Video: Sesame Street(R)'s Elmo Kicks Off the Holiday Season at 24-Hour Preschool Television Channel Sprout(R)

Video: Sesame Street(R)'s Elmo Kicks Off the Holiday Season at 24-Hour Preschool Television Channel Sprout(R)

Everybody's Favorite Furry Red Monster, Elmo, Makes Live Debut on Sprout, Tuesday, December 15 from 9 a.m. - noon ET on The Sunny Side Up Show Holiday Fun Continues Throughout Month of December with Themed Programming, the Premiere of Preschool Musical on Two Sticks, and the Annual Snooze-a-Thon

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, is celebrating the holiday season by welcoming everybody's favorite furry red monster, Sesame Street®'s Elmo, to the Sunshine Barn on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 from 9 a.m. - noon ET.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/sprout/36295/

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091201/NY18800 )

Elmo will appear live on The Sunny Side Up Show, along with host Sean and his puppet friend Chica the Chicken, to take calls from Sprout viewers, read birthday cards, and send out holiday wishes to families all over the country. This is a very special event for Sprout, as it marks the first live appearance of Emmy Award-winning performer and producer Kevin Clash, who is Sesame Street's Muppet Captain and force behind Elmo.

"We are delighted to have Elmo join us this holiday season on Sprout," said Andrew Beecham, senior vice president, programming at Sprout. "We can't imagine a more perfect guest to help get everyone into the holiday spirit."

And the fun doesn't stop there. Holiday themed programming will begin airing this same week, culminating on Christmas Eve with the premiere of Sprout's half-hour original special, Preschool Musical on Two Sticks (the follow-up to last year's Preschool Musical on a Stick) at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the third annual Snooze-a-Thon, featuring 12 uninterrupted hours of "keep 'em asleep" programming from 6:00 p.m. ET straight through to 6:00 a.m. ET Christmas morning.

Preschool Musical on Two Sticks features all of Sprout's favorite original characters as stick puppets in a pop-up book world, as well as a special appearance by The Wiggles. The popular Snooze-a-Thon will once again feature host Nina and her puppet sidekick Star from The Good Night Show® snoozing comfortably on the set, along with clips of beloved characters from preschool favorites like Sesame Street®, Dragon Tales(TM) and Berenstain Bears(TM) catching some zzz's. So, no matter what time of night the kids are up checking for the sound of reindeer hooves on the roof, parents can tune into Sprout to show them that even their favorite television friends are fast asleep waiting for Santa to arrive.

"Parents have told us that bedtime is the most challenging time of day, and getting children settled in on Christmas Eve can be even more difficult," said Beecham. "We help parents wind down their kids every night with The Good Night Show, but wanted to do something unique and fun for this special evening."

For additional information on Sprout programs or schedules, or to play games, download free coloring pages or find great activities for kids, visit SproutOnline.com. To find out where Sprout is available in your area, call 1.8.SPROUT.411 or go to SproutPlease.com.

About Sprout®

PBS KIDS Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, was created as a partnership among Comcast Corporation, HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop. Since debuting its video on demand (VOD) service in April 2005, Sprout has become the #1 On Demand service for younger children, generating over half a billion views. The 24-hour digital channel, which launched in September 2005 along with the website (SproutOnline.com), is the only channel that follows the day of child from breakfast to bedtime with its distinctive programming. Currently, Sprout is available in 48 million unique households.

The network's program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based children's shows includes: Sesame Street®, Bob the Builder(TM), Barney & Friends(TM), The Wiggles®, Thomas & Friends(TM), Angelina Ballerina(TM), Caillou®, The Berenstain Bears(TM), Dragon Tales(TM), Make Way For Noddy(TM), Fireman Sam(TM), Fifi and the Flowertots(TM) and more.

Video: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/sprout/36295
Source: Sprout

CONTACT: Jenni Glenn, Sprout, +1-215-286-2703,
jenni_glenn@sproutonline.com

Web Site: http://www.sproutonline.com/

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