HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

HIT Entertainment Secures New Licensees in the US for the All-New Angelina Ballerina™ Specialty Toy Program

New Angelina Consumer Products Program to Coincide with the Launch of Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps on PBS KIDS®

08/11/2009

NEW YORK, NY

HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality children's entertainment, has signed three new licensees across key specialty toy categories for Angelina Ballerina™. These include Madame Alexander, The Toy Workshop and Rubie's Costume Company. Dolls, toys, costumes, room décor and specialty items based on the new Angelina Ballerina will debut exclusively at specialty stores starting in fall '09 and into spring '10, in tandem with the launch of the new CG animated series, Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps, on PBS KIDS.

"Angelina Ballerina is a beloved brand for more than 25 years, and Angelina is a true role model to young girls who are inspired to pursue their big dreams too," said Gary Krakower, Senior Vice President, US Licensing & Live Events, HIT Entertainment. "We are excited to work with these gold-standard partners to introduce the new Angelina to consumers at retail, and we are sure little girls and their parents will embrace these products, as Angelina embraces dance - with enthusiasm and creativity."

Under the terms of each deal, the partners will design, manufacture and market the following items:

• Madame Alexander - Angelina Ballerina specialty plush, figurines, soft play sets and dolls
• The Toy Workshop - Angelina Ballerina room décor, dolls houses, and wooden furniture, including child-sized chairs, tables and wooden toys
• Rubie's Costume Company - Angelina Ballerina costumes, dress-up, and treat bags and pails

The items will be featured along with the classic Angelina Ballerina hardcover books published by Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group at specialty stores around the country.

About Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps
Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps is a production of HIT Entertainment and THIRTEEN in association with Nick Jr. UK and WNET.ORG. Based on the original best-selling children's book series by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig, Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps follows the now 8-year-old Angelina as she embarks on the next stage in her life at a performing arts school, Camembert Academy. This new series finds Angelina making new friends and experiencing various forms of music and dance including ballet, modern, tap, jazz, ballroom, and hip hop, as well as ethnic dances from around the world. In addition, each episode includes Camembert's Shining Stars, a live-action interstitial featuring talented young performers who demonstrate their love of music and dance.

This new series will debut in the US in Fall 2009 exclusively on PBS KIDS.

About HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners, is one of the world's leading independent children's entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT's portfolio includes properties, such as Barney™, Bob the Builder™, Thomas & Friends™, Pingu™, Fireman Sam™, Angelina Ballerina™ and Rainbow Magic™. HIT represents Chapman Entertainment's Fifi and the Flowertots™ and Roary the Racing Car™ in North America and Japan, as well as Wallace & Gromit™, Shaun the Sheep™, Timmy Time™ and Aardman Classics from Aardman Animations. HIT also acts as representative for The Wiggles® in the UK. Launched in 1989, HIT's lines of business span television and video production, content distribution, publishing, consumer products licensing and live events and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. HIT is a part-owner of US-based preschool channel, PBS KIDS SproutSM, and international preschool channel JimJam, (outside of the US, UK and China). For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.

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