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 a worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company's library of classic family brands and 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, live events and attractions and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. HIT is a part-owner of US preschool channel, PBS KIDS Sprout℠, and international preschool channel JimJam, (outside of the US, UK and China).
For more information, visit http://www.hitentertainment.com.
TVHead And HIT Entertainment Develop First iTV Games For Preschoolers
New Games-on-Demand Television Network Launches With Educational Games Featuring Barney ™, Thomas & Friends™, Bob the Builder™ and Angelina Ballerina™
06/20/2006New York, NY / Mountain View, CA
Furthering its quest to deliver high-quality casual games to broad television audiences, TVHead has inked a deal with HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality preschool entertainment. The multifaceted deal calls for the premier games-on-demand television network to develop the first-ever, specially designed iTV games based on the popular characters Barney, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder and Angelina Ballerina.
Aiming for a Q4 2006 debut, TVHead is developing new interactive games specifically for the preschool audience and unique to each of HIT's world-class properties. Each game will offers children a range of activities; Barney will focus on music and imagination; Thomas will focus on navigation and problem solving; Bob the Builder will focus on teamwork, problem solving and spatial relationships; and Angelina Ballerina will focus on dancing, friendships and determination to make your dreams come true.
"Children the world over adore Barney, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder and Angelina Ballerina," said TVHead Founder and CEO, Sangita Verma. "We are delighted at the opportunity of giving kids a new way to interact with these amazing properties that entertain, captivate and educate the growing preschool segment of our audience."
"HIT Entertainment is excited to be working with TVHead to deliver age-appropriate, innovative content for their new gaming platform," said Jamie Cygielman, Senior Vice President, HIT Entertainment. "As the Barney & Friends, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder and Angelina Ballerina TV series all provide educational entertainment that kids love and parents trust, this new gaming platform will allow children to deepen their relationship with these characters, creating an even more engaging learning experience."
Families will be able to play these games using the standard remote controls for their television sets, as TVHead's proprietary technology simply plugs into existing VOD infrastructures and requires no special set-top boxes. The HIT offerings will join TVHead's current games-on-demand lineup, which includes titles for casual and enthusiast gamers of all ages.
About TVHead
Founded in May 2003, TVHead is a premier games-on-demand TV network that brings high-quality casual games to broad television audiences. The TVHead Games-On-Demand Network seamlessly integrates into existing VOD infrastructures, creating the nation's first massively deployable games channel for cable and IPTV. Its programming lineup features blockbuster brands and classic favorites in a multitude of genres-puzzle, cards, word, trivia, action, sports, and kids games-that appeal to everyone. The Network also supports rich community features and multi-device interaction. TVHead's revolutionary delivery model provides incredible scalability and ease of functionality. More importantly, with video game revenues far exceeding Hollywood's box office, TVHead enables cable and IPTV operators to capitalize on the revenue from America's 60 million gaming households.
About Barney™
As a helping hand for growing children, Barney (along with special pals Baby Bop™ and BJ™) 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 Thomas & Friends
Created by a father for his son, Thomas & Friends invites children to enter a world of imagination through the tracks of a train and the words of a story. Today, families in more than 100 countries enjoy fun and adventure with their engine friends while experiencing timeless life lessons including 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 Bob the Builder™
Bob the Builder and his machine team are ready to tackle any project. As they hammer out the solutions that lead to a job well done, Bob and the can-do crew demonstrate the power of positive-thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and follow-through. Most importantly, from start to finish, the team always shows that The Fun Is In Getting It Done! Bob the Builder is produced by HOT Animation and can be seen building, digging and hauling on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS Sprout℠. For more information about Bob the Builder and the can-do crew please visit www.bobthebuilder.com.
About Angelina Ballerina™
Angelina Ballerina is a little star with big dreams of becoming a prima ballerina. This feisty little mouse works hard to reach her goal and along the way, always learns from her mistakes. When little girls share in Angelina's experiences, they're inspired to go after their big dreams too. In addition to the critically acclaimed story books created by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig, Angelina Ballerina dances her way into the hearts of young girls on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS Sprout℠. For more information about Angelina Ballerina, please visit www.angelinaballerina.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™ and HIT acts as a representative for The Wiggles® in the UK, US and Canada. 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 over 1,000 hours of young children's programming, HIT sells its shows to over 240 countries worldwide, in more than 40 different languages and has operations in the UK, US, Japan and Canada. 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.
