Press Releases & News Briefs

SPROUT® CELEBRATES SUPER-DEE-DUPER VALENTINE’S DAY WITH BARNEY™ THE DINOSAUR

Barney to appear live on The Sunny Side Up Show Friday, February 13 from 9a-noon ET and in special taped segments to air Saturday, February 14


Philadelphia, PA- February 3, 2009 - Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, is celebrating Valentine's Day in a BIG way with everyone's favorite purple dinosaur, Barney™.  On Friday, February 13 from 9 a.m. to noon ET, Barney will join Sunny Side Up Show hosts Sean and Chica live in the Sunshine Barn for "Sprout's Super-Dee-Duper Valentine Party" where they will take viewer calls, sing songs, play games and read special Valentine's Day wishes sent in from preschoolers all over the country.  He will also be taping special segments later that afternoon to air during a special Saturday morning presentation of The Sunny Side Up Show on February 14 from 9 a.m. to noon ET. 

From now through February 13, preschoolers and their parents are invited to visit SproutOnline.com where they can make their own Valentine's Day cards, crafts and send in messages telling their friends and family how much they love them.  Sprout will be airing viewer-submitted messages throughout Valentine's Day, Saturday, February 14, within a special on-air crawl. 

Additionally, parents can enter Sprout's "We ? Your Videos Contest" online at SproutOnline.com for a chance to win a trip for four to see a local performance of Thomas & Friends™ LIVE! On Stage: A Circus Comes To Town, as well as a Sprouterrific gift basket, including the new Thomas & Friends DVD, Railway Friends.  All parents need to do is upload a video of their child doing what they love to do, whether that's blowing bubbles, singing, dancing or whatever their hearts desire.  Daily winners will be announced every day on Sprout between 2:45 - 3:30 p.m. ET from Monday, March 2 through Thursday, March 5 and their video will be shown on-air.  The grand prize winner will be revealed on Friday, March 6 during that same time frame. 

Go to SproutOnline.com for more information and official contest rules. To find out where Sprout is available in your area, call 1.866.9.SPROUT.  Media should visit SproutPR.com for additional network information, downloadable logos and photos.

About Sprout®
PBS KIDS SproutSM, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, was created as a partnership among Comcast Corporation, HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop.  Since debuting its video on demand (VOD) service in April 2005, Sprout has become the #1 On Demand service for younger children, generating over half a billion views.  The 24-hour digital channel, which launched in September 2005 along with the website (SproutOnline.com), is the only channel that follows the day of child from breakfast to bedtime with its distinctive programming.  Currently, Sprout is available in 45 million unique households.

The network's program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based children's shows includes:  Sesame Street®, Bob the Builder™, Barney & Friends™, Thomas & Friends™, Angelina Ballerina™, Caillou®, The Berenstain Bears™, Dragon Tales™, Pingu™, Make Way For Noddy™, The Hoobs™, Fifi and the Flowertots™ and more.

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Press Contact:
Jenni Glenn    
Sprout     
215-286-2703    
jenni_glenn@sproutonline.com