CHILDREN’S TV SERIES PLAZA SÉSAMO HEADS BACK IN STUDIO FOR A MILESTONE NEW SEASON FOCUSED ON HEALTH

Study: Majority of Moms Want to Share Plaza Sésamo, “an Educational & Trustworthy Brand,” with Their Child

New York, NY, and Mexico City, MEXICO, April 4, 2006
What do athlete Ana Guevara, actor Adal Ramones, and colorful singing fruits have in common? They will all be featured in Plaza Sésamo’s milestone tenth season! Shooting in Televisa’s San Angel studios starting next week, the new season focuses on Healthy Habits and includes original segments such as “Plaza Olimpiadas,” in which well-known Mexican and Latin American athletes Ana Guevara, KiKin Fonseca, and Fernando Platas encourage children and their families to lead a safe and balanced lifestyle through exercise and healthy eating habits. In “Cantando por una fruta,” Adal Ramones hosts an American Idol parody—a singing contest starring fruit Muppets! Season 10 will begin airing on Televisa and Discovery Kids in October, 2006.

The new season continues to help children in Mexico and Latin America prepare for school by presenting the cognitive fundamentals about letters and numbers, and will also feature important messages about healthy eating habits, enjoying fun activities safely, and appreciating cultural diversity. In response to high levels of preventable illnesses and injuries among preschoolers in the region, new Plaza Sésamo segments will model healthy and safe behaviors such as wearing a safety belt in the car, being physically active and eating healthy foods.  

In addition, Colombian children will see their stories come to life when they are given cameras to create live action films for the series. To assist in the creation of new animated segments, primary school Colombian children, ages 5 to 9, will participate in workshops where they tell stories which will then be visualized through their own and adult-assisted drawings. The segments are part of an effort to showcase the rich cultural diversity of Latin America, as well as enhance Plaza Sésamo’s effort to reflect the lives of children throughout the region.

Another special feature of the new season will include an Argentine family moving to Plaza Sésamo. The Plaza family will welcome the new family and learn about what makes Argentinean culture unique and how to respect and understand people from different backgrounds. 

Recent studies indicate that after almost 35 years in the Mexican and Latin American market, Plaza Sésamo continues to make a positive impact with families today. Over 94% of Moms in Mexico interviewed agree that Plaza Sésamo is educational and trustworthy. In fact, of the 72% of the Moms in Mexico who watched Plaza Sésamo as a child, 98% of them want to share that experience with their child today.¹

Plaza Sésamo is made possible by partners nonprofit educational organization Sesame Workshop, leading pan-regional Latin American pay-TV children’s network Discovery Kids, Mexico’s largest terrestrial producer and broadcaster Televisa, and US broadcaster TeleFutura. Production in Mexico is supervised by HIP TV, a division of L.A. based HIP ENTERTAINMENT GROUP.

Contact

Martha Montemayor
(52 55) 5575 1833 in Mexico
mmontemayor@ccconsultores.com.mx

¹Source: Gemark Research, Plaza Sesamo Market Research Study, Sept 2005.