children and Family Entertainment. Schwartz is reporting to David Ellender, Global CEO, FME. A long time member of the kids entertainment community, Schwartz was a producer on the animated series The Batman for Kids WB!, and previously served as President, International Production/Sony Pictures Television International and President/Warner Bros. Animation, as well as Sony Pictures Family Entertainment's first President, as well as heading Columbia TriStar Televisions Children's Programming.

The Fremantle Corporation teams up with UK-based producer Strict Machine to co-produce the new kids animated vampire series, Fang Force(26x13). Fremantle is showcasing the series at Mipcom this week. Fang Force revolves around the Browns, a typical suburban family except for that they are a family of crime fighting vampires that is. The Brown family includes Mom (cooking and chemistry genius), Dad (an inventor), Laurie (14), Ziggy (11) and their baby sister Annie (18-months), as well as the family pet vampire bat Desi, and 7-foot tall shape-shifting butler, Mouldorf.

KidMango, Yo Gabba Gabba!, 9 Story Entertainment, PorchLight

Online family video producer KidMango struck new distribution partnerships with Yahoo! Kids and media software interface Boxee, increasing the potential audience for a range of shows from producers such as Millimages, Your Family Entertainment AG and Devine Entertainment. Weekly shows will be added to the Yahoo Kids lineup via kids.yahoo.com. The deal also includes the creation of Boxee's first kid-targeted app, offering access to full episodes from KidMango.com, organized by age level.

Peace Arch Entertainment Group partners with producer Barnet Bain to acquire the movie rights to the kid's book, Milton's Secret: An Adventure of Discovery through Then, When, and the Power Of Now, by spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle and Robert S. Friedman. The plan is to adapt the movie as a live-action family-aimed movie.

RDF Rights, a division of RDF Media Group, completes deals for Yo Gabba Gabba! Produced by Magic Store and Wildbrain, season three of the live-action preschool series has been acquired by Disney Latin America, Treehouse TV (Canada), while seasons one and two are picked up by ATV (Hong Kong) and Mediacorp (Singapore) for Okto Channel. RDFR has sold Yo Gabba Gabba to 10+ international territories, with broadcast deals including ABC (Australia), Nick Australia, Nickelodeon Asia and Hop! TV (Israel).

In other news, 9 Story Entertainment is partnering with Just For Laughs to develop and co-produce Standup4Kidz (26x11, working title), a new kid-targeted standup comedy series based on a concept from Big Hug Productions. The mixed live-action and animated series will feature top comedians performing their cleanest/family-friendly comedy.

PorchLight Entertainment's KidMango is on the ground in Cannes searching for new programming content (shorts, series and feature length) and additional distribution partners. KidMango recently added distribution through partnerships with Yahoo! Kids and Boxee, which will expand KidMango's service to millions of potential new viewers. With its current library of 1500+ hours of programming, KidMango distributes content via three channels, online at KidMango.com (www.kidmango.com) in North America, through online syndication with the KidMango Content Network, and on-air through KidMangoTV, a programming block in partnership with PorchLight Entertainment and MyFamilyTV.

PBS Kids Go! - Yo Gabba Gabba and Go Go Lingo!

PBS Kids Go! and Boston-based CloudKid are set to launch Fizzy's Lunch Lab (www.pbskidsgo.org/lunchlab) a new health-themed comedy web-only animated series, on November 16. The Lunch Lab will rollout over 10 months (40 weeks), with a new animated video and corresponding activities for kids/families simultaneously featured online. Aimed at younger elementary school kids, the series revolves around the adventures of Professor Fizzy and his pals as they prepare snacks and investigate the difference between good and bad food, and follow where food goes after it is chewed up and swallowed. Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Fizzy's Lunch lab features a range of short video segments, interactive games and recipes and food facts. The website and webisodes are designed to entertainment and help bring kids and adults together to make healthy food choices, plan and make meals and snacks without making a force-fed experience. Additional resources will be featured at PBS Parents (www.pbsparents.org) and PBS Teachers (www.pbsteachers.org).

A week of new Yo Gabba Gabba! episodes will premiere Monday-Friday, October 12-16 at 1p on Nick Jr. (the channel f/k/a Noggin). The new episodes feature a range of celebrities including Andy Samberg (SNL), The Roots and MGMT as well as Biz Markie in the recurring Biz's Beat of the Day segment, and the great singer/illustrator/composer Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO) in the recurring Mark's Magic Pictures drawing segment, skateboarder Ray Barbee and Reeve Oliver, Lady Tigra and little Ones. Yo Gabba Gabba! is created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz and is produced by The Magic Store and Wildbrain. The new DVD Yo Gabba Gabba!: Meet My Family, released by Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment, will be available at retail on October 20, 2009.

