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Tag: Sesame Workshop

  • Sesame Street’s new global playground: Netflix

    Sesame Street’s new global playground: Netflix

    MUMBAI: Netflix has tossed a lifeline to Sesame Street, bringing the beloved children’s show to its 300 million subscribers while keeping it on PBS in the US. The 56-year-old kids’ favourite will now stream new episodes on both Netflix and PBS on the same day, a rescue move after HBO dropped its funding.

    The deal is a double delight for Sesame Street fans—new episodes will be available worldwide on Netflix, while PBS viewers in the US will continue to get free access. But behind the cheerful puppets, it’s a story of survival.

    Sesame Workshop, the non-profit behind the iconic show, has been struggling financially after losing its lucrative HBO deal, which paid $30 million to $35 million a year. Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO’s parent, decided to drop the series as it shifts away from children’s content.

    To cope with the financial blow, Sesame Workshop laid off 20 per cent of its staff this year and warned that the Netflix deal will bring in significantly less revenue. But it’s not all doom and gloom. With Netflix’s global reach and PBS’s trusted brand, Sesame Street is now set to reach more kids than ever.

    In Season 56, the show will focus on character-driven stories, with each episode featuring an 11-minute tale packed with humour and heart. Classic characters like Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster will return, along with a peek inside the iconic 123 Sesame Street building.

    “This unique public-private partnership allows us to continue our mission of educating kids, now with Netflix’s global reach and PBS’s community trust,” said Sesame Workshop CEO Sherrie Rollins Westin.

    Sesame Street’s Netflix run will also include 90 hours of classic episodes, bringing the joy of learning to a new generation.

     For kids and parents, the message is clear: the street is still where the fun and learning meet.

  • Sports innovation efforts lead at IBC2024 Innovation Awards

    Sports innovation efforts lead at IBC2024 Innovation Awards

    AMSTERDAM –The winners of the IBC Innovation Awards – which recognise collaborative efforts to develop solutions that address real-world industry challenges – were announced on 15 August at the Rai Amsterdam. They consisted of five categories: content creation, distribution, content everywhere, social impact, and environment and sustainability. 

    With 2024 being the year of big sporting events like the Olympics and UEFA European football championships, four of the five winners were those who had innovated in this area. 

     “Recognising and fostering industry innovation at every level is core to what IBC does, and these awards play a critical role in honouring and encouraging truly ground-breaking work,” said IBC CEO Michael Crimp. “This year’s expanded awards spotlight the fact that there are many areas in which we are seeing the media community collaborate to take us in new, exciting directions. I congratulate this year’s winners for demonstrating the co-operation, imagination and determination needed to really impact our industry.”

    The winners in the five IBC Innovation Awards categories were: 

    Content Creation
    * Olympic Broadcasting Services and partners for live broadcast production with more than 200 smartphones contributing video for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony and a sea-based 5G network for sailing competitions in Marseille.

    Content Distribution
    * The National Hockey League, in partnership with Verizon, AWS, Zixi, Vizrt and Evertz, for producing a 5G and Edge compute framework for assembly, control and delivery of live broadcast.

    Content Everywhere
    * LaLiga for working with Play Anywhere and Ease Live to enable true fan interactivity for itself and its worldwide broadcast and streaming partners.  

    Social Impact
    * Sesame Workshop for its Watch Play Learn Distribution Hub, which allows government agencies and aid organisations to preview and request videos for children in crisis settings.

    Environment & Sustainability 
    * France Télévisions for reducing CO2 emissions by 300 tonnes via a pioneering 100 per cent glass-to-glass cloud production and private 5G network, as it broadcast a 24/7 channel providing coverage of the Olympic torch relay for Paris 2024.

