Teletubbies Celebrates 365 Original Episodes - One for Every Day of the Year!

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--February 20, 2001

New "Get Up and Go!" Initiative Furthers PBS's Long-Term

Commitment To Serve Series' Core Audience and Broadcast Popular

Program through 2008

Teletubbies Get Up and Go!, the March 20th kick-off to a major new initiative to developed by Ragdoll Ltd., the creators of Teletubbies and The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company, who market the program in the Americas, to help combat obesity in children, has received requests from over 25,000 individual preschools from across the United States, it was announced today by The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company Chairman, Kenn Viselman.

PBS recently acquired 75 new episodes of Teletubbies, bringing the total number of original shows to 160 and extending the broadcast through 2008, whilst the BBC has ordered an unprecedented 365 episodes of the series, one for every day of the year. Teletubbies, which premiered on PBS in April 1998, is now seen in 120 countries, in 36 languages, with over 1 billion fans throughout the world.

The Teletubbies Get Up and Go! fitness event has been endorsed by the American Center for Children and Media, Healthy Childcare magazine, Kids First, International Prince's Youth Sport Trust, National Association of Sports and Physical Education and Project ACES (All Children Exercise Simultaneously).

"The response from the educational and healthcare communities to the Teletubbies Get Up and Go! initiative has been exceptionally positive," said Mr. Viselman. "We are thrilled to be continuing our long-term partnership with PBS and introducing new initiatives under development, such as Go!, to continue to enhance the lives of the youngest of children and those who care for them."

Viselman continued, "There have been some recent news reports about Teletubbies ceasing broadcast, which are absolutely ludicrous. Teletubbies is deeply woven into the fabric of children's lives and will continue to broadcast throughout the world and please its young fans for many generations to come. The only thing reports such as these accomplish is to unnecessarily frustrate children and their caregivers."

Teletubbies, which was created by Ragdoll Ltd. in 1997, premiered on the BBC in April of that year. Originally contracted to create 260 half-hour episodes, Ragdoll Ltd. was later asked to continue producing original episodes and will, as of 2001, have created 365 original episodes, one for each day of the year. Additionally, they have created multiple formats for home video and DVD and are currently in development of new formats.

Teletubbies is currently seen daily (M-F) as part of the PBS KIDS Ready to Learn Service. PBS KIDS provides a nonviolent, noncommercial daily schedule that extends beyond the TV screen to the Web (pbskids.org), home videos, educational outreach materials and PBS KIDS CHANNEL. The PBS KIDS Ready to Learn Service leverages the television programs with workshops in local communities to help adults boost children's reading and social skills.

PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 347 public television stations. Serving nearly 100 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org.

Ragdoll Ltd. was founded by acclaimed children's television program maker Anne Wood in 1984 with the motto: "Ragdoll Works For 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, three consecutive Indies awards and the award to Anne Wood of Fellowship of the Royal Television Society. 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.