Sesame Workshop will soon team up with Turner International India to produce Sesame India, a new series targeting 157 million children under 6 in India.
The new series by Turner’s Cartoon Network and POGO marks Sesame Workshop’s first entry into India and will draw from Sesame Workshop’s international experience and Turner’s local knowledge and understanding of Indian children. The series, which is set to debut in 2006, will feature Indian Muppet characters, locally produced live action and animation segments and side-splitting moments with the Sesame Street gang.
Sesame India will incorporate curriculum developed by Indian educators, child development experts and producers. The series will include the country’s cultural diversity through music, live action and animation. The first season of Sesame India will be in Hindi, but will include some English words and phrases.
“Building on our ten years of success in India, including recent original productions such as POGO Amazing Kids Awards, Turner is well positioned to co-produce the pioneering series with Sesame Workshop,” said Louise Sams, president, TBS International, in a statement. “In addition, coupled with our consummate understanding of kids’ viewing habits in India and access to millions of kids here, both Cartoon Network and POGO serve as the ideal platform to showcase compelling television that will add a new dimension to kids’ television in India.”
“We’re thrilled to work with Turner, the undisputed leader in Indian kids’ television, to build a long-term presence and to together serve the children of the amazing Indian sub-continent,” added Gary E. Knell, Sesame Workshop’s president and CEO, in a statement.
In addition to the TV series, a Sesame India radio program and outreach program, including posters and flash cards, will be distributed in urban and rural areas.
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