Eh oh! It's the Telepuzikis; Teletubbies Launch in Russia; Thousands of Children Attend the Biggest Ever Launch Party for Teletubbies.

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Nov. 27, 2000

It's Glasnost for the toddler set as the internationally acclaimed Teletubbies, created by award winning producers Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport of Ragdoll Ltd, are now able to bring smiles and laughter to 200 million children - from Russia's Caspian Sea to the Arctic tundra of Siberia.

The program premiered in Russia on Monday, November 13. The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company engineers all licensing and marketing efforts for the series in the Americas. BBC Worldwide, which licenses the program outside the Americas, were the organizers of the event in Moscow.

To introduce the series, the biggest ever launch party for Teletubbies attracted thousands of young children who descended on Moscow's historic Gostiny Dvor (a national monument and shopping precinct located next door to the Kremlin), on Sunday November 12. The huge transparent Dome of the venue was transformed, using multi-level stages, into supervised play areas for the thousands of children. The Teletubbies were shown continuously on TV screens and professional children's theatre groups, including The Children's Musical Theatre and The Theatre of Cats performed. The children also provided entertainment with amateur performances of their own.

The Teletubbies, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, will be known to Russian children as TELEPUZIKI. 365 episodes of the program will be dubbed into Russian and 100 new programming inserts will be filmed featuring Russian children. Transmission of the TV program began on Monday, 13 November on Russia's state broadcaster, RTR. "The Teletubbies' move into Russia shows children's love for them is universal and timeless," said Ms. Wood. "Now that Russia's toddlers have joined those in all of North, Central and South America - and much of the rest of the world - in their affection for Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, a truly global link has been created."

"We have always felt that there is a common bond that is in young children of all nationalities," said Kenn Viselman, Chairman of The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company. "This could not have been reflected stronger than in the overwhelming turnout of these children for this very unique and creative program that cuts across all boundaries and cultural differences. It just further proves that all children love the Teletubbies."

Seen daily (Monday through Friday) on PBS' distinguished Ready to Learn block of quality children's programming, Teletubbies premiered on PBS in April 1998 and ranks among the top five pre-school children's shows on television, reaching young fans in more than 120 countries and territories around the world. With its continuing widespread popularity, PBS has recently agreed to broadcast the series through 2008. As part of this agreement, PBS will license 75 new episodes of Teletubbies bringing to 160 the total number of shows to air on PBS over the next eight years.

TELETUBBIES' unique format and characters are designed to nourish young children's thinking skills, help to build their curiosity, expand their imagination, and increase their confidence. TELETUBBIES was created from a very young child's point of view and employed extensive research to insure that the program would appeal to the youngest of television viewers. It has been specifically designed for international audiences, with elements that can be used by broadcast outlets throughout the world.

"Over the hills and faraway" is where the TELETUBBIES live in their Tubbytronic Superdome. Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po are four technological babies who love each other very much, and live happily together in their own world of childhood imagination. Each program features the TELETUBBIES in Teletubbyland, which hums with the play technology that supplies their every need: tubby toast, tubby custard, and a conscientious comic vacuum cleaner, the Noo-noo. The TELETUBBIES tummies become TV screens that light up, bringing them pictures of happy children from the real world because, next to each other, the Teletubbies love children best of all.

Ragdoll Ltd. was founded by acclaimed children's television program maker Anne Wood in 1984 with the motto: "Ragdoll Connecting with Children." Worldwide, Ragdoll produced series for pre-school aged children are shown in more than 120 countries and territories, and in the UK are screened by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Independent Television Network. Titles include Teletubbies, Rosie and Jim, Tots TV, Brum, and Open A Door, and recent awards include the BAFTA (British Emmy) Award for Best Children's Series, Grand Prize at the 24th Japan Prize International Contest in Tokyo for an episode of Teletubbies and three consecutive Indies awards. Anne Wood has received a Fellowship of the Royal Television Society and the CBE (Commander of the British Empire). The company is based in Stratford upon Avon, England.

The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company (www.itsybitsyE.com - the safehaven for children on the Web) is a Global Children's Entertainment Leader, creating family television, feature film programming and production, consumer products and online entertainment. Founded in 1995 by Kenn Viselman, The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company is dedicated to creating great, imaginative Safehaven Entertainment(TM), both on the screen and on the shelf. The company has taken a pro-active stand against the proliferation of negative images in the media today by providing fun, funny and safe entertainment that enhances the lives of young children and their caregivers. Properties owned, licensed and marketed by The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company represent the highest-quality entertainment available to children and families throughout the world. The company is firmly driven by its motto: To be free to learn, Children must be free to dream!. The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company currently maintains offices on three continents with an eye on imminent expansion to the other four.