    Also at the 2024 Innovation Awards, this year’s IBC International Honour for Excellence (IHFE) – announced in August – was formally presented to Ukraine’s Mstyslav Chernov for his work as a video journalist and filmmaker. Chernov directed 20 Days in Maripoul, the multi-award-winning documentary chronicling the siege of the city by Russian forces in 2022, when he and his Associated Press (AP) team were among the last journalists there. He previously covered conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Nagorno-Karabakh (in Azerbaijan) and the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan after the US withdrawal.
    The Best Technical Paper Award, another pre-announced honour presented at the Innovation Awards, was given to Joshua Maraval, Nicolas Ramin, and Lu Zhang for their paper Advancements in Radiance Field Techniques for Volumetric Video Generation: A Technical Overview. The authors, who are from the Institut de Recherche Technologique,  and the Institut d’Electronique et des Technologies du numéRique, were seeking an efficient solution to the complex problem of capturing and rendering volumetric video for three-dimensional VR experiences.

     

  • Do kids of today prefer OTT over TV?

    Do kids of today prefer OTT over TV?

    MUMBAI: There’s a tug of war going on today with both parties equally strong. On the one side, we have linear TV singing its praises and OTT on the other side glorifying its advantages.

    No matter which side you pick, you’ll notice that kids’ content has always been sidelined. In its initial TV phase, kids’ content was loaded with syndicated programmes and it is only now that home-grown content is a part of it. This is because producing local content is more expensive than producing Hindi GECs. As per the 2018 KPMG report, the importance of the kids’ audience in Indian TV in the age group of 2-14 years accounted for 20 per cent of all TV impressions in 2017 with a high stickiness for the above mentioned target audience, with average time spent ranging from 35-60 minutes. Moreover, as per reports, industry experts believe that owning IPs and localisation of content is going to be a way forward for the category which is expected to grow by 10-14 per cent in 2018.

    As per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data, 29 per cent of kids like watching Hindi GECs, followed by 18 per cent for Hindi movies and only 11 per cent kids consume kids’ channels. This could be due to parallel viewing that is done by kids while parents watch other channels. But, in the last two years, kids’ channels have observed a hike in the time spent by kids despite the fact that kids spend 26 per cent of their time on Hindi GECs. Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam are the regional languages that work quite well in the kids' segment.

    Coming back to digital trends, as per the report, 57 per cent of parents say that their child prefers a device other than the TV to watch video content. Mobile devices offer versatility, simple user interface and a ‘personal’ viewing experience. Also, nearly 50 per cent of parents say that when their kids misbehave, to punish them, they take away their tablet and make them just ‘watch TV instead’– creating a generation of kids for whom ‘TV is punishment.’ When the parents’ favourite shows are on such as the IPL, the remotes are automatically snatched away from kids and replaced with smartphones. These phones hold a wider world of content for kids right from Netflix to Amazon to YouTube Kids.

    Kids’ eagerness has also fuelled the digital content market with new dedicated platforms being launched for them. In 2016, nexGTv launched ‘nexGTv Kids’ app with videos and infotainment for kids. Later on, Viacom18’s Voot built a strong vertical around kids followed by YouTube’s YouTube Kids in partnership with ChuChuTV, Toonz Animation, Sesame Workshop and Appu Series in India. Sony LIV too introduced its new platform LIV Kids in Hindi and English.

    However, as per the KPMG report, 97 per cent of children still prefer television over other digital media. As compared to kids’ TV channels, digital has emerged stronger in the past few years due to convenience and availability. So, the tug of war goes on for now with both sides tugging equally.

  • CBeebies re-commissions ‘The Furchester Hotel’ series from Sesame Workshop

    CBeebies re-commissions ‘The Furchester Hotel’ series from Sesame Workshop

    MUMBAI: CBeebies and Sesame Workshop will be bringing back The Furchester Hotel series once again as it has been re-commissioned for a 50×11 minute run, plus a double length Christmas special.

    Joining the family and checking into the hotel will be special guests from Sesame Street, Big Bird, Count Von Count and the Martians.

    The Furchester Hotel is a series for three – six year-olds set in the ‘almost’ world-class hotel run by a close-knit family of cheerfully chaotic monsters. As guests arrive at the hotel they are greeted by monster owner Funella Furchester, her loving husband, Furgus Fuzz, and their daughter, the unflappable Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz. The Furchesters are joined by Elmo, Phoebe’s cousin who is on an extended visit and Cookie Monster, who has landed his dream job as room service and dining room waiter. Completing the ensemble is Isabel, a furry bell monster – guests won’t get any attention until she dings to announce their arrival!

