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Category: News Headline

  • Channel 4 signs Vod deal for ‘Lost’, ‘Desperate Housewives’

    Channel 4 signs Vod deal for ‘Lost’, ‘Desperate Housewives’

    MUMBAI: UK broadcaster Channel 4 has announced an agreement with Buena Vista International Television (BVITV), the international TV distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company, to acquire the exclusive UK video-on-demand rights to Lost and Desperate Housewives.

    In India, the shows airs on Star Movies and Star World respectively.

    This deal is Disney’s first in Europe for VOD rights to its network series and is in line with Disney’s focus on the application of technology to enhance its content and expand its distribution.

    The pay per view Vod service will launch tomorrow 27 April when the entire series of Lost season one will be available on-demand at www.channel4.com/lost and to digital TV customers via ntl Telewest’s on-demand service. Episodes of the hit series can be purchased for 99p and watched an unlimited number of times within a 24 hour period.

    Access to the service will be limited to the UK. ntl Telewest has also secured the rights for content to be shown in high-definition.

    Channel 4 CEO Andy Duncan said, “Channel 4 is the most distinctive brand in UK television and we want to protect and enhance this reputation by making our award-winning content available across multiple platforms. By partnering exclusively on the VOD rights to two of the biggest shows on TV, we will work together to reach and grow on-demand audiences. This deal with BVITV reinforces Channel 4’s plans to make content available ‘anytime, anywhere’ and is a fantastic way of demonstrating our ambitions in this area.”

    BVITV VP, MD Europe, Middle East and Africa Tom Toumazis said, “This ground-breaking agreement represents our first step in launching our network series on Vod to the European market. We’re committed to working with partners with strong new media strategies, such as Channel 4, to harness new technology in bringing our hit programming to viewers in fresh and innovative ways. We also remain committed to providing legitimate ways in which to download content, and believe that offering these two series in this way is a significant step.”

    Touchstone Television president Mark Pedowitz says, “The creative appeal of Lost and Desperate Housewives transcends borders and we are thrilled the content will be available on-demand to UK consumers”.

    Channel 4 new business director Rod Henwood said, “This is a significant step in Channel 4’s plans to launch a full video-on-demand service across multiple platforms later this year. Partnering with Disney on these two stand-out shows illustrates the critical strategic importance of VOD to Channel 4.”

    Also, Lost season two will be available via www.channel4.com and to subscribers of ntl Telewest 14 days after their first UK broadcast and to promote the service for a two week period the first two episodes will be offered to viewers free of charge. Episodes will be streamed on Channel4.com and can be viewed on a PC using Windows Media Player.

    On demand episodes of Desperate Housewives season two will be available from 4 May with episodes of the first season available later that month.

  • BBC unveils ‘Creative Future’ to address digital vision

    BBC unveils ‘Creative Future’ to address digital vision

    MUMBAI: The BBC has unveiled Creative Future, a new editorial blueprint designed to deliver more value to audiences over the next six years as laid out in the recent Government White Paper. For the past year, ten teams have been exploring what the world may be like in 2012, what audiences may need and want and what the BBC needs to do about it. It explores quality content for the on- demand world .

    The plans build on opportunities created by new and emerging digital technologies and confront the challenges of seismic shifts in public expectations, lifestyle and behaviours and on building new relationships with audiences and individual households, informs a press release.

    Delivering a lecture, BBC Director-General Mark Thompson will say: “The second wave of digital will be far more disruptive than the first and the foundations of traditional media will be swept away, taking us beyond broadcasting. The BBC needs a creative response to the amazing, bewildering, exciting and inspiring changes in both technology and expectations.

    “On-demand changes everything. It means we need to rethink the way we conceive, commission, produce, package and distribute our content. This isn’t about new services it’s about doing what we already do differently. The BBC should no longer think of itself as a broadcaster of TV and radio and some new media on the side. We should aim to deliver public service content to our audiences in whatever media and on whatever device makes sense for them, whether they are at home or on the move.
     
    “We can deliver much more public value when we think across all platforms and consider how audiences can find our best content, content that’s more relevant, more useful and more valuable to them. I see a unique creative opportunity. This new digital world is a better world for public service content than the old one.”

