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Henson Signs Trio of Int'l License Deals

The Jim Henson Company heads to MIP-TV this year with multiple broadcast and home entertainment licensing agreements finalized for its trio of popular pre-school series.

Press release from The Jim Henson Company:

HOLLYWOOD, CA – The Jim Henson Company heads to MIP-TV this year with multiple broadcast and home entertainment licensing agreements finalized for its trio of popular pre-school series, DINOSAUR TRAIN, PAJANIMALS and SID THE SCIENCE KID.  Richard Goldsmith, EVP of Global Distribution for The Jim Henson Company made the announcement today.

For the all-new preschool puppetry series, PAJANIMALS, The Jim Henson Company has signed international deals with ABC Australia and TVNZ New Zealand for its TV2 network. A co-production between The Jim Henson Company, Sixteen South Television and Sprout, PAJANIMALS is designed and built by the world-famous Oscar® and Emmy® Award-winning Jim Henson's Creature Shop™, from original concepts by Los Angeles-based toy and clothing designer, artist Jeff Muncy. PAJANIMALS, currently airing exclusively in the U.S. on 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout ® follows the adventures of four friends who venture out on amazing adventures of discovery, modeling the skills preschoolers need to move through their dayssuccessfully.

Season one of the critically acclaimed CGI-animated preschool series, DINOSAUR TRAIN, has been licensed to Disney Channel in Germany, Nickelodeon in the UK, TVNZ New Zealand for its TV2, Latvian TV, and Botswana Television.   After enjoying huge success with season one of DINOSAUR TRAIN, Discovery Kids Latin America, E-Vision in the United Arab Emirates and TVO Canada have all licensed season two of DINOSAUR TRAIN. Both seasons one and two were secured by Channel 1 in Russia, who acquired worldwide Russian language rights for the series.  Romania’s Empire Film picked up home entertainment DVD rights for season two of DINOSAUR TRAIN.  The series, which airs in the U.S. on PBS KIDS®, embraces and celebrates the fascination that preschoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains while also encouraging basic scientific thinking and skills.

Honored with five EMMY® nominations and multiple prestigious awards, (including the CINE Golden Eagle Award) the first season of SID THESCIENCE KID performed so well for France 5, TVO Canada, Thai PBS in Thailand and Discovery Kids Latin America that this roster of broadcasters have now licensed season 2. The first season of the series has been licensed to TVB Pearl in Hong Kong and One Batswana Television, as well as renewed by NOGA Israel.  SID THE SCIENCE KID, which airs in the U.S. on PBS KIDS®, features music and comedy to encourage preschoolers to discover the fun of science in their everyday world.

“The continuing demand for The Jim Henson Company’s pre-school programming is the result of the Company’s ongoing commitment to producing quality and engaging content that successfully weaves entertainment and education into a cohesive viewing experience,” said Goldsmith.  “We tap into children’s innate interests and use that curiosity to introduce everything from healthy sleep habits to science and more, and we’ve been doing that effectively for over 50 years. The Jim Henson Company is a name broadcasters and parents know they can trust.”