    New episodes of The Furchester Hotel, which goes into production at MediaCityUk in May, will feature more music, more creative problem solving, and more physical comedy than ever. Expect slapstick, farce, doors opening and closing, revolving doors revolving, and lifts going up and down and back up again. With storylines including an Aquarium Suite for fish guests, a visit from Vidal Raccoon – famous fur cutter, and The Great Furchester Bake-off!

    The Furchester Hotel has been commissioned by CBeebies controller Kay Benbow and is a co-production between CBeebies and Sesame Workshop.

    Speaking about the series Benbow says, “The partnership between CBeebies and Sesame Workshop is really special as we both share core values of producing fun, high quality, innovative programming for a younger audience that children love and parents trust. And I can’t wait to Welcome Big Bird to Salford!”

    “We’re so excited that The Furchester Hotel will be welcoming new guests on CBeebies for seasons three and four. It’s a thrill to coproduce new entertaining and educational episodes of this furry and funny series that we know children around the world love,” adds Sesame Workshop SVP and GM international media business Maura Regan.

    The Furchester Hotel is a co-production between CBeebies and Sesame Workshop. The second series of The Furchester Hotel will go into production in May for 14 weeks in the studio and will be transmitted on CBeebies later in the year.

  • CBeebies re-commissions ‘The Furchester Hotel’ series from Sesame Workshop

    CBeebies re-commissions ‘The Furchester Hotel’ series from Sesame Workshop

    MUMBAI: CBeebies and Sesame Workshop will be bringing back The Furchester Hotel series once again as it has been re-commissioned for a 50×11 minute run, plus a double length Christmas special.

    Joining the family and checking into the hotel will be special guests from Sesame Street, Big Bird, Count Von Count and the Martians.

    The Furchester Hotel is a series for three – six year-olds set in the ‘almost’ world-class hotel run by a close-knit family of cheerfully chaotic monsters. As guests arrive at the hotel they are greeted by monster owner Funella Furchester, her loving husband, Furgus Fuzz, and their daughter, the unflappable Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz. The Furchesters are joined by Elmo, Phoebe’s cousin who is on an extended visit and Cookie Monster, who has landed his dream job as room service and dining room waiter. Completing the ensemble is Isabel, a furry bell monster – guests won’t get any attention until she dings to announce their arrival!

    New episodes of The Furchester Hotel, which goes into production at MediaCityUk in May, will feature more music, more creative problem solving, and more physical comedy than ever. Expect slapstick, farce, doors opening and closing, revolving doors revolving, and lifts going up and down and back up again. With storylines including an Aquarium Suite for fish guests, a visit from Vidal Raccoon – famous fur cutter, and The Great Furchester Bake-off!

    The Furchester Hotel has been commissioned by CBeebies controller Kay Benbow and is a co-production between CBeebies and Sesame Workshop.

    Speaking about the series Benbow says, “The partnership between CBeebies and Sesame Workshop is really special as we both share core values of producing fun, high quality, innovative programming for a younger audience that children love and parents trust. And I can’t wait to Welcome Big Bird to Salford!”

    “We’re so excited that The Furchester Hotel will be welcoming new guests on CBeebies for seasons three and four. It’s a thrill to coproduce new entertaining and educational episodes of this furry and funny series that we know children around the world love,” adds Sesame Workshop SVP and GM international media business Maura Regan.

    The Furchester Hotel is a co-production between CBeebies and Sesame Workshop. The second series of The Furchester Hotel will go into production in May for 14 weeks in the studio and will be transmitted on CBeebies later in the year.

  • Turner, Sesame Workshop launch preschool educational series ‘Chamki Ki Duniya’

    Turner, Sesame Workshop launch preschool educational series ‘Chamki Ki Duniya’

    MUMBAI: Turner Broadcasting and Sesame Workshop have joined hands to launch a new preschool educational series called Chamki Ki Duniya, which will be aired on Pogo.

