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Library Video Company and Educate Products, a division of Educate, Inc., have announced a multiyear distribution partnership for the PBS children's series Reading Rainbow. Under the agreement, Library Video Company will distribute the entire series library, all 148 currently available programs and five new episodes, which will broadcast on PBS this fall.
SAFARI Montage, Library Video Company's digital video-on-demand solution for schools and school districts, will have exclusive digital distribution of Reading Rainbow. Library Video Company will also offer the programs on DVD and VHS. Co-founded by WNED, Reading Rainbow was first aired in 1983. It's designed to help children hone their reading skills and is seen by more than two million viewers each week.
Educate Products, a leading pre-K-12 education products and services company, recently purchased GPN Educational Media, one of the largest national distributors and producers of educational and instructional media, including the Reading Rainbow library and 3,000 additional educational titles. GPN's award-winning productions and instructional materials are used each year by millions of children, students, and adults throughout the world.
"This distribution partnership with Library Video Company is an exciting opportunity for Educate Products to expand the reach of the GPN library and media resources," said Dan Hamby, general manager of GPN and recently hired by Educate Products to lead the venture. "Now students and teachers nationwide will benefit from having Reading Rainbow and its supporting educational materials accessible via the SAFARI Montage digital delivery solution."
"Today's educators are under more pressure than ever before to provide quality programming and instruction for kids," said Chip Paucek, President of Educate Products. "With Library Video Company's digital distribution of Reading Rainbow shows, teachers and librarians will have increased access to this effective and engaging educational series at their fingertips."
SAFARI Montage currently comes pre-loaded with one of three core content packages based on grade range (K-8, 9-12, or K-12). All core content packages come with more than 1,000 titles of the very best educational programs from the world's most preeminent publishers. SAFARI Montage is designed with extra bays to accommodate more quality programming, and has the ability to add self-created content.
Earlier this year, in a move to keep Reading Rainbow on the air, the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (WNED) and Educate, Inc., formed a business partnership to co-produce the show until 2007. According to PBS spokesperson Stephanie Aaronson, the partnership is not an unusual circumstance for public broadcasting.
PBS has a long tradition of public-private partnerships from production to home video distribution to community engagement, she explained. Also these shows are produced independently -- all shows are, PBS does not produce -- so shows come from various production companies and stations. She added that Capitol Hill has encouraged more public-private partnerships to support limited public funds while reaching more audiences.
Educate also owns the popular Hooked on Phonics brand as well as Sylvan Learning Centers. The company plans on introducing a line of Reading Rainbow products and programs, which it has exclusive rights to market and sell.
This is an exciting move because Reading Rainbow has struggled for eons to get the financial resources it needs to survive, said Jilly Goldstein, vice president of strategy and education for Educate and former vice president of education at PBS. With this partnership, we'll be able to ensure the future of a great show as well as conserve its integrity and quality for a new generation of kids.
MORE INFO
Educate, Inc. www.educate-inc.com
Library Video Company www.libraryvideo.com
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