GoGolingo.com (www.gogolingo.com) is new bilingual edutainment site from LA-based Bilingo Club, designed to immerse K3-7 in games and virtual experiences to help them learn Spanish. The story-driven curriculum utilizes interactive activities that build upon a kid's knowledge. The site also has a Tamogotchi-inspired element paring each kid with a virtual pet who accompanies them through the activities.

Ken Warun joins KO Creative as Creative Director. Warun previously served as VP, ABC Entertainment Marketing and Creative Director at Style, E! and GSN. KO Creative has produced a combination of key art, on-air promotions and websites and consumer marketing campaigns for Disney Channel's Hannah Montana and High School Musical, PBS' The Electric Company, MTV's VMAs and The Hills as well as Oxygen's Naughty Kitchen.

Maybe it's MIP, but there's a lot going on...

PBS debuts a second season of national lifestyle series Moment of Luxury this Thursday at 730p (check local listings). The series, with 13 half-hour episodes, features award-winning international designer Bill Stubbs as he interjects comfort and luxury for any American budget encompassing home design, food, culture and art. The series is shot in hi-def and is presented nationally by WLIW in association with WNET.ORG.

Public television station KCET, serving Southern and Central California and Charter Communications announced V-me is now available throughout Southern California on Charter Digital Cable. V-me offers a combination of original content, exclusive premieres and acquisitions and public TV shows adapted for the American Latinos.

NBC has a new family-focused in-studio game show called Perfect 10 on tap for US audiences and for the international marketplace. The game encompasses 10 seemingly simple games that must be completed by contestants in 60-seconds or less each in order to win the $1 million prize. Universal Media Studios in association with Friday Television is producing eight 60m episodes and the format will be launched at MIPCOM next week. Prior to going into production, 50 games will be available at nbc.com and via on-air promotions for viewers to test at home. The official rules of each contest will also be posted on the show's website.

Breakthrough Films & Television was commissioned by TELETOON Canada to produce a new family comedy for primetime titled Crash Canyon. Thirteen 30m episodes have been ordered from Breakthrough who is working with Joel Cohen, co-executive producer on The Simpsons and the series creators Jam Filled Entertainment. Crash Canyon is about the Wendells who take a nose dive off a cliff and end up in a canyon where they can't escape. The Wendells meet other odd people living together in a community they created called Crash Canyon.

Vooz and BRB Internacional are partnering to co-produce the new preschool series Canimal (52x5). Set to be available at the end of 2010, Canimal revolves around a group of small curious gnome-like 3D animated characters, shaped like a tin can and with the face of a cad, dog etc., which find something new in every object. Vooz and Screen 21, BRB's creative division, will present the property this week at Brand Licensing Europe and next week at MipJunior.


Domo comes to 7-Eleven stores this fall in a new in-store and online promotion, which includes collectible Slurpee cups filled with Fuji Frost by Fanta, special Slurpee characters straws and Bit Bite hog dog containers, coffee cups and Domo Attack! Energy drink as well as themed candy displays, collectible Domo Qee, Domo Manga, plush characters and t-shirts and caps among other products. The promotion is being supported with a three-part stop-motion webisode, which will debut weekly from October 1, can be found at www.slurpee.com and www.somonation.com. Big Tent Entertainment, the marketing/licensing company for Domo, helped bring the 7-Eleven deal together. Domo was created by Japanese illustrator/director Tsuneo Goda as the mascot for Japanese TV station NHK in 1998, eventually becoming a pop icon.

Nielsen Online

Nielsen Online identified an interesting new online category: Power Moms, a group of Moms who collectively make up 19% of the total online population who increasingly turn to the web to network, learn and provide information and advice to other parents. Among the top 10 sites ranked by unique viewer composition percent in February 2009, eight featured predominantly kid's programming, indicating that moms are seemingly keeping up on what their kids watch and play online, as many of these sites also offer games and/or activities.