    Key recommendations include:

       -Relaunching the BBC’s website to include more personalisation, richer audio-visual and user generated content
        Create a new teen brand delivered via existing broadband, TV and radio services, including a new long-running drama and comedy, factual and music content
        -Create easy access points for audiences via broadband portals around key content areas like Sport, Music, Knowledge Building, Health and Science
        Start commissioning more 360 degree cross-platform content
       – Shift energy and resource into continuous news on TV, radio, broadband and mobile, making News 24 the centre of the TV offering, moving talent to it and breaking stories on it
        Improve the quality of Sports and Entertainment journalism and appoint a specialist Sports Editor
        -Create one single, pan-platform BBC Music Strategy and develop big events like this Autumn’s first BBC
        -Electric Proms as well as more personalisation enabling people to create the equivalent of their own radio station
       – Take entertainment seriously, learn from the world of video games and experiment with commissioning for new platforms
       – In Drama – create fewer titles with longer runs, find creative space for outstanding writers and cherish the programmes audience love best like EastEnders, Casualty and Holby City
        In Comedy – improve the creative pipeline across all platforms, pilot more shows, find new talent and build the big hits for BBC ONE
        -Give sharper age targets to the CBeebies and CBBC brands and integrate all children’s content – including online and radio – under these brands
        Pilot a Knowledge Building online project called Eyewitness – History enabling people to record and share their memories and experiences of any day over the last 100 years

    The release adds that the Creative Future plan provided a map for the on-demand future where compelling, content, easier navigation and greater audience understanding were essential. “We need to focus on making great creative content which our audiences love and is relevant to their lives. It is that simple, ” says Thompson.

    But he also warned that unless the BBC worked harder to reach younger audiences and those that felt increasingly distant more effectively, the BBC could lose a generation forever.

    The plans have emerged from the year-long Creative Future project, sponsored by Thompson and the BBC’s Creative Director Alan Yentob. The project has involved hundreds of people across the BBC, the independent sector and other industry partners, underpinned by one of the largest audience research and insight initiatives the BBC has ever undertaken.

    Some detailed key recommendations by genre are:

    Journalism
    #A new pan platform journalism strategy, including mobile devices, is already underway, putting 24/7 news on the web, broadband, TV and radio at its heart for unfolding stories as well as analysis.
    #Sport and Entertainment journalism will be improved. Responsiveness and authenticity are important qualities to audiences.
    #Current affairs will be reshaped and BBC News will work with the education sector to get BBC journalism into secondary schools across the country through initiatives like Schools Question Time.

    Sport
    #Creating a BBC Sport broadband portal with live video and audio, journalism, specialist sports and interactive comment, which builds on the recent success of the Winter Olympics and reflects the diversity of sport across the nations and regions of the UK.
    # Launching a new flagship Sports News programme on TV, appointing a BBC Sports Editor and phasing out ‘portfolio’ programmes like Grandstand, a brand which no longer has impact, in favour of BBC Sport branded live events and highlights.

    Music
    #For the first time, a single BBC music strategy across all platforms, with regular cross platform events like this Autumn’s Electric Proms, including TV Music Entertainment and commissioning in Radio & Music.
    # The aim is be the premier destination for unsigned bands and to seize the opportunities of broadband, podcasting and mobile.

    Kids & Teens
    #All children’s output, including radio, online and learning will eventually be consolidated under the CBeebies and CBBC brands which will be given tighter audiences targets – up to 6 and 7-11 years respectively.
    # Create a broadband based teen brand aimed at 12-16 years, including a high volume drama, comedy, music and factual content.

    Comedy
    #Developing the creative pipeline for comedy across all radio and TV networks – local and national – and kickstarting contemporary sitcoms by increasing the number of pilots, investing more in rehearsal time and script development, maximising access through new media and experimenting with bespoke content.
    # Improving training, nurturing talent, relaunching the comedy website and holding an annual BBC Comedy day for those involved in creating comedy for the BBC.

    Drama
    #Intensifying the pace, energy and emotion of TV dramas, such as the award-winning Bleak House or The Street currently on BBC ONE, while continuing to cherish the big runners like EastEnders and Casualty that audiences love.
    # Creating more writer-led radio landmarks, opting for fewer TV titles with longer runs and higher audience value, supporting single dramas and writers and experimenting with the drama inherent in gaming and interactive – such as the online drama Jamie Kane.

