Corus Ent. announced a new partnership with Shanghai Distance Education Group (SDEG), one of the largest developers of educational programming and content in Asia. As part of the agreement, the two companies will develop and exchange programming and will extend Corus' reach into the burgeoning Chinese marketplace.
As part of the agreement, Corus will contribute 13x30-minutes episodes of Nelvana's acclaimed animated production JACOB TWO-TWO to the "Toon Talk Project," a new English as Second Language (ESL) program to be broadcast on Shanghai Educational TV and other TV stations in China reaching more than 300 million people or one-quarter of the Chinese population. The television broadcast will be supplemented by more than 25,000 educational kits, which will include DVDs of the JACOB TWO-TWO episodes along with other learning materials. Toon Talk is expected to launch in mid-August. Since its premiere on YTV in September 2003, JACOB TWO-TWO has consistently remained the number one Canadian program on the network for audiences 2+.
"The Toon Talk Project represents the beginning of what we hope will be many cultural and educational exchanges between Canada and China. Just as importantly, this partnership agreement lays the foundation for new program development between Corus and SDEG over the next several years," said Peter Moss, evp of programming for Corus' television division and the Corus executive that negotiated the partnership.
"We are thrilled to be working with a company like Corus Ent. that has the highest standards of creativity and production," added Hu Gongguo, gm of Commercial, Ltd. -- a section in charge of business with foreign companies for the Shanghai Distance Education Group. "They have many quality animation projects, which we would like to introduce to our kids through our ESL program. I expect the Toon Talk project will be a good beginning of a long term cooperation with Corus."
Corus Ent. is a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in both specialty TV and radio. Corus also owns Nelvana Limited, a leading international producer and distributor of children's programming and products. The company's other interests include publishing, television broadcasting and advertising services. For more information, visit www.corusentertainment.com.
Shanghai Distance Education Group was formed in 2000 from a merger of Shanghai TV University, Shanghai Education TV Station, Shanghai Audio-Visual Studio and Shanghai TV Secondary School. The Group facilitates distance education through a teaching network, a specialized educational TV station, audio-visual content production, publishing and software development.
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Animation World Network
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