Top 10 Online Destinations for "Power Moms" by Unique Viewer Composition Percent
Site Unique Viewer Unique Viewers (000)
Composition Percent
PBS Kids 24.5% 241,000
Noggin 22.2% 121,000
Nick Jr. 21.7% 492,000
Playhouse Disney 20.7% 199,000
Kohl's 18.3% 203,000
Disney.com 17.8% 710,000
PBS 17.4% 125,000
DisneyChannel.com17.2% 689,000
Nick 16.2% 415,000
Source: Nielsen Online VideoCensus, Feb. 2009
Women 24-54 with at least one child in the household, sites with a min. of 100k unique visitors

Gator Group, Dr. Helen Boehm

Gator Group, a new licensing agency, including product design and development, manufacturing and marketing, opens its doors. Founded by a group of former execs from global marketing services agency, Cresta, Gator Group's client list includes Paul Frank Industries and the newly launched Tales 4 Tomorrow ( www.tales4tomorrow.com ), the latter of which was created in partnership with Conservation International. With headquarters in Dana Point, California, Gator Group also has offices in LA, Paris and Hong Kong.

Dr. Helen Boehm is named as an advisor to the US Department of Education, where she will assist in the development of the Ready-to-Learn kid's video initiative for preschool and elementary school students. Boehm also continues to write and consult on kids' media and certify educational programming content at www.FCCReady.com .

Corus Entertainment and MTV Networks International and social media

Canadian broadcaster Corus Entertainment and MTV Networks International (MTVNI) have inked a new deal that will see the two launch a 24-hour localized Nickelodeon channel on Monday, November 2, 2009 at 6a. Corus and MTVNI's multi-platform agreement includes exclusive TV rights in Canada to all current Nick animated programming as well as live action series and all digital rights for Nickelodeon and related brands. So, the stand alone Nickelodeon channel will offer Nick programming, including the Canadian premieres of the new animated series Fanboy and Chum Chum, and the live action series The Troop, as well as Nick's other shows (e.g. SpongeBob SquarePants, iCarly, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Dora the Explorer etc.) and special events such as Kids' Choice Awards, as well as original Canadian shows like Grossology, Max & Ruby, Storm Hawks and My Friend Rabbit. Corus already owns the kid-targeted YTV and Treehouse services in Canada, as well as the animation studio Nelvana, which worked with Nickelodeon on a range of projects over the years.


9 Story Entertainment takes on a commission from YTV (Canada) to produce the animated series Almost Naked Animals (52x11). Targeted to K6-11, the series is based on the eponymous website created by Noah Z. Jones, and is slated to bow in fall 2010. Almost Naked Animals follows the adventures of a group of underwear-clad animals that run a beach-front hotel and are always looking for fun. The top dog/hotel manager, Howie, who has the attention span of an 11-year-old gamer, leads the pack. 9 Story will feature the series next week in Cannes.

Social media users may be less likely to click on banner ads than visitors of non-social media sites. But they interact with those banners at a higher rate, and in a more meaningful way when it comes to video - particularly with regards to campaigns for products in the entertainment industry, according a new a report from social ad platform Lotame, based on data from over one hundred campaigns. The upside of Lotame's findings is that advertisers have plenty of opportunities to reach social media users if they think beyond simple click-through metrics. Lotame's recommendations include:
For higher interaction rate, focus on Expandable formats instead of click-through formats, both video and non-video, and avoid in-page ads that don't offer video
For higher interaction rate, consider focusing additionally on leaderboards (728x90) as the primary ad size for the campaign's rich media format creatives
For higher video completion rate, consider in-page video formats over expandable formats

PBS, WordWorld, Valemont

PBS is unveiling a new multiplatform brand package around the tagline "Be More" this fall. It features more than 600 elements including promo opens and closes, video bumps for IDs and support messaging and web elements. PBS stations will debut the new package in conjunction with the Sept. 27 premiere of Ken Burns' The National Parks: America's Best Idea.


WordWorld launches its first iPhone application, Build A Word ($3), at Apple's iTunes store. The Based on the PBS series WordWorld, the Build A Word app helps kids learn about reading, spelling and writing and make words come to life with the help of WordFriends from the series.

Tomorrow, MTV premieres Valemont, a new short-form scripted series centering on a supernatural mystery. The co-branded, multi-platform series begins tomorrow night and the two and a half minute episodes will air over six weeks in the commercial pods before The Hills at 10p and following The City at 1030p. Twenty-three further episodes of Valemont will be available via MTV.com and on V Cast Video from Verizon Wireless including other bonus footage. Valemont is about 18-year old Sophie, played by Kristen Hager as she infiltrates Valemont University to discover why her brother Eric disappeared. The series is co-produced with Electric Farm Entertainment.

