(Auckland, New Zealand and New York, NY, January 18, 2011) Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street, announced today that Elmo, Big Bird and all the gang of the award-winning children’s television series are making their return to New Zealand on February 7th, on the new look channel FOUR. With an emphasis on developing early literacy and numeracy skills, the beloved Sesame Street friends will also be engaging and educating kids with lessons on healthy eating and activities, as well as enjoying and investigating the wonders of nature. Premiering February 7th, Sesame Street will be broadcast every day on FOUR at 6AM and 2PM.
Since 1969, Sesame Street put television to work as an educational tool, and independent research has repeatedly and conclusively proven that this approach succeeds in improving cognitive skills,  teaching respect and social skills, and promoting school readiness. Research has shown that children who watch Sesame Street as two-year-olds gain an advantage in math, vocabulary, and other school readiness skills by the time they are five. 
“We are thrilled to bring children and families of New Zealand the zany and loveable neighbors from Sesame Street,” says Scott Chambers, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Media Distribution, Sesame Workshop. “Together with FOUR, we are offering another generation of children an opportunity to become engaged with content that better prepares them for school and encourages them to discover the world beyond their street.”
“Sesame Workshop is the gold standard in educational children’s televisions,” says Ben Quinn, FOUR’s head of Programming.  “We at FOUR are tickled pink, red, blue and yellow to become a home for the colorful friends of Sesame Street who will bring endless hours of laughter and enjoyment to our children in New Zealand.” 
Sesame Street will be bringing an exciting roster of celebrities and original parodies to New Zealand as well. Featured celebrities include: Academy Award winners Jude Law and Jamie Foxx; Grammy Award winners Will.i.am, Usher, Jason Mraz and John Legend; International Football superstar David Beckham; Golden Globe Award winning actors Tina Fey, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman; celebrity chef Rachael Ray; actors Hugh Jackman, Greg Kinnear, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz, Debra Messing, Eva Longoria, Adrian Grenier, Neil Patrick Harris, Sandra Oh, Jack Black, Julie Bowen, Amy Poehler, Ryan Reynolds, Zoe Saldana and more.
Parodies include: “True Mud,” a play on the popular HBO series, True Blood; “The Furry Four,” a humorous take on The Fantastic Four; “Ironing Monster,” a parody of the comic book superhero Iron Man; “30 Rocks,” a play on the series 30 Rock; “Pre-School Musical,” a spoof of High School Musical; and “Are You Smarter Than an Egg Layer,” a play on the games show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized children’s television programming with the landmark Sesame Street.  The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 140 countries, and other acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The Electric Company.  Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and military deployment. Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning.  Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.
MediaWorks NZ Limited (website: www.mediaworks.co.nz) is New Zealand’s leading private sector broadcast and online media company.  Through its specialist divisions – MediaWorks TV, MediaWorks Radio and MediaWorks Interactive, it owns and operates the TV3 and FOUR television networks, national radio brands The Edge, The Rock, More FM, Kiwi FM, RadioLIVE, LiveSPORT, Solid Gold, The Breeze, George FM  and  Mai FM, plus several local radio stations, and a family of websites.
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Press Contacts
Philip Toscano
Sesame Workshop
212.875.6687
philip.toscano@sesame.org
Nicole Wood
MediaWorks TV
(09) 928 9074
nwood@mediaworks.co.nz