MUMBAI: Preschoolers will soon have more opportunities to play with Bert, Ernie, Grover and Elmo. Play With Me Sesame’s worldwide success has led Sesame Workshop to greenlight production of 26 new episodes of the interactive series. In addition, the series is one of the shows included in Sesame program blocks debuting in Poland, Hungary and Croatia.
Play With Me Sesame encourages children to get up and play games such as Ernie Says (a la Simon Says) and Move and Groove with Grover along with their favorite muppets from Sesame Street. Broadcast in over 50 countries, the series is currently seen on such networks as Disney UK, Disney Asia, ABC Australia, YTV/Treehouse Canada, Cartoon Network India and Rai Sat Italy. The 104 30-minute episodes include a mix of new and classic Sesame Street segments that focus on fundamental concepts critical to reading, math and science, and encourage creativity and individual expression.
Play With Me Sesame is one of the programs featured in new Sesame programming blocks in Poland, Hungary and Croatia. On Poland’s Minimini, the recently launched Sesame Nook includes Elmo’s World, Play With Me Sesame, Global Grover and Sesame English. In December, broadcaster Minimax will begin airing a Sesame block with Play With Me Sesame, Elmo’s World and Global Grover, in Hungary, Romania Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The three series will also be seen in Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovena, Serbia and Montenegro, starting in early 2007, in a block on broadcaster Magma.
"The expansion of the Sesame brand through wonderfully interactive shows like Play With Me Sesame and Elmo’s World give children around the globe new ways to experience fun and learning in the way Sesame does it best. We are excited to bring more games to children with the addition of new episodes of Play With Me Sesame and thrilled that children throughout Eastern Europe will have the chance to interact with friends like Grover and Elmo,” said Worldwide Television Distribution vice president Jennifer Monier-Williams.
Play With Me Sesame is produced by Games Productions Inc. in association with Noggin and Sesame Workshop. The series will be available to international buyers and co-producers at the Mipcom market at Cannes in October.