BBC, Marblemedia

The BBC unveils plans to spend at least $41 million on kid's programming over the next three years! Additionally, BBC's will up its spending for BBC Two dramas by 50%, the channel also becoming the home for BBC Films. The news came in a speech by Jena Bennett, Director/BBC Vision at BBC Vision Forum, an annual event for in-house and indie producers. Bennett explained the move comes in response to the recommendation from the BBC Trust that BBC strengthen its original kid's programming output in the UK and explained, "This additional funding, derived from efficiency savings, once again recognizes the particular pressures facing this genre and it will be used to reinforce the creative strength of BBC Children's, and help the CBBC channel maintain its position."

Marblemedia acquires the rights to the 1980s TV game show, Just Like Mom. Marblemedia plans to produce an updated version of the series with new elements including an interactive portion, and changing the series name to Just Like Mom ... and Dad. The series will be showcased at Mipcom next month. The original Just Like Mom series, which aired on CTV from 1980-85, featured three mom/kid teams working together to prove they knew each other best through quests/answer rounds and The Bake-Off Challenge. Catherine Swing, a creator and co-host of the original series, will serve as creative consultant on the new incarnation of the show.

Chocolate Liberation Front, Hasbro Studios

The recently launched Toronto-based Chocolate Liberation Front is developing is initial property titled, The World of Infinite Curiosity. A family-targeted multiplatform project, The World of Infinite Curiosity is currently being developed as a videogame with funding from Telefilm Canada and Screen Australia, and in the exploration process for a primetime TV series. The World of Infinite Curiosity is a fantasy world based on the imagination of Decklin, an 11-year-old boy, influenced by Leonardo da Vinci's numerous inventions.

More executives named for the newly launched Hasbro Studios, which will produce TV shows based on Hasbro's brands, new branded content and produce programs from third party content creators. Some of the new shows/content will be part of the new (and still unnamed) TV network from the joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications, which is slated to launch in fall 2010. The new hires were announced by Stephen J. Davis, who was named as President/Hasbro Studios last month, and include:
Bob Boden is appointed Head/Reality and Game Show Development and Production. Boden is currently SVP/Programming and Production, Fox Reality Channel and formerly served as SVP/Programming, Game Show Network.
Michael J. Vogel takes on the role of Head/Boys Animation. He is currently Director/Animated Programming, Sony Pictures Television.
Brian Charles Lenard joins as Head/Story Development, from RDF Media Group, Pangea Management Group and RDF USA, where he is Director/Scripted Development.
Mary Beth Bambridge, Head/Strategic Planning, William Morris Endeavour Entertainment, will be the company's Head/Finance,
Kevin Healy becomes Hasbro Studios' Head of Legal and Business Affairs, he had been Head/Business and Legal Affairs, Hasbro Entertainment and Licensing

Cookie Jar TV, BFC, Ink

This week marks MGA Entertainment's launch of ., a new doll line featuring a group of five characters, each with their own personality and background story. Designed to underline the importance of being part of a supportive group of friends and working together, each BFC, Ink. (Best Friends Club, Ink.) doll comes with various fashion items and interactive journals. There are two different BFC, Ink. categories within the doll line, the BFC, Ink. 18-inch dolls and BFC, Ink. Fashion Dolls. Each doll comes with outfits, accessories, a BFC, Ink. Book and lock and key and a special membership card, which can be used to unlock game content online. Additionally, there will be a tween-targeted line of fiction books, written in journal format, tied in with the property that produced in partnership with Parragon Publishing. The publishing effort also provides girls with various tools to create their own club with titles such as BFC, IN. Club Kit.


CBS and Cookie Jar Entertainment will launch Cookie Jar TV, a three-hour Saturday morning kids block, on Saturday, September 19 on CBS. The newly named Educational/Informational compliant block for the 2009-10 season will include episodes of Busytown Mysteries and Noonbory & the Super 7 as well as episodes of Sabrina: The Animated Series. The Cookie Jar TV schedule will generally look as it does below, though its day and times may differ market-to-market and in some markets CBS News' The Saturday Early Show will air 9-11a. Cookie Jar TV takes over for the Kewlopolis (2007-9) Saturday morning block that had been originally programmed by DIC Entertainment, which was subsequently acquired by Cookie Jar Entertainment. Kewlopolis replaced KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS (2006-7), also programmed by DIC, which in turn took over for the Nickelodeon programmed Nick Jr. on CBS (2000-6) and which became Nick on CBS in 2002. Prior to fall 2000 CBS programmed its own kid-targeted Saturday morning block.