    Entertainment
    #Deliver more consistent, braver, high production value entertainment on Saturday nights on BBC ONE, plus at least two stripped entertainment events on the channel each year.
    # More effective piloting, cross media commissioning and closer collaboration with other genres like factual and leisure to build top shows of the future like The Apprentice – from factual entertainment.

    Knowledge Building
    #BBC content which documents the world and inspires audiences to explore, learn and contribute should come as one proposition and be available permanently after transmission. Knowledge Building content should be as big an offer from the BBC as BBC News.
    # The appeal to people’s interests and passions has a long term value so the BBC will rethink its approach, pan platform, to key areas like Natural History, Health and Technology.
    # It will also pilot Eyewitness – a national grid marking every day over the last 100 years –giving anyone with a story to tell about a particular day the chance to record and share their memories with others.

    Cross platform content and commissioning
    #Building on big ideas and events that can work across platforms as well as on linear channels, while meeting specialist interests via on-demand.
    # It will mean a different approach to commissioning and integrating key output areas.

    Thompson said these and more detailed recommendations in each area were just the beginning of creative renewal and would be facilitated by other important initiatives. These include: feeding more audience insights and research into the creative process and developing new cross platform measurements; also putting technology and its potential at the heart of creative thinking; developing a pan BBC rights strategy; launching a more powerful search tool as bbc.co.uk is upgraded, cracking metadata labelling as a priority and ensuring that the BBC is organisationally and culturally ready to make the Creative Future recommendations real.

    “Audiences have enormous choice and they like exercising it. But many feel the BBC is not tuned into their lives. We need to understand our audiences far better, to be more responsive, collaborative and to build deeper relationships with them around fantastic quality content,” says Thompson.

  • Rabindra Mishra to head BBC World Service in Nepal

    Rabindra Mishra to head BBC World Service in Nepal

    MUMBAI: BBC World Service has appointed 39-year-old Rabindra Mishra as the new head of BBC Nepali.

    Mishra is responsible for the editorial output of BBC Nepali broadcasts, the staff in London and Kathmandu and contributions from freelance journalists located throughout Nepal. He first joined BBC World service in 1995 as a producer with BBC Nepali.

    Later, he worked on English language flagship programmes, including World Today and Newshour, and in the BBC World Service Newsroom before returning to BBC Nepali to be its desk editor. He said, “I have an excellent team to work with, both in the UK and Nepal, and I am sure we will continue to meet the expectations of our valued audience. News from Nepal is presently dominating the world headlines and accurate reporting by the BBC is, now more than ever, absolutely vital.”

    Before joining the BBC, Rabindra worked with Pakistan’s English language daily, The New International and with Nepal Television.

    BBC Nepali has been serving audiences for 35 years. BBC Nepali programmes cover a wide spectrum of news stories, features, and regular analyses on Nepalese issues. It currently broadcasts 30 minutes daily on shortwave, which is rebroadcast by nine FM stations in Nepal. There is also a growing audience of Nepalese living outside the country who go to bbcnepali.com for programmes, in text and audio.

  • Consumers ‘quickly’ embrace radio’s digital platforms; Study

    Consumers ‘quickly’ embrace radio’s digital platforms; Study

    MUMBAI: The proliferation of digital broadcast platforms such as Internet radio, satellite radio, HD and podcasting is a testament to the popularity of radio programming in US.

    The Infinite Dial: Radio’s Digital Platforms, a new study by Arbitron Inc. and Edison Media Research, explores this expansion of the radio market and its implications for advertisers and media planners.

    “Consumers are quickly embracing radio’s digital platforms and this new research reveals that these advertising vehicles are becoming increasingly viable,” said Arbitron Sr VP marketing Bill Rose.

    “Our research shows that regardless of the platform consumers see all these options as merely being new forms of ‘radio’” said Edison Media Research president Larry Rosin. “This report provides crucial measurement on the development of radio as it is consumed in new and different ways.”

    The findings reported here are based on a 13 January – 12 February, 2006 telephone survey of 1,925 people who were interviewed to investigate Americans’ use of various forms of traditional, online and satellite media.