     

    Chamki Ki Duniya, which is the second venture between Turner and Sesame Workshop, will air on weekdays at 8:30 am. Kuala Lumpur based animation studio Inspidea has been commissioned for the animation of the series.

     

    Prior to this, Turner and Sesame Workshop had partnered to create five seasons of Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian adaptation of the popular American series, Sesame Street.

     

    Turner International Asia Pacific chief content officer – kids networks Mark Eyers said, “Chamki Ki Duniya is a unique show that not only will be the first completely animated series by Sesame Street, but will also encourage social and emotional development of children in a narrative that is fun and entertaining. Turner has always believed in setting benchmarks for creating innovative and engaging content. With the largest portfolio of local content in the kids’ genre, we strive to create content and characters that resonate with children.”

     

    Chamki Ki Duniya takes young viewers on a journey with five-year-old Chamki, an adventurous and inquisitive schoolgirl, anxious to learn more about the world. A warm, sensitive and friendly girl, Chamki is always surrounded by her group of friends from the galli, who love playing games, making music and solving mysteries around them.

     

    The show addresses topics such as early literacy, creative thinking and reasoning, family and community life, healthy habits, appreciating cultural plurality and many more via compelling and humorous stories, music and art. The series is targeted towards children between two and six years of age.

     

    “It’s wonderful to work with Turner and Inspidea to bring the beloved Chamki Muppet to kids and families in this beautiful new animation. Being smart means knowing so much more than letters and numbers. Chamki Ki Duniya’s curriculum is designed to engage the whole child and seeks to help kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder,” said Sesame Workshop India managing director Sashwati Banerjee.

     

    Inspidea managing director Andrew Ooi added, “We are delighted to have partnered with Turner and Sesame Workshop in producing this path breaking series that aims to subtly and humorously educate children. After detailed research and development with Turner and Sesame Street, we created a visual style for Chamki Ki Duniya, which is charming yet playful that can resonate with Indian audiences and be culturally relevant.”

     

    Chamki Ki Duniya is sponsored by MetLife Foundation as part of its global “Dream, Save, Do: Financial Empowerment for Families” campaign. Part of the content in the series is intended to improve knowledge, language and strategies on financial literacy and increase the dialogue between parents and children to help them make informed choices around spending, saving and sharing to help them realize their financial and non-financial goals.

  • Busch Entertainment Corp & Sesame Workshop expand partnership

    Busch Entertainment Corp & Sesame Workshop expand partnership

    MUMBAI: Busch Entertainment Corporation (BEC), the family entertainment subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., has signed a long-term agreement with nonprofit educational organisation Sesame Workshop to create fixed Sesame Street-themed attractions in four of its U.S. parks — SeaWorld California in San Diego, SeaWorld Texas in San Antonio, Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, Fla., and Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, Va.

    Also as part of this agreement, Sesame Workshop has agreed to extend BEC’s license to feature Sesame Street characters in Sesame Place, the company’s Langhorne, Pa. park. Sesame Place, is a theme park based on Sesame Street that was opened in 1980. Most recently, Sesame Place opened ‘Elmo’s World,’an all-new land with three new rides themed after the popular red furry monster.

    In addition, the Sesame Street characters will make periodic appearances at SeaWorld Florida in Orlando beginning in 2007, informs an official release.

    “Sesame Workshop and Busch Entertainment both aim to bring families fun and interactive experiences. We commend Busch Entertainment for their 26 years of partnership with Sesame Place and we look forward to extending this commitment through new Sesame Street locations in SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks that will transform the entertaining and educational features of the television series into memorable experiences for families across the country,” said Sesame Workshop president and CEO Gary E. Knell.

    BEC president and chairman of the Board Keith M. Kasen said, “Over the past 26 years we have come to appreciate just how well known and loved the Sesame characters are and the kind of connection guests can make with them in a theme park setting like Sesame Place. The deal we are announcing today allows us to offer these kinds of experiences at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. These parks combined play host to more than 19 million people each year.”