Cookie Jar TV from September 19, 2009:
7a Busytown Mysteries
7:30a Noonbory & the Super 7
8a Busytown Mysteries
8:30a Sabrina: The Animated Series
11a Busytown Mysteries
11:30a Noonbory & the Super 7
(different episodes in each time slot)

Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), Frederator Studios

Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) - announced plans to team up to develop new methods to measure TV viewing across multiple platforms. The group plans to mine set top box data, measure internet video consumption and analyze cross-platform usage to gain a more accurate picture of how audiences now consume premium content. The companies have agreed to make contributions of at least $1 million combined to build new research apparatus. "The velocity of today's technology developments enables us to demand a more sophisticated measurement model that provides greater accountability and accuracy to increase the effectiveness of our clients' media and marketing investments," wrote Nick Brien, President and CEO, Interpublic Group's Mediabrands about CIMM's missions. "We can no longer subscribe to outdated perceptions of engagement."

In more animation news, Sony Pictures Animation announced a deal to develop animated features with Fred Seibert and his Frederator Studios studio, one of the founding Next New Networks micro-nets. Frederator's credits include Butch Hartman's The Fairly Odd Parents, Genndy Tartakovsky's Dexter's Laboratory, and Craig McCraken's The Powerpuff Girls.

Ian James Corlett, Skywriter Media and Entertainment Group and Atomic Cartoons are partnering to develop a new animated TV series, Elliott & Lucy, for a Canadian broadcaster. Based on characters from Corlett's book E Is for Ethics: How to Teach Kids About Morals, Values, and What Matters Most, the series follows the brother/sister duo as they learn about life and even have some fun. The book will be published by Atria Books/Simon & Schuster this December. A voice-over actor, Corlett also created the animated series Being Ian and was co-creator of Yvon of the Yukon.

Stella Takes the Stage, TATTARRATTAT, The Jim Henson Company, Chorion, FremantleMedia Enterprises

Little Airplane Productions and Spin Master Entertainment, a unit of Spin Master, enter into a partnership to develop a new preschool series entitled Stella Takes the Stage. Slated to be available from early 2010, the series will employ a new animation style called "Theatre Arts Animation", a mix of theatre stagecraft and computer animation developed by Little Airplane. Featuring an educational curriculum, Stella Takes the Stage is designed to encourage preschoolers to become more aware of personal qualities they posses or would like to have and help them identify new skills and potential career ideas.

SupperTime Entertainment, kid's book author/illustrator David Sheldon and Bix Pix Entertainment are teaming up to create a K6-11 targeted TV series and books and merchandise based on the TATTARRATTAT characters, which can flip, created by Sheldon. Under the arrangement, Bix Pix Entertainment is developing and producing the series with Sheldon serving as creative director/lead character designer, and SupperTime handling marketing and merchandising for the property. Bix Pix plans to produce the series using a style of animation that incorporates stop-motion and CG techniques. TATTARRATTAT is expected to begin production in early 2010 with initial distribution scheduled for fall 2011.

The Jim Henson Company will introduce the new series Pajanimals (26x30 or 78x7), which is currently in development, to potential co-production partners at Mipcom. Produced by Henson and 4Kids Entertainment, the short-form, live-action Pajanimals (10x2) music video series was commissioned by and airs on Sprout, as part of it's The Good Night Show programming block, in the US.

Chorion will introduce The Octonauts (50x11 and 1x22 special), a new HD CGI animated action/adventure preschool series, at Mipcom. Produced by Brown Bag Films, The Octonauts has already been acquired by CBeebies (UK), TF1 (France) and ABC Australia, which will all launch the series in 2010. The Octonauts follows a group of heroes that set out in their underwater adventures where they rescue sea creatures and explore underwater worlds.



Spain-based Imira Entertainment is heading to Mipcom/MipJunior where it will offer two new series:
Imira is representing the distribution rights to the live-action series Karku (76x26) across Europe. Imira will showcase the series at Mip Junior in October. Karku is produced by Chilean company My Friend Entertainment in co-production with Television Nacional de Chile. The series follows the adventures of 13-year-old Emilia, who is sent by her parents to live in Santiago, and her pals as they try all sorts of jobs and scheme to raise money to take a vacation together. Karku currently airs across Latin America on Nickelodeon Latin America, TVN (Chile), Ecuavisa, Senal Colombia, Televisa in Mexico and Brazil, as well as in the US, in Spanish, on Sorpresa.
Imira will also showcase the flash animated series Sandra, the Fairytale Detective (52x13). The series is co-produced by TVE and DQ Entertainment, with presales already inked with TF1 (France), Disney Channels in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and India and RTP (Portugal). Sandra, the Fairytale Detective revolves around Sandra, a 10-year-old that uses her detective skills as she travels to a parallel world inhabited by fairytale characters and lots of what ifs (e.g. what if someone steals Cinderella's glass slipper?).


FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) signs new license deals for the design property Rebecca Bonbon. Rebecca Bonbon is the French bulldog created by designer Yuko Shimizu (Hello Kitty). Picking up the brand are: US apparel company Kids Headquarters - young ladies and junior products across categories including apparel, accessories, jewelry, sleepwear and loungewear, as well as a pet line; UK-based Blueprint - young lady-aimed stationery including storage products, notebooks, stationery sets and pencil cases and novelty items for launch in the UK in spring 2010; France's MOA the retailer will offer co-branded Rebecca Bonbon products including, jewelry, watches, hair/apparel accessories, mobile phone accessories, sunglasses, t-shirts, bags and footwear, among others, at MOA shops and MOA-branded areas in stores across France, Monaco and Andorra, Spain, Russia, Romania, Hungary and Greece.

Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon commissions two new live-action comedy series featuring original music that will be co-produced with Sony Music, per Variety. Nick has picked up a new series entitled Victorious (20 episodes) from Dan Schneider (Zoey 101, iCarly, among others), and an untitled series (20 episodes) from the great Scott Fellows (Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide). The shows are part of multi-year deal between Nick and Sony to develop projects with a strong music component.
The new Fellows show revolves around a boy band that wins and American Idol type competition show. The series stars newcomers Kendall Schmidt, Carlos Pena, James Maslow and Logan Henderson.
Victorious stars Victoria Justice (Zoey 101, Spectacular!) as a new girl at a high school for performing arts. The series is slated to bow in early 2010.

Smith & Tinker

Bellevue, WA-based toy and game start-up Smith & Tinker received $29 million in funding from a group of tech and game investors including Paul Allen's Vulcan Capital, Alsop Louie Partners, Foundry Group, Leo Capital Holdings and DCM, which led the round. One of the company's first creations is Nanovor, a hybrid targeted at boys which links online and offline play. A proprietary handheld which extends the play experience offline, dubbed the Nanoscope, is due to be released starting in October. Smith & Tinker plans to build Nanovor into a full scope entertainment franchise, including weekly animated webisodes, comics, a graphic novel, field guide.

Little Airplane Productions, RDF Digital USA

Little Airplane Productions (The Wonder Pets!, 3rd & Bird!) is producing two new animated preschool series, Small Potatoes! and Jo B. G. Raff!, both of which are created by Josh Selig, Founder/President, Little Airplane Productions. Little Airplane's producer Jeffrey Lesser will produce the two programs. Little Airplane will showcase the two new series this October at MipJunior/Mipcom.
Small Potatoes! (10x2) The short-form series revolves around four musical potatoes as they use their imagination to take them on adventures and explore different musical genres.
Jo B. G. Raff! (26x11) Featuring a new style of animation called, Soft Toy Animation, creating a stuffed toy look for the characters, the program follows best friends, Jo B. and G. Raff, as they co-host their own preschool series. Complicating the show is that G. Raff takes off just as each show is about to begin and Jo B. travels far and wide to find them leaving the duo hosting the show from the moon to the Pyramids of Giza.


RDF Digital USA and Artificial Life partner to produce a new kid-targeted interactive animated half-hour TV show called Sleuths. The show promises a new level of mobile viewer participation, not yet seen in the US, which allows audiences to become part of the storyline. Utilizing Artificial Life's MoPA-TV system, kid viewers can register their own avatars that will appear on screen three times during each live telecast for elimination-style voting sessions. The show's detective characters will ask the avatars to answer a question related to the mystery and kids watching at home then text in their responses. At the end of each episode, a random selection of 5 avatars get to appear alongside the animated characters in a digital shout-out to kids who solved all three puzzles. Producer Max Benator, SVP/Multiplatform Entertainment, RDF USA, will initially pitch the show to kid-targeted cable networks as a unique 2-screen entertainment property with a range of sponsorship opportunities.

PBS Kids programming notes

PBS Kids programming notes:
PBS Kids will premiere five new weather-centric episodes of the preschool animated series Sid The Science Kid the week of September 14-18, 2009 (check local listings). The five new episodes explore the science of weather and the seasons. Additionally, a pbskids.org/ sid will launch a new online game, focusing on weather and learning, simultaneous to the new episodes. The Sid the Science Kid TV series is co-produced by The Jim Henson Company and KCET/Los Angeles for PBS Kids, with the website produced by KCET New Media in partnership with FableVision.
PBS Kids is hosting a marathon of the new preschool CGI animated series Dinosaur Train, with back-to-back episodes during the two-hour PBS Kids block on Labor Day, Monday, September 7 (check local listings). From The Jim Henson Company, Dinosaur Train will join the PBS Kids weekday lineup. Additionally there is also a corresponding Dinosaur Train interactive website at www.pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain.

