Toronto, ON – April 14, 2008 – Brighter Minds Media, Inc. (the Company, TSX: BRI.V) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Brighter Minds Media, LLC (Brighter Minds) will develop and launch educational software for children based on HIT Entertainment’s popular preschool properties, Thomas & Friends™ and Bob the Builder™. The games will be made available both online, as downloadable games for purchase, and through traditional retail outlets starting in April 2008.
“It is exciting for us to be working with HIT Entertainment’s Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder, with a base of millions of loyal fans worldwide,” stated Sam Ifergan, Chairman and CEO of the Company. “It is our goal to provide families with a learning experience that extends the child’s interaction with the characters they know and love, and builds on the positive messages of exploration and teamwork that are central in both properties.”
“HIT Entertainment is thrilled to be partnering with Brighter Minds Media, an innovative leader in online and multimedia products that are kid-focused and family friendly,” said Rick Glankler, VP, Consumer Products, HIT Entertainment. “This partnership allows us to continue bringing engaging and entertaining content to children via an interactive platform.”
In conjunction with HIT Entertainment, Brighter Minds will release three titles in 2008, beginning in April with the release of Thomas & Friends: Special Delivery, a new interactive adventure. This title includes six educational activities such as shape sorting, color matching, logic & deduction, memory skills, counting, directions and telling time. Thomas & Friends: Special Delivery allows children to play various levels of difficulty, receive a personalized certificate of achievement when they complete certain activities, and play a bonus game. Brighter Minds will release a Bob the Builder game later in the year and a second Thomas title in 2009.
Gamelab, a top online game development company and leading innovator in the casual games space, has signed on as co-developer for the Bob the Builder series. The games will combine the ease, fun, and playability of the casual game format with traditional educational themes and objectives. These titles will be released to major online portals and downloadable venues, as well as traditional retail outlets.
Brighter Minds specializes in creating and marketing award-winning children’s educational titles in different languages around the world. “The games we are developing break the mold of traditional children’s software and we look forward to providing families with games that are not only educational but truly fun to play,” noted Ifergan.
For more information on Brighter Minds, visit www.brightermindsmedia.com. For more information on Gamelab, please visit www.gamelab.com.
About Brighter Minds Media, Inc.
Brighter Minds is a publisher of online and multimedia products for the entire family with a focus on creating wholesome and educational online games for children. Brighter Minds is also proud to offer a popular line of retail products including software, DVD games and books which are available at major retailers across the United States and Canada. All of the company’s products incorporate well-known brands such as Bob the Builder™, Caillou™, Marvel Heroes™ and DC Heroes™ characters, Jurassic Park™, PBS Kids® and Cartoon Network™. Brighter Minds is based in Columbus, Ohio and is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX: BRI.V)
About HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners, is one of the world’s leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT’s portfolio includes properties, such as Barney™, Bob the Builder™, Thomas & Friends™, Pingu™, Fireman Sam™, Angelina Ballerina™ and Rainbow Magic™. HIT represents Chapman Entertainment’s Fifi and the Flowertots™ and Roary the Racing Car™ in North America and Japan, as well as Wallace & Gromit™, Shaun the Sheep™ and Aardman Classics from Aardman Animations. HIT also acts as a worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company’s library of classic family brands and as representative for The Wiggles® in the UK. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production, content distribution, publishing, consumer products licensing and live events and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. HIT is a part-owner of US-based preschool channel, PBS KIDS SproutSM, and international preschool channel JimJam, (outside of the US, UK and China). For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.
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