    Kasen also added that the partnership with Sesame Workshop will enhance BEC’s long tradition of delivering high-quality family entertainment to its guests with attractions at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens that will include family rides, water elements, live character shows, 4-D film attractions or character dining programs. These Sesame-themed attractions will begin in the next several months as part of the deal, which establishes BEC as the exclusive U.S. theme park partner of Sesame Workshop.

    “We will provide our guests with attractions that showcase wonderful characters like Ernie and Bert, Big Bird, Elmo and Oscar the Grouch, and do it in a way that fits with the unique themes of our SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks.” Kasen said.

    Plans call for the first Sesame-themed attraction to open in 2008. However, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, adds the release.

  • Sesame Workshop expands opportunities for kids to play with ‘Sesame Street’ friends

    Sesame Workshop expands opportunities for kids to play with ‘Sesame Street’ friends

    MUMBAI: Preschoolers will soon have more opportunities to play with Bert, Ernie, Grover and Elmo. Play With Me Sesame’s worldwide success has led Sesame Workshop to greenlight production of 26 new episodes of the interactive series. In addition, the series is one of the shows included in Sesame program blocks debuting in Poland, Hungary and Croatia.

    Play With Me Sesame encourages children to get up and play games such as Ernie Says (a la Simon Says) and Move and Groove with Grover along with their favorite muppets from Sesame Street. Broadcast in over 50 countries, the series is currently seen on such networks as Disney UK, Disney Asia, ABC Australia, YTV/Treehouse Canada, Cartoon Network India and Rai Sat Italy. The 104 30-minute episodes include a mix of new and classic Sesame Street segments that focus on fundamental concepts critical to reading, math and science, and encourage creativity and individual expression.

    Play With Me Sesame is one of the programs featured in new Sesame programming blocks in Poland, Hungary and Croatia. On Poland’s Minimini, the recently launched Sesame Nook includes Elmo’s World, Play With Me Sesame, Global Grover and Sesame English. In December, broadcaster Minimax will begin airing a Sesame block with Play With Me Sesame, Elmo’s World and Global Grover, in Hungary, Romania Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The three series will also be seen in Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovena, Serbia and Montenegro, starting in early 2007, in a block on broadcaster Magma.

    “The expansion of the Sesame brand through wonderfully interactive shows like Play With Me Sesame and Elmo’s World give children around the globe new ways to experience fun and learning in the way Sesame does it best. We are excited to bring more games to children with the addition of new episodes of Play With Me Sesame and thrilled that children throughout Eastern Europe will have the chance to interact with friends like Grover and Elmo,” said Worldwide Television Distribution vice president Jennifer Monier-Williams.

    Play With Me Sesame is produced by Games Productions Inc. in association with Noggin and Sesame Workshop. The series will be available to international buyers and co-producers at the Mipcom market at Cannes in October.

  • Sesame Workshop promotes Schneiderman to manager of international TV distribution

    Sesame Workshop promotes Schneiderman to manager of international TV distribution

    MUMBAI: Sesame Workshop has promoted Celia Schneiderman to manager international television distribution. Responsible for program sales in Asia, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and in-flight, Schneiderman will report to Sesame Workshop international television distribution vice president Renee Mascara.

    Schneiderman was recently international television distribution coordinator where she oversaw details of the Workshop’s participation at international television trade shows including Mipcom, MipTV, Natpe, LA Screenings and Asia TV Forum. She was responsible for generating sales reports and served as a liaison to the Workshop’s broadcasters.

    “Since joining Sesame Workshop, Celia has demonstrated a deep interest in learning all aspects of international television sales and has developed a strong knowledge of the market that will be an asset to our broadcasters,” said Mascara.

    Previously, Schneiderman was a research specialist at Cushman & Wakefield where she wrote market reports and provided market analysis information. She also served as an advertising service coordinator at Cahners Publishing.

  • ‘Culturally, linguistically diverse India is a test case for us’ : Sesame Workshop India ED Sashwati Banerjee

    ‘Culturally, linguistically diverse India is a test case for us’ : Sesame Workshop India ED Sashwati Banerjee

     For both Sesame Workshop and its newly-appointed executive director for Indian operations, Sashwati Banerjee, India is a big challenge. The US-based Sesame Workshop might have revolutionized pre-school education through various initiatives, including the path-breaking TV show Sesame Street, but replicating a global model here will be a tough task.