National Geographic Little Kids magazine launches a new online component at littlekids www.nationalgeographic.com. Like the magazine, the website is targeted to preschoolers 3-6 and their parents/caretakers. The site features a range of games, crafts, recipes, experiments and videos, as well as resources to help parents talk to kids about various things including the first day of school.

Cookie Jar Entertainment's animated preschool series Caillou is moving to Treehouse (Canada) where it will debut on Monday September 7 at 7:30a. Caillou will air regularly on Treehouse Monday-Friday at 7:3a, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1p, and Saturdays at 7a and 10p and Sundays at 7a and 10:30p. A fifth season of Caillou is currently in production, a co-production with South Africa's Clockwork Zoo, and is slated to bow on Treehouse in fall 2010.

Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop heads to Mipcom this October 5-9, 2009, where it will offer a new slate of Sesame series, which are currently in development, as well as its new version of The Electric Company (26x3):
Abby's Flying Fairy School (13x8) a CGI-animated series featuring Sesame Street's Abby Cadabby and her friends, including Niblet who is part gerbil/part unicorn, as they attend Fairy School. The CGI characters in Abby's Flying Fairy School were designed by Peter De Seve (character designer for Ice Age).
Munchin' Impossible (26x5) With the goal of saving the world's cookies, The Man, a gingerbread man cookie that heads the CIA (Cookie Intelligence Agency) sends Cookie Monster out in the world to find healthy eating alternatives. The short-form series is a mix of puppet and live-action content.
Elmo's Backyard (26x5) as Elmo explores his own backyard, finding everything from a spider web to a frozen birdbath, the mixed puppet and live-action series encourages kids to learn through exploration. The short-form series is based on a science education curriculum including process, exploration and vocabulary etc.
3-2-1 Let's Go (working title, 52x30) the original series is hosted by Abby Cadabby and features segments from Play With Me Sesame, Global Grover and introduce kids to Bert and Ernie's Great Adventure, Sesame Workshop's first claymation series.


Cookie Jar Entertainment and Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) launch the Busytown Mysteries website in Canada this week at www.busytownmysteries.ca or www.kidscbc.ca/busytownmysteries , which is, of course, based on the preschool TV series of the same name and in turn is based on the work of author Richard Scarry. The Busytown Mysteries site invites kids to be residents of Busytown and offers a range of preschool-aimed educational interactive games, creative projects and activities and My First Email.

Discovery Kids Channel

Discovery Kids Channel unveils its fall 2009 schedule for K2-5 and K6-14. Discovery Kids will continue to operate as a TV network until Discovery and new partner Hasbro launch a new kid-targeted TV network (title TBA) in its place in fall 2010. Discovery Kids fall 2009 programming highlights include:
Ready Set Learn! - programming block daily 9a-2p (K2-5):
The block, hosted by Paz the animated Penguin, will feature developmentally appropriate preschool series including Peep and the Big Wide World, Hi-5, Hip Hop Harry, Bigfoot Presents and Wilbur.
@DK programming block daily 2p-10p (K6-14)
Making its network debut is The Saddle Club, based on the books by Bonnie Bryan. New episodes of The Saddle Club will bow Sundays at 6p.
Tutenstein at 2p; The Future is Wild at 4:30p; Bindi: The Jungle Girl at 5:30p; Endurance - at 8p; and Adventure Camp at 8:30p

THE MEDIUM Dancing With the Paws - NYT

August 16, 2009
THE MEDIUM
Dancing With the Paws

By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
A recent episode of “The Backyardigans,” the sublime animated series on Nickelodeon, pays tribute to the composer Kurt Weill. Not the plot: it’s about a hippo-journalist whose alter ego fights a robot. But the music conjures Berlin cabaret, with original songs by Evan Lurie, the sly maestro of Hollywood scores.

I asked Lurie, by phone, whether he has ever composed a great stand-alone single for “The Backyardigans,” which is aimed at children ages 2 to 5. He chortled and said, “I came up with one melody” for the hippo-robot episode, “and I thought, That’s really a Kurt Weill song.” He hummed a bar. “But Kurt Weill would be writing about why a woman was wronged by a man, and this song was about why the robot wants cheese.”