    Growth of Internet Radio
    Internet radio is growing rapidly. The monthly audience age 12+ now tops an estimated 52 million; an increase from an estimated 37 million people in 2005. The weekly Internet radio audience also increased 50 percent over the past year, with 12 percent of the US population age 12+ (an estimated 30 million) having listened to Internet radio in the past week, up from 8 percent in 2005, according to the findings.

    Advertiser highlights: Online radio reaches nearly one in five (19 percent) persons per week aged 18-34 and 15 per cent of persons aged 25-54. Weekly Online radio listeners are 36 percent more likely than the average consumer to live in a household with an annual income of more than $100,000.

    Satellite Radio In 2006, awareness of XM and Sirius satellite radio has reached equal levels of 61 percent awareness each among those aged 12 and older. Nearly one in five non-subscribers to satellite radio say they are ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ likely to subscribe to satellite radio in the next 12 months.

    Advertiser highlights: Twenty-seven per cent of satellite radio subscribers live in households with an annual income of more than $100,000, nearly double the percentage of all households (14 per cent).

    Podcasting When asked to define podcasting in their own words, there was some confusion among respondents regarding the differences among podcasting, Internet broadcasting and downloadable music. When read a definition, eleven percent of Americans say that they have ever listened to an audio podcast.

    Advertising highlights: Podcasting attracts a youthful audience: one out of five who have ever listened to an audio podcast are 12-17 years old, and more than half (53 percent) are under the age of 35.

    HD Radio More than one-third of Americans say they are ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ interested in HD Radio; more than 40 percent of satellite subscribers say they are interested in HD Radio as well.

    More than one-third of those who said they were interested in HD Radio say they would be likely to purchase an HD Radio receiver at a $100 price point, and 58 percent of those interested say they would be likely to purchase at $50.

    AM/FM Radio While there has been tremendous growth in usage of radio’s new digital platforms, AM/FM radio does not appear to be losing Time Spent Listening (TSL). Daily radio TSL is 2 hours 45 minutes for the average consumer, compared with 2 hours 48 minutes among those who listen to digital radio.

    Seventy-seven per cent of Americans say they expect to listen to AM/FM radio as much as they do now despite increasing advancements in technology. The same holds true for Internet radio listeners (77 per cent) and those who have tried audio podcasting (73 per cent). Satellite radio subscribers showed slightly less dedication to traditional broadcasting, with 64 per cent saying they plan to continue listening to the same amount of AM/FM radio.

    This study, as well as previous studies, may be downloaded free of charge via the Arbitron and Edison Media Research Web sites at www.arbitron.com and www.edisonresearch.com.
  • Disney expands ToonTown Online

    Disney expands ToonTown Online

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) has introduced Lawbot Headquarters (HQ), the highly-anticipated expansion of Disney’s Toontown Online.

    Toontown Online is the critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online (MMO) game for kids and families. Lawbot HQ has been designed for advanced players and delivers more challenges and enemies, including new stealth-based gameplay and an epic final battle.

    Within Toontown, using personalised Toon avatars, players join forces to save Toontown from the robot Cogs – Bossbots, Lawbots, Cashbots, and Sellbots – who are attempting to turn the colourful world of Toontown into a dark metropolis of skyscrapers and businesses.

    Toons can now team up to infiltrate the Cog legal system by making their way through a maze-like office building using stealth and secrecy to avoid detection. They will have to overcome various obstacles such as security guards, searchlights, crashing traps and more on their way to the courtroom of the chief justice.

    “Toontown is a unique gaming experience in many respects. Not only is the game widely recognised as fun and safe for children to play, it continues to evolve with exciting new features that bring additional challenges and environments added every few months at no extra cost,” said the Walt Disney Internet Group, Europe managing director Attila Gazdag.

    Disney’s Toontown Online is the first MMO game for kids and families. Anyone can try Toontown free for three days at www.disney.co.uk/toontown.

  • CNN Worldwide appoints Seth Doane as New Delhi correspondent

    CNN Worldwide appoints Seth Doane as New Delhi correspondent

    MUMBAI: CNN Worldwide has appointed award-winning journalist Seth Doane to be the news organization’s New Delhi-based video correspondent. This was announced by senior VP- International newsgathering, Tony Maddox.

    Doane joins CNN from Channel One News where he won a 2004 George Foster Peabody Award for his reports from Darfur and the on-going humanitarian crisis, informs an official release.