    Rather, if communications expert Banerjee is to be believed, Sesame Workshop is adopting an entirely new game plan for India, apart from innovating on some aspects that incorporate what it has done in other parts of the globe. She agrees that India may become the incubator for a model that could be replicated elsewhere too.

    Founded in 1968, Sesame Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programmes and products are engaging and enriching.

    For Banerjee, who’s dabbled in various assignments from India to Hong Kong to the US, the changeover to children’s education from healthcare communications is a step that was not taken easily. But after initial doubts were cleared by Sesame Workshop CEO Gary Knell, it has been hectic work for the lady who grew up and studied in Delhi, but spent quite a few years in Hong Kong doing “this and that”, as she would modestly say.

    In this conversation with Indiantelevision.com’s Anjan Mitra, Banerjee spells out her priorities and gives a glimpse into Workshop’s plans for India. She also cribs a bit on procedural delays and lack of readily available comprehensive data/research on government-aided education initiatives and child behaviour.

    Excerpts:

    What’s the aim of setting up Sesame Workshop India?
    Sesame Workshop India would primarily be the outreach arm to promote early childhood initiative and the educational curriculum of Galli Galli Sim Sim (the Indian version of Sesame Street) through a multi media platform, especially to children who are most in need or underserved. The educational curriculum of Galli Galli… has been designed by Indian educators, researchers and writers keeping in mind India’s cultural and social diversity and needs.

    How will that be done?
    What Sesame Workshop really brings to the table is technical knowledge and expertise in early childhood education and development. These are the two broad areas we are working with. How will it go about doing it? One arm of the education initiative is the television show Galli Galli… which is going to be broadcast on Cartoon Network, Pogo and (terrestrial broadcaster) Doordarshan. The other aspect of the initiative is to see how we can extend and reinforce that learning through a variety of other activities with the help of technology to bridge the digital divide.

    The target audience is children aged between two to six years and their caregivers, which include parents and teachers using educational materials that are fun and make learning engaging “because all children deserve a chance to dream and discover, to understand the world and their place in it, to reach their highest potential…”

    We would be working with other organizations that are already active in this field and our mandate is to help them develop programmes that will take such initiatives forward.
    ‘Seed Funding has been provided by Turner India‘

    How would Sesame Workshop leverage Galli Galli…?
    Television is just one of the ways in which the educational curriculum will be delivered is television. Sesame Workshop India will help to deliver Galli Galli… across other mediums – from print, training, interpersonal communication to high technology initiatives like the internet. While the television series is expected to reach audiences across India, there is still a large population who have limited or no access to television. It is through Sesame Workshop India’s outreach efforts that this population will be reached.

    Moreover, research has shown that children who watch Sesame Street or its various local versions in countries round the globe are better prepared for school in terms of cognitive learning and the show has helped prevent children from dropping out of school.

    When is Galli Galli Sim Sim likely to make its debut on Cartoon Network and Pogo?
    Galli Galli Sim Sim will premiere on Cartoon Network in mid-August after which it will be aired on Pogo. But for those broadcasting details, Turner is best placed to provide more information.

    How is Sesame Workshop funding its initiatives in India?
    Seed Funding has been provided by Turner India (a Time Warner company). Sesame Workshop India, like any other not-for-profit organization, will raise funds to support its activities in India.

    When Indiantelevision.com spoke to Sesame CEO Gary Knell, he had said corporate houses too would be roped in for funding activities. Has any development taken place in this regard?
    Those things would take place after we set up shop formally and get our basic act in place. Presently, we are in the process of getting our clearances from various government agencies.

    However, we’d like to tap big corporate houses for funds as part of a corporate’s social responsibilities. There are quite a few business houses that are involved in educational initiatives and we’ll look at partnering with them in various ways.