Why does the robot want cheese? An absurdist sensibility drives “The Backyardigans,” which chronicles the derring-do of five chewy-looking swashbucklers — Tyrone, Tasha, Pablo, Austin and Uniqua — in a range of David Hockney hues. With each episode devoted not just to a separate quest but also to a different musical genre — 80 so far, including Irish jig, King Oliver jazz, funk, bossa nova, township jive, Kenyan high life, tarantella, psychedelic soul, countrypolitan — the show blows you away with its artistic exactitude. A memory from childhood floods back: the fierce insistence on precision, in tempo and in visual detail, known to any passionate player of make-believe.

“When I was in preschool, the backyard seemed endless,” the show’s creator, Janice Burgess, said. “Where our fence met our neighbor’s — that’s one of my sense memories from when I was 2. It’s this notional adventure space.” Her show convenes five animal personalities in a halcyon set of neighboring backyards that transform — via digital imaging — into eye-popping photorealist panoramas: deserts, oceans, tundras, jungles, rivers.

And then the dancing starts. In preparation for each episode, Beth Bogush, a former program director at the junior division of the Alvin Ailey School, gets music from Lurie. She devises routines for each song and assembles five flesh-and-blood dancers to perform the parts of the Backyardigans on film. Animators study this film and then, with reference to laws of physics and physiology, manipulate the Backyardigan figures on their screens until they credibly reproduce down to the last detail the dancers’ sashays, waltz steps, brushes, balls and lifts.

Where the main constraint on Lurie’s composing is the voices of the singers (each part is sung by an actual child with a roughly one-octave range), Bogush, for her part, is periodically hampered by the undancerly physiques of the on-screen Backyardigans. Let’s not mince words: Tyrone’s a moose, Tasha’s a hippo, Pablo’s a penguin and Austin is a kangaroo. (Uniqua is unique.) “Their arms don’t go over their heads,” Bogush explained by phone. “The distance from the characters’ crotch down to the floor is — a little different.”

With time, though, Bogush and the show’s animators have found ways to create richly detailed and often gorgeous moves for short-limbed, round-bellied bipeds whose bodies barely comply. Originally the plan was to create “The Backyardigans” using “motion capture,” a procedure that records human movement and translates it onto digital, on-screen models. This works well in creating, say, video-game versions of Tiger Woods, whose movements are wide and grand, but it didn’t work for “The Backyardigans.” The action, Burgess told me, looked “too floaty.” She didn’t want drift; she wanted snap — crisp movement with strikes and specificity.

As Burgess spoke of 3-D animation, I briefly thought she was talking about muppetlike models. But she meant computer graphics that represent geometric data in three dimensions. The figures in “The Backyardigans” are created in computer 3-D, while the backdrops are essentially 2-D digital paintings, which are less — as she put it — “real.” I wondered what “real” meant in this context, and Burgess cracked up: “ ‘Real’ means — I don’t know. It’s really in the computer?”

Burgess’s embrace of levels of reality made me think of the varieties of imaginative life. In dreams, and in literary and musical fantasies, pleasure often derives from disembodiment, from moving frictionlessly through space, from floating. But there’s another kind of fantasy life — make-believe in the physical world. This, as “The Backyardigans” makes clear, is the enterprise undertaken by session musicians, actors, dancers and children in their backyards. Make-believers (as opposed to fantasizers) want nothing more than the intense physical experiences that authenticate their games — the clatter of armor, the rope burn from a lasso. Don’t you remember how hard you used to work as a kid to get the sounds and textures of some backyard game — cowboys, pirates, police — exactly right? It was those details that seemed to prove that this new, and newly strange, life was really, really happening.

Points of Entry: This Week’s Recommendations

THE LIZARDIGANS Among the coolest local New York acts in history is the Lounge Lizards. It’s time to savor the moody, gorgeous solo work of Evan Lurie, one of the band’s original members. Lurie’s CD “How I Spent My Vacation”can be bought through Amazon.

YOUR BACKYARD FRIENDS The 2008 “Born to Play” CD, available on Amazon, will net you great “Backyardigans” music, including my favorite zydeco psych-up song, “Go, Go, Go.” To see the show itself, turn to iTunes: Season 1 can be bought entire; Seasons 2 and 3 come by the episode.

INFINITY AND BEYOND In 1994, the year after the computer-generated imagery in “Jurassic Park” opened our eyes, “Babylon 5” became the first TV show to extensively use C.G.I. Check out Renderosity.com about making your own 2-D and 3-D digital art.