Press Releases & News Briefs

PBS KIDS SPROUT℠ CONTINUES COMMITMENT TO INSPIRING HEALTHY EATING HABITS IN PRESCHOOLERS

Network Debuts Second Season of Sprout Diner and Live-Action Healthy Cooking Segments in March to Coincide with National Nutrition Month

Philadelphia, PA - February 6, 2007 - PBS KIDS Sprout, the first and only 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, is continuing its commitment to inspiring healthy eating habits in preschoolers with the month-long "Sprout Diner's March Menu" event beginning Thursday, March 1, to coincide with National Nutrition Month.

"Sprout Diner's March Menu" will feature all new episodes of the award-winning Sprout Diner animated series (debuting March 16) and live-action cooking segments featuring parents and preschoolers making healthy and fun recipes from the Sprout Diner menu.  Beginning March 16, the live-action cooking segments will move exclusively to Sprout Video On Demand (VOD). 

"Sprout is taking a proactive role in addressing children's health issues by encouraging preschoolers to eat healthy foods and inspiring parents and caregivers with healthy and fun recipe ideas," said network president, Sandy Wax. "It's never too early for parents to instill healthy eating habits in their children." 

Each animated episode of Sprout Diner, which debuted on Sprout in September 2006, features its own nutritious and fun recipe inspired by popular preschool characters like Barney™, Sesame Street®'s Elmo, the Teletubbies™, Noddy™, Sagwa™, Caillou™ and the Berenstain Bears™.  Sprout Diner owner Brussel Sprout, his daughter Bean and her daughter Alfalfa create healthy, nutritious dishes for each character that calls in to order after a hard day's play. 

The second season of Sprout Diner features yummy, healthy treats such as Shishkaboohbahs, Zoboomafoo Banana Pops, Mr. Mailman's Pita Pocket, Dragon Tales Tortilla Treat, Nina's Nighttime Cinnamon Stars, Hoobooberry Muffins and Jay Jay's Chicken Salad Plane.  KidsHealth.org, a national non-profit children's health organization and the web's most visited children's health site, were nutritional consultants for the recipes. 

Children and their parents are encouraged to visit SproutOnline.com to play games and download new recipes so they can make them together at home.  High-resolution photos of Brussel Sprout and his friends are available in the media gallery athttp://www.fishwithfeet.com/index-4.html  

In December 2006, Sprout held a national contest looking for participants to submit a tasty, fun and healthy recipe named for Thomas the Tank Engine™.  The winning recipe will be shown on-air March 15.   

Sprout Diner is proud to be a 2007 iParenting Media Award Winner, the only consumer awards program certified by the International Organization for Standardization.  iParenting Media is dedicated to informing, inspiring and uniting the parenting community. 

About Sprout
PBS KIDS SproutSM (SproutOnline.com) the first and only 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, the country's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services; HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality entertainment for young children; PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), the most trusted distributor of award-winning children's programming; and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street.

The 24-hour network, which launched in September 2005, is available on digital cable and satellite to 20 million homes.  With over 100 million orders in 2006, Sprout is the #1 Kids On Demand service.  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™, Sagwa: The Chinese Siamese Cat™,  Caillou™, The Berenstain Bears™, Jay Jay the Jet Plane™, Teletubbies™, Dragon Tales™, Pingu™, Make Way For Noddy™, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks™, and more.

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CONTACT:
Jenni Glenn     
PBS KIDS Sprout    
215-667-2703     
jenni_glenn@sproutonline.com