    “Seth has shown the kind of commitment and endeavour we look for in our correspondents,” said Maddox. “In the past five years, he has reported around the world from challenging locations and he will be a real addition to the reporting ranks of CNN. He will be working in a great bureau in a country which is making news on many levels.”

    Doane is the sixth video correspondent appointed by CNN; he joins DNG-equipped correspondents strategically based in South Africa, Colombia, UK, Iraq and Russia.

    “CNN is known around the world for its international news coverage and its use of leading-edge technology that allows correspondents to offer context to news events immediately. It’s a privilege to join a network with such a strong journalistic reputation,” said Doane.

  • Panasonic & IBM to showcase GenNext digital entertainment models at National Association of Broadcasters Conference 2006

    Panasonic & IBM to showcase GenNext digital entertainment models at National Association of Broadcasters Conference 2006

    MUMBAI: Panasonic, the brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is best known, and IBM Corporation has demonstrated for the first time a collaborative environment which enables next generation digital entertainment models at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Conference 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    The companies have been working together to develop a standards-based ecosystem that will facilitate the implementation of “download and burn” entertainment models to consumer electronics devices that are SD Memory Card-enabled.

    This technology demonstration combined leading-edge Panasonic digital entertainment devices and world-class IBM technology to showcase Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) opportunities throughout the world.

    In an official statememt, Panasonic is considered by many to be the leader in CPRM consumer devices throughout Japan, and is collaborating with IBM to build worldwide support for CPRM adoption.

    The showcase includes new models that enable consumers to burn digital entertainment content obtained via the internet on physical media like SD Memory Cards; the ability to download and play content on SD Memory Card-enabled devices like mobile phones, TV’s with SD Memory Card capability, and other SD Memory Card-enabled devices; and IBM’s Media Hub framework that establishes a rich Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) ecosystem that helps clients take smart, evolutionary steps toward implementation of their SOA strategy in order to meet their business needs.

    “Through this demonstration, Panasonic wants to focus on showing a total approach toward achieving an excellent mobile entertainment solution for the customer, and CPRM is an essential part of that,” said Tetsuro Homma, general manager, SD Solution Group, Panasonic AVC Networks Company, the Matsushita Electric divisional company that is responsible for plasma TV, digital cameras, personal computers and other digital products.

    “IBM has the combination of technology, service experience, research and consulting know-how to help build worldwide support for CPRM adoption, ” said Homma.

    “This joint initiative is consistent with Panasonic’s worldwide insistence on the highest quality in the customer’s entertainment experience, whether in HD Plasma TVs, where we are the US market and technology leader, or in the mobile entertainment experience that will be demonstrated by Panasonic and IBM at the NAB Show,” added Panasonic Corporation of North America VP and chief technology officer Dr. Paul Liao.

    For the demonstrations at NAB 2006, Panasonic has been given access to IBM DMTS (Digital Media Transaction Services), a web service plug-in that enables the flow of entertainment content protected by CPRM technologies. In addition, IBM was given access to Panasonic’s broad line of SD Memory Card-enabled devices, some of which use SD-Audio and SD-Video specifications, in addition to new SD Memory Card-enabled devices, currently being evaluated for the use of CPRM functionality.

    “IBM is building on our commitment to an open digital media framework. By working together with Panasonic on this type of advanced enterprise CPRM technology, we will enable people to leverage content in new and exciting ways,” said IBM Media & Entertainment, Digital Media general manager Dick Anderson.

  • Gaming firm Electronic Arts extends deal with Fifa

    Gaming firm Electronic Arts extends deal with Fifa

    MUMBAI: With a view to increasing its presence in the gaming arena football’s governing body Fifa has announced that it has secured a long-term commitment from Electronic Arts (EA).

    The deal extends far beyond existing ventures with a licensee. EA has signed up with world football’s governing body from 2007 to 2014 as the worldwide exclusive Fifa Licensee in the product category of interactive football/soccer player, manager and fantasy software games for all delivery methods including consoles, mobile phones and online formats.

    EA says that it has had a close association with the game of football for more than a decade, having developed the very successful range of FIFA games launched in 1993 and currently with the 2006 Fifa World Cup game, which enables fans to experience the 2006 FIFA World Cup matches on a unique playing field.

