HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

Get Ready For A Dino-mite Fall Season As Barney™, BJ™ And Baby Bop™ Welcome Their Newest Dino Friend

Riff™ - The First New Dino In 13 Years - Debuts Across Television, Home Entertainment, Online And Live Events in September

06/20/2006

New York

HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality preschool entertainment, introduces the first new dino in 13 years to Barney & Friends™ - RIFF! Riff is a 6-year old Hadrosaur and a one-of-a-kind kid! As BJ and Baby Bop's cousin, he is all about music - music is in his voice, his heart and his every move! And when Riff gets excited or he's making music, his crest blinks with colorful light. Riff joins Barney, BJ and Baby Bop across all Barney platforms in September, including the all-new season of Barney & Friends, on PBS KIDS®, the all-new direct-to-DVD release Barney: Let's Make Music, www.barney.com and Barney LIVE! The Let's Go Tour.

Riff's debut on Barney & Friends, marks the introduction of a new music agenda on the series. The new episodes will incorporate contemporary music with a broad appeal, reflective of a preschool music curriculum. This new music draws from diverse styles, cultures and influences including Latin, Celtic, Classical, Country, Jazz and Rock. Through this new music, children will experience concepts such as loud vs. soft, rhythm patterns and tempo.

Bringing these changes to Barney & Friends is industry veteran and series Executive Producer, Karen Barnes. With more than 20 years of experience in television production and broadcast, Karen oversees the program's development and production, along with all home entertainment releases for the brand. Since joining HIT in February, 2005, Karen has brought her vision to the series, adding a new dino friend and expanding the show's musical stylings and curriculum.

"Barney is the premier toddler brand that engages, entertains, and captures the imagination of children through music and laughter, while addressing the essential socio-emotional qualities that are important to Moms," said Barnes. At the same time, Barney and his friends welcome a new friend, Riff! Through Riff, the series will introduce diverse and contemporary music styles."

In tandem with the launch of the new season of Barney & Friends on PBS KIDS on September 18, Barney's newest dino friend, Riff, will make his debut online on www.barney.com and in the all-new direct-to-DVD release, Barney: Let's Make Music, in stores September 5. He will also join Barney, BJ and Baby Bop on their super-dee-duper™ adventures in BARNEY LIVE! The Let's Go Tour this fall.

About Barney™

As a helping hand for growing children, Barney (along with special pals Baby Bop™, BJ™ and Riff™ ) helps parents give their children the range of skills they need to grow - and he always does it with lots of fun, music and laughs. Barney & Friends™ episodes are always filled with Sharing, Caring, Imagining, Dancing and Learning and can be seen on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS Sprout℠. For more information about Barney and all his friends, please visit www.barney.com.

About HIT Entertainment

HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners since June 2005, is one of the world’s leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT’s portfolio includes internationally renowned children’s properties, such as Bob the Builder™, Barney™, Thomas & Friends™, Pingu™, Rubbadubbers™ and Angelina Ballerina™. HIT acts as a representative for The Wiggles® in the UK, US and Canada and as worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company’s library of classic family brands, including Fraggle Rock™. HIT also owns the Guinness World Records™ publishing and television property and Fireman Sam™, a joint venture with S4C. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production (including studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events. With a catalog of more than 1,000 hours of young children’s programming, HIT sells its shows to more than 240 countries worldwide, in more than 40 different languages and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. In 2005, the Company joined Comcast Corporation, PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS Sprout℠, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.