HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

HIT Entertainment Partners with NCredible Entertainment and Sprite Animation Studios to Unveil New Development Slate

Nick Cannon's NCredible Entertainment Joins With HIT For New Preschool Show "Pandz"

Sprite Animation and HIT Partner For Action-Comedy CG Animated Series "Skeleracers"

New York, NY

HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality children's entertainment, is pleased to announce its new development slate to be unveiled at MIPJunior 2010 and MIPCOM 2010 in Cannes. HIT has entered into two new creative partnerships with two emerging talents in the US-based children's entertainment production industry to develop the children's series, "Pandz" and "Skeleracers" (working title).

"Pandz" (26 x 24) is an animated series created by actor, recording artist, television host, comedian and Executive Producer Nick Cannon and his company, NCredible Entertainment Inc. The series, geared towards kids 3-5 years old, follows the musical adventures of a family of four panda siblings who have formed a popular band touring the world with their unique style of music and comic mayhem. Cannon recently launched NCredible Entertainment to create and promote multi-media entertainment initiatives.

At the heart of the spunky curriculum-based program will be the original music written by Cannon. Pandz are three brothers (Antsy, Baggy and Smarty) and their Sister (Fancy) who travel around the world on a nonstop musical tour, entertaining and educating the audience about different customs and music with the wholesome fun only a world famous rock band can have. Pandz will be seen writing, recording and performing their music throughout the series with original songs in each episode.

"I've always wanted to create a show for pre-schoolers that felt hip and relevant for today's youth culture," said Nick Cannon, Founder, NCrecible Entertainment. "'Pandz' will be educational, but also have hot music that both kids and their parents can enjoy together."

The second project, "Skeleracers" (working title) (26 x 24), is an imaginative, action-packed CG animated series from Sprite Animation Studios, for kids 8-11. After a bizarre accident, 16 year-old Matt Sparks finds himself trapped as the only living boy in a strange Otherworld populated by zombies, skeletons, and vampires! To get home, Matt has to navigate the treacherous, rival-infested halls of the prestigious Skullford Racing Academy and race on the white-knuckle tracks of the Otherworld.

Also at MIPJr. and MIPCOM, HIT Entertainment will offer a sneak peek sizzle of "For the Birds", an animated comedy series following the adventures of Earl E. Bird for kids 8-11 from the award-winning producers Tom Ruegger ("Tiny Toon Adventures," "Animaniacs," and "Pinky & the Brain") and Randy Rogel ("Pinky & the Brain," the "Looney Tunes" show, "Mickey's Playhouse," "Winnie the Pooh" and many more).

"We are excited to unveil these new original properties to producers and broadcasters," said Karen Barnes, Executive Vice President, Development & Production, HIT Entertainment. "NCredible Entertainment and Sprite Animations have talented creative teams with innovative ideas, and their programs are a great complement to HIT's portfolio. We anticipate a very positive reaction to these programs and we look forward to further development with our creative partners."

About NCredible Entertainment, Inc.
Founded by Nick Cannon in September 2009, NCredible Entertainment has quickly become a powerhouse in the entertainment industry. With more than a dozen projects in the works, NCredible Entertainment demonstrates the kind of intuitive feel for cross-promoted multimedia initiatives that succeed in today's 2.0 environment. So far, NCredible's incredible successes have included "The School Gyrls," written and directed by Cannon, which aired on Nickelodeon in February 2010 to more than 3.2 million viewers. NCredible was also behind Nickelodeon's "HALO" Awards; an awards show for ordinary kids doing extraordinary things in their community that featured appearances by Justin Timberlake, LeBron James, and Michelle Obama. NCredible Entertainment has also created the MTV reality show "Son of a Gun: A True Bronx Tale," about New York rapper Corey Gunz. The show is currently shooting it's first season. NCredible is the company that created and produces Teen Nick's "The Nightlife" (a dance show catering to young teens). "The NIghtlife" aired it's initial 4 episodes throughout the month of August 2010. A slate of upcoming TV projects include a puppet show for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim that's described as "a hip-hop version of 'Entourage' with puppets.", a prime time game show collaboration with Freemantle Media, an updated version of "Cinderella" for Nickelodeon entitled "Ragz", and a "Nick Cannon Stand Up Special" that will shoot in Las Vegas in February 2011.

About Sprite Animation Studios
Sprite Animation Studios is a Los Angeles-based boutique CGI animation house internationally known for its distinctive style and unique original projects. Founded in 2002 by several key members from the ground-breaking animated feature film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Sprite's high-quality work has been featured in theatrical films, television series, and festival venues such as Annecy, the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater, Ottawa, and Pictoplasma. Having formed a strong partnership with Tokyo-based OLM Digital, Sprite combines the creativity of a small, independent studio with the production capacity of one of Japan's top-tier animation companies.

About HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment 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. 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 Sprout℠. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.

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