    Fifa says that in the early 1990s, it pioneered the industry as the first major sports governing body to endorse a video game. In 2004, Fifa continued this pioneering spirit by launching the first officially sanctioned worldwide video gaming tournament, the FIFA Interactive World Cup. EA will pursue its support for this event and join forces with the new FIFA Partner Sony, as of 2007, to provide the gaming solution and further develop the ambitious virtual football tournament.

    Fifa adds that in the interactive world, there is a wealth of opportunities to fulfill its mission of developing football on a global level and fostering the passion of players and fans. With this renewed partnership, Fifa and EA will continue to take their combined passion for football on and off the pitch and for interactive sports entertainment to millions of fans all around the world.

  • Discovery US creates a travel division

    Discovery US creates a travel division

    MUMBAI: Discovery in the US has created a new integrated travel media business called Discovery Travel Media. This new department will include the Travel Channel, online assets including www.travelchannel.com, the recently announced broadband offering, Travel Channel Beyond as well as Video-on-Demand (VOD) and mobile platforms.
    Discovery Travel Media is the company’s first business unit that combines all of the company’s assets related to a single category into a vertically integrated organisational structure.

    Discovery US president and CEO Judith McHale says, “Discovery Travel Media will better target audiences who are spending more and more time online. This segment is growing rapidly, and is currently underserved. Research shows Discovery and its related assets outpace other media brands for trusted travel information, and Discovery Travel Media is well positioned to provide travelers with the information and services they want and need.

    “Unlike other media companies that have created separate digital divisions, Discovery Travel Media will allow for more integration, flexibility and innovation from combining our existing businesses with new multiplatform opportunities in the travel space.”
    Pat Younge, who is currently Travel Channel executive VP and GM will become full business manager for Discovery Travel Media.

    Younge says, “The Travel Channel is now in more than 84 million US cable homes, so to be able to systematically leverage our unequalled travel video archive across a range of high growth media platforms affords us the opportunity to further build brand awareness and develop new revenue drivers.

    “In the coming months we will be aggressively exploring partnerships with a range of major travel-service aggregators, as well as acquisitions of aligned businesses, as we build out the assets of Discovery Travel Media.”

    The Travel Channel claims to target people who want to experience their world, immerse themselves in new cultures and escape from the day-to-day grind of everyday life.

  • Jakks Pacific and Hit Entertainment launch new TeleStory interactive books

    Jakks Pacific and Hit Entertainment launch new TeleStory interactive books

    MUMBAI: Jakks Pacific, Inc. has inked a worldwide licensing agreement with Hit Entertainment to market and distribute Jakks Pacific’s new TeleStory interactive books based on Hit’s popular Thomas & Friends, Barney, The Wiggles and Bob the Builder properties.

    The TeleStory system connects directly into a standard TV using Plug & Read technology and serves as a fun, introductory reading guide for preschool-aged children.

    The TeleStory product creates an engaging, interactive reading and learning experience that will help in the fundamental reading development of young children, while showing them how much fun reading can be. TeleStory interactive books take what children love, the TV, and use it to introduce children to the world of reading. The TeleStory system is book-shaped, plugs directly into the A/V jacks of any standard TV, and no DVD players are needed.

    Individual “mini-book” cartridges based on popular children’s books are inserted into the TeleStory system, so that children can build their own TeleStory libraries and collect their favorite books as they grow and master reading. By pressing the large, colored buttons on each TeleStory unit, kids can interact with the story and make the characters come alive on their TV screen, while also giving them the option to read at their own pace or with assistance.

    “The core concept of TeleStory interactive books is simple. The unit plugs directly into any standard TV. Just pop in batteries and turn it on to initiate an interactive reading experience through the use of various action buttons. We know that Thomas the Tank, Barney, Bob the Builder and The Wiggles will help provide hours of entertainment for children. The TeleStory system teaches them the fundamentals of reading, helps build vocabulary, encourages their reading confidence and nurtures a life-long appreciation of reading,” explains Jakks Pacific, Inc senior vice president of licensing and media Jennifer Richmond.

    Jakks plans to launch the TeleStory product line based on the Hit properties starting in summer 2006 with the Thomas the Tank TeleStory title at mass and specialty retailers nationwide. The suggested retail price for the TeleStory unit will be approximately $35, with each two-pack of ‘mini-book’ cartridges retailing for under $15.