Philadelphia, PA - July 29, 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, will debut Sprout's Wiggly Waffle, hosted by the
most beloved family
entertainers in the world, The Wiggles, on Monday, August 24,
2009. This three-hour
morning show block, filled with 10 brand new original Wiggles
songs and interactive
segments packed with wiggly fun, is designed to celebrate
mornings and get preschoolers
up and moving for the day ahead. Sprout's Wiggly Waffle
will air every weekday morning
from 6:00 - 9:00 a.m. ET.
On August 24 only, to celebrate The Wiggles big debut on
Sprout, the fab four of the
preschool set will join hosts Kelly and Chica the Chicken as
special guests on the live
Sunny Side Up Show from 9:00 a.m. - noon ET, where they will
sing songs, play games and
take live phone calls from families all across the
country.
Designed to weave music, movement and nutrition throughout
Sprout's morning schedule of
upbeat programs such as Play With Me Sesame®, Bob the Builder™
and Barney & Friends™,
Sprout's Wiggly Waffle is an interactive block that takes
place in and around an
oversized, fruit-covered waffle set where nooks and crannies
are windows that open to
songs, dances, skits and more.
Original segments within Sprout's Wiggly Waffle include:
• Wake Up Jeff - This interactive skit invites parents
and preschoolers at home to
send in their ideas on how to wake up Jeff, the purple Wiggle
who is known for his
napping.
• Juice Box Pick - Preschoolers and their parents will
select their favorite music
videos from Sprout shows on SproutOnline.com and upload them
into JB, a juice box
character that operates as a jukebox. A new preschooler
pick will be featured on-air
every day.
• Dorothy's Daily Digest - Dorothy the Dinosaur interviews
one of The Wiggles who
is dressed up as a healthy breakfast food. Lots of
healthy, nutritious facts for
preschoolers are packed into this daily segment.
• Today's Giggle - The Wiggles tell age-appropriate jokes
and perform funny skits.
• The 5th Wiggle Game - Parents will upload a photo of their
preschooler at
SproutOnline.com to be animated in a dance video with the
other four Wiggles. Viewer
submissions will be chosen at random and shown on the air
during the "Today's Wiggle"
segment.
• Captain Feathersword's Pirate Word of the Day - Features a
new pirate word every
day from The Wiggles' favorite pirate friend.
• Today's Topping - Viewers' picks of real and wacky waffle
toppings sent in via
SproutOnline.com by parents and preschoolers are chosen at
random to rain down on the
Wiggly Waffle while The Wiggles try to catch
them.
"The Wiggles are legendary in the preschool world, and we're
thrilled to be able to
offer fans a chance to join their favorite entertainers every
weekday morning by
actually becoming a part of the show," said Andrew Beecham,
senior vice president of
programming at Sprout. "The Wiggles will be fully
integrated into all three of Sprout's
viewing platforms - on-air, online and on demand - and we
can't wait to get started on
introducing them to new audiences and continuing to build upon
their already amazing
presence in the preschool market."
"The Wiggles are known throughout the world as fantastic
preschool entertainers, but
behind that is an early childhood background," said Paul
Field, managing director, The
Wiggles Pty Ltd. "We know that children learn through
play, and there's a really sound
educational base to this fun, interactive new show. This
is the first time that The
Wiggles have done anything like this on television and we are
all so excited to be
joining Sprout exclusively in the U.S."
The Wiggles are currently traveling the U.S. on their Wiggles
Go Bananas Live! Tour.
Wiggles games, videos, coloring pages and more are available
now on SproutOnline.com.
find out where Sprout is available in your area, call
1.8.SPROUT.411 or go to
High-resolution images of The Wiggles are available now in the
photo gallery on
About Sprout®
PBS KIDS Sprout, 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 47 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™, Make Way For
Noddy™, The Hoobs™, Fifi and the Flowertots™ and more.
About The Wiggles
The Wiggles, the world's #1 preschool entertainers, performed over
300 shows to more
than 1.5 million fans since 2005 in the United States
alone. The Wiggles perform over
200 shows annually across four continents. The Wiggles
are seen on TV in over 110
countries worldwide. Fans will be able to catch The
Wiggles on television exclusively
in the U.S. on 24-hour preschool network Sprout beginning
August 24, 2009. The Wiggles
have sold more than 22.5 million videos and 7 million CDs in
the United States, Canada,
United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
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Press Contacts:
Jenni Glenn
Sprout
215-286-2703
jenni_glenn@sproutonline.com
Alicia McAllister
Rob Bailey Communications
201-760-0200, ext. 105
amcallister@rbcpr.com