CTW/Berlitz Team Up for English Programs
-- Publishers Weekly, 7/19/1999
Children's Television Workshop has developed a new Muppet character that, in cooperation with Berlitz International, is aimed at teaching basic English to children and their families around the world.Tingo will be the star of Sesame English, a multimedia learning program that features 52 15-minute episodes for television complemented by instructional materials developed by Berltiz in print, audio, video and CD-ROM formats.
While the initial programs will teach English to non-English-speaking children, plans call for the two companies to develop programs to teach other languages to English-speaking children in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Sesame English will be launched next year in China, Taiwan and Japan; CTW and Berlitz have plans to introduce the program into Europe, Latin America and North America at a later date. Berlitz will handle distribution of the complementary materials throughout the world and through a variety of channels, such as trade, direct response, education and mass market areas. Berlitz is arranging licensing agreements for markets in which it cannot handle the distribution itself.
"This is an ideal agreement that plays into the strengths of both partners," noted Berlitz's Ellen Adler. The deal will speed Berlitz's expansion into the children's market, an area in which the company has had little presence to date.
