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HEY YOU GUUUUUYYYYS!

TV’s Iconic Series The Electric Company Delivers a Jolt of Literacy, and Charges a New Generation

Sesame Workshop’s New Weekly Series Premieres on PBS KIDS GO!sm Friday January 23rd, 2009 with a Special Two-Hour Sneak Peek Marathon on Monday, January 19th

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, powers up this January with a new version of one of television’s most beloved children’s series, The Electric Company. The new series, designed to combat the literacy crisis America’s second graders are facing, has been re-energized with 35 half-hour episodes for today’s media-driven generation with a truly interactive experience. The series launches on PBS KIDS GO! January 19th with a special two hour sneak peek marathon before it settles into its regular weekly timeslot on Fridays beginning January 23rd (check local listings).

With funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Department of Education, the new version of The Electric Company is a multimedia literacy campaign charged with reducing the literacy gap between low and middle income families and advancing the idea that ‘reading is cool.’ The show will be supplemented with a richly interactive online environment at pbskidsgo.org/electriccompany and community-based outreach activities taking place in cities with at-risk populations across the country.

The new version of The Electric Company’s curricular goals include: decoding, comprehension of connected text, vocabulary and motivation. These goals are incorporated into the show with vocabulary focusing on specific kid friendly themes such as: the body, animals, games and space.

“Literacy skill development is a core curriculum area for PBS. Every child has a different approach to learning and sense of what engages them, and we are excited to launch this multimedia literacy campaign,” said Linda Simensky, Vice President, Children’s Programming, PBS. “The Electric Company’s music, humor and lively cast of characters make learning to read fun and accessible for all children.”

The Electric Company television show is brought to life with a 15 minute narrative storyline that is interspersed with segments that include curricular clusters of music videos, sketch comedy, animation and short films.

The cast of characters of The Electric Company is a group of do-gooders who keep the neighborhood safe with their literacy superpowers and solve problems often created by a group of troublemakers called “The Pranksters.”

The Electric Company is part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, a national literacy initiative focused on using public media to improve the reading skills for children ages two to eight. PBS KIDS Raising Readers is funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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Underwriters: Corporation for Public Broadcasting and U.S. Department of Education
Description Funding: U.S. Department of Education

About PBS
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation’s 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 90 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, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet.

About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. As the single largest informal educator of young children, local Sesame Street programs produced in countries as diverse as South Africa, Bangladesh and India are making a difference in over 120 nations. Using proprietary research to create engaging and enriching content, Sesame Workshop produces programs such as Dragon Tales and Pinky Dinky Doo. In addition, multimedia needs-driven initiatives provide families tools for addressing such issues as children’s health, military deployment and emergency preparedness. As a nonprofit, product proceeds and philanthropic donations support Sesame Workshop’s educational research and creative content for children around the world. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.

About PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO!
PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school kids, offers all children – from every walk of life – the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and outreach content. Like its programming counterpart, PBS resources - including PBS KIDS online (pbskids.org), PBS KIDS GO! online (pbskidsgo.org), PBS Parents (pbsparents.org), PBS Teachers (pbsteachers.org), PBS KIDS Raising Readers and literacy events across the country - leverage the full spectrum of media and technology advancements as well as community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. Guiding children towards empowerment for success in school and in life, only PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation’s 356 public television stations, serving more than 65 million people each week and reaching 99% of American homes.

About the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
CPB, a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1000 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related on-line services.

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