HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

Peep! Peep! It's Full Steam Ahead into "The Year Of The Great Discovery" for Thomas the Tank Engine™

HIT Entertainment Kicks-Off "Discover Thomas" Campaign Including New Toys, Books, Themed Live Events and The Great Discovery DVD Guest Starring Pierce Brosnan as Narrator

06/10/2008

New York, NY

All aboard! This year Thomas invites new and existing fans along on a brand new journey during "The Year of the Great Discovery." HIT Entertainment, one of the world's leading independent children's entertainment producers and rights owner, has kicked-off a 12-month campaign across all major consumer touch points and invites consumers to "discover" Thomas. The campaign, which features integrated partnerships across toys, books and live events will be highlighted by the fall release of Thomas and Friends: The Great Discovery DVD special, guest starring Piece Brosnan as narrator.

In Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery DVD, fans will meet a new engine named Stanley, discover all new locations and embark on exciting adventures. The Great Discovery DVD will be featured every weekend in July at select movie theaters across the US and featured in 40 cinemas across the UK in September. The weekend screenings will be accompanied by on-site activities and exclusive Thomas goody bags. The release of the DVD will also be supported by a multi-faceted marketing campaign including TV, print and online advertising.

US Toy partners, Learning Curve, HIT ToyCo and LEGO, as well as US publishing partner, Random House will be supporting this title with all-new tie-in products. Additionally, the grassroots Day Out With Thomas™ 2008 tour, is themed to The Great Discovery. At all of these heritage railway events, children are provided with a "Great Discovery Tour Map," that guides them through the various on-site activities and at the last stop, each child receives a free gift. Day Out with Thomas, along with "Great Discovery" products, will be featured in a multi-page parent-targeted advertorial distributed to more than 1.5 million parents.

In the UK, the weekend screenings of Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery will be supported by a ‘blue carpet' premiere at Vue Cinema in Leicester Square on the 20th of September and followed by screenings in all major cities around the UK. Toy partner, LEGO, will be providing a life-size Thomas train at the premiere and it will be supported by an integrated direct marketing and TV advertising campaign.

In addition, the Thomas & Friends websites in the US and UK will be themed to The Great Discovery starting from August and will feature a new home page and all new games and activities based around the content of the DVD.

Peter Byrne, EVP Consumer Products Worldwide HIT Entertainment commented, "For the first time in almost 4 years, young Thomas fans can re-discover their favourite character on the big screen as the popular series is brought to life in a fantastic 60-minute special. Young fans will recognize all of Thomas' very useful friends and meet new ones in a brand new adventure. This will be a major consumer product event in the Thomas calendar for 2008."

The Great Discovery is set for release on DVD on September 9 from Lionsgate® in the US and in the UK on October 6, 2008 and will roll out in other markets around the world throughout 2008 and 2009.

To download artwork, please visit www.hitnewsonline.com

About Thomas & Friends

Thomas & Friends invites children to enter a world of imagination through the tracks of a train and the words of a story. Thomas the Tank Engine was created by a father for his son more than 60 years ago. Today, families in more than 145 countries enjoy fun and adventure with their engine friends while experiencing timeless life lessons of discovery, friendship and cooperation. Thomas & Friends is making tracks to great destinations on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS Sprout℠. For more information about the world of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends, please visit www.thomasandfriends.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.