    What role would the Indian government play in Sesame’s scheme of things? What are those few things that Sesame must consider as it goes forward?
    In order to understand the critical priorities of the Indian government – where Sesame Workshop can collaborate, and highlight areas of concern – Sesame Workshop had organized a workshop that brought together a cross-section of relevant stakeholders in New Delhi in early December 2005.

    Briefly, the discussions were participative and each government department and agency, professional educational bodies, and the voluntary sector brought their own set of issues to the fore providing for comprehensive inputs towards future planning and strategy. In fact, there was a consensus around the fact that the media can help overcome constraints posed by the existing administrative structures across the country, which are highly segmented.

    We are hoping to work with diverse partners, develop and create innovative materials and build capacity at all levels. Our vision is to reach as many children as possible in India by partnering with government’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan or Universal Education programme with material that will make learning joyful and help the government in reaching its educational objectives.

    Considering Turner International India had provided the money for a corpus, what would be its role?
    Turner is the TV series’ co-producer and distributor of Galli Galli Sim Sim. Together, Sesame Workshop and Turner are committed to making Galli Galli Sim Sim a break-through educational programme and brand. Sesame and Turner are working closely to ensure that India’s children will have access to this new show and its educational messages, and are actively pursuing promoting the show on multiple platforms across India.

    Is the telecast deal with Turner exclusive or can it be done with other broadcasters in other Indian languages too?
    As far as the agreement with Turner is concerned, all I can say is that it’s for at least five years or five seasons of Galli, Galli… I cannot hand out any financial details or presently comment on the fact whether we can work with other broadcasters or not.

    Generally, Sesame Workshop works with the public service broadcaster of the country concerned, but there had been some initial problems with Doordarshan, which, I am told, have been sorted out now by Turner India.

    India is a vast country and getting educational initiatives in all the local languages would not be possible. But we would certainly be exploring at least one South Indian language, if not two, apart from Hindi. The details haven’t yet been worked out and would be done in consultation with Turner.

    Will the Indian ops undertake merchandising activities too?
    We are focusing on the launch of the show and have nothing to announce at the moment.

    How are such merchandising activities done elsewhere in the world?
    Sesame Workshop operates in 120 different countries. The modus operandi varies from country to country and partner to partner.

    How is the revenue generated from such activities used and what will be the game plan for India?
    Like I said, Sesame Workshop is a not-for-profit organization. Any revenue generated through merchandising or licensing go towards providing quality early childhood education and development around the world – to those who are most in need.

    How important is India as a market for Sesame?
    Of the 103 million children aged 2-6 years, over 35 per cent in rural areas and 48 per cent in urban areas can’t access Early Childhood Care and Education. Roughly 100 million live in urban slums alone, which have no access to Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) that is the primary vehicle for Early Childhood Care and Education in India.

    While Early Childhood Care and Education is definitely a felt need and lot of efforts have been put in by the government and private institutions, other issues like malnutrition and child heath take precedence for ICDS. Demand has never been an issue in education. Supply is what we need to focus on.

    Does Sesame Workshop feel that the Indian regulatory environment requires too many procedural clearances impeding quick start of operations?
    Actually, the Indian regulatory environment has been extremely supportive for us. We have had representation from the government and other public education bodies right from conceptualization to production of Galli Galli Sim Sim, which is being produced for Turner by Miditech. We work closely with Indian educators to arrive at the educational curriculum that looks at ‘whole child’ approach and is very much in line with the education policy of this country.

    However, India is a test case for Sesame Workshop as it is uniquely ahead of most developing countries in terms of market and economy and the size of population. More importantly, India is not a donor funded country as sizeable infrastructure is being built by Indians. Then in India, we are not working primarily with the terrestrial broadcaster, unlike in other countries. We do hope that the time block on DD will continue airing Galli Galli… for a long time to come.

    I don’t see Galli Galli… broadcasting in 22 Indian languages. What we can do is to take the essence of educational initiatives and roll it out in outreach that can happen in multiple languages.

    In those terms, India is a learning experience for Sesame to see what kind of partnerships work best and how sustainable models can be built up for impact in a country that is culturally and linguistically diverse.