Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

PBS Kids Sprout recently reported they are averaging 17 million views a month on their video-on-demand programs. PBS Kids Sprout is looking at how VOD has changed how preschool households are taking in media. They are the first 24-hour preschool network on TV, on-demand and online (sprout online.com) for kids 2 to 5 and their parents. The network launched first as a VOD service in April 2005, and then began a 24-hour linear channel and Web site that September. A partnership of Comcast Corp., HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop, PBS Kids Sprout reaches 35 million households via Comcast, Cox Communications, DirecTV, Insight, RCN, Time Warner, Verizon and AT&T.;

The network offers 60 hours of VOD programming each month, including 10 hours of Spanish-language programming (Plaza Sesamo, Angelina Ballerina, Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Barney & Friends, Bob the Builder and The Berenstain Bears).

Further research on the consumers utilizing VOD revealed that the typical Sprout household is a more active media consumer; parents are 10% more likely to sit and watch TV with their preschoolers and 25% more likely to have selected a kids’ VOD program in the past six months. Also, nearly half of the Sprout viewers said they watch TV and VOD with their children daily.

Interesting, are you using VOD yet? If so, write me and tell me more. You can reply to this post. Thanks.

Straight from their hit TV show on Playhouse Disney, the Doodlebops from Cookie Jar Entertainment) will perform live at the Mall of America. Deedee, Rooney and Moe are traveling the U.S. in a live concert tour across North America. This candy-colored trio will have children and parents rockin’ and boppin’ together at the country’s largest Mall. At 1:30 p.m. families can meet in the Rotunda where they will be inspired to move and groove along with the Doodlebops as they perform some of their rockin’ hits.

Doodlebops LIVE! is taking place at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday, April 4. Tickets are available at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office and all area Ticketmaster locations or online.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks” will be released to DVD on April 1st. Funny, mischievous and very adventurous, Alvin, Simon and Theodore come to life in this silly family film. “Alvin and the Chipmunks, “originally created in 1958 by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr, have delighted audiences around the world with 16 studio records which have garnered five Grammy Awards, notably with their Christmas perennial favorite “The Chipmunk Song.”

“Animal Planet: Growing Up Wild Cats” also comes out in DVD on April 1st. This is a big cat-themed collection of four complete episodes: “Growing Up Lion,” “Growing Up Tiger,” “Growing Up Cheetah,” and “Growing Up Black Leopard.” Each installment features rescued or orphaned cubs and the compassionate caretakers who nurture them as they venture into adulthood. From bottle feedings, first steps and first bath to learning how to swim, these bold and bouncy babies discover how to adapt to their newly adopted homes while at the same time learning how to survive with other big cats.

Winners of Nickelodeon’s 2008 Kids’ Choice Awards include
Movies
Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks
Actress: Jessica Alba
Actor: Johnny Depp
Voice in an Animated Movie: Eddie Murphy in Shrek the Third
Animated Movie: Ratatouille

TV
Show: Drake & Josh
Reality Show: American Idol
Actress: Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana)
Actor: Drake Bell (Drake & Josh)
Cartoon: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Music
Music Group: The Jonas Brothers
Female Singer: Miley Cyrus
Male Singer: Chris Brown
Song: Girlfriend (Avril Lavigne)

Sports
Male Athlete: Tony Hawk
Female Athlete: Danica Patrick
Wannabe
Cameron Diaz
Other Categories
Video Game: Madden NFL ’08
Book: Harry Potter (series)

Last, for those of you who haven’t heard it, check out The Mom Song” sung to the William Tell Overture.

Entertainment media company, Maitland Primrose Group, who operates and owns Moving Pictures Magazine and The Maitland Primrose Film Distribution (MPFD) arm will premiere their first theatrical movie “The Legend of Tillamook’s Gold” in Mesa, Arizona this weekend – March 28 at Harkins’ Superstition Theater in Mesa, Arizona. The film was a huge success at the KIDS FIRST! Film Festivals around the country and features Brian McNamara of Lifetime TV show, “Army Wives.” The film tells the story of teenage sleuth, Julie Kimbell, who searches for a legendary treasure buried in the mountains of Tillamook, Oregon.

Maitland Primrose Group will designate a portion of the proceeds from “The Legend of Tillamook’s Gold” matinee screenings on Saturday, March 29th to Save The Family in Mesa, Arizona and Sunday, March 30’s matinees to the International Cancer Advocacy Network (ICAN.)

Later this year, Maitland Primrose will release “The Legend of Tillamook’s Gold” on DVD through Questar Inc. followed by a premiere TV showing on Starz! Pay Television in October.

Busy parents are using video on demand for safe, affordable, and convenient kids’ entertainment. It seems that the buzz for VOD began over a decade ago and yet, it’s only now that people are seriously turning to it as a viable alternative to traditional forms of accessing media.

Earlier this month, Verizon announced how their customers are increasingly embracing interactive television to find family-friendly entertainment they can enjoy whenever their hectic schedules allow. This home-entertainment trend is reflected in the selections that Verizon FiOS TV subscribers are making from the thousands of titles in the service’s free video-on-demand library. Not surprising that in February, the most popular titles were family fare.

“In February, we saw the continuation of a strong trend of families taking advantage of our free video-on-demand service to access kid-friendly entertainment,” said Shawn Strickland, Verizon vice president of video solutions. “Because we’re delivering FiOS TV over the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network, straight to customer’s doors, families are now able to access interactive video services that help them save time and money, and enjoy unparalleled picture quality and programming choices for all their TV viewing.”

In February, the most-watched free FiOS TV video-on-demand titles were:
1. The Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place, Season 1: Episode 10: Potion Commotion”
2. The Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana, Season 2: Episode 1: Cuffs Will Keep Us Together”
3. The Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Season 3: Episode 19: Foiled Again”
4. Nickelodeon’s “Backyardigans: Quest for the Flying Rock”
5. Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer: School Pet”
6. Nickelodeon’s “Fairly OddParents: Baby Face”
7. The Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana, Season 2: Episode 20: Bye Bye Ball”
8. Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer: Leon, The Circus Lion”
9. The Disney Channel’s “Minutemen”
10. Nickelodeon’s “Diego: Chito and Rita Spectacled Bears”

Strickland said that three key factors are driving family home-entertainment trends: affordability, safety and convenience. “Families want to break away from video store membership dues, late fees and the hassles of squeezing in those trips to the rental store to pick up and return DVDs,” he said. “They want entertainment that is instantly available, fits their budget and that they can trust to be family-friendly. FiOS TV’s video on demand fits the bill.”
Customers access video on demand simply by pressing the “VOD” or “On Demand” button on their remote control, by using a menu on FiOS TV’s interactive media guide, or selecting the VOD channel.

Verizon’s collection of on-demand programming for children and families is one of the largest in the industry and includes programming from Discovery Kids, Nickelodeon, PBS Kids Sprout and others. FiOS TV’s industry-leading video-on-demand family programming also includes free content from the Disney Channel. In addition, FiOS offers parental controls that let parents decide what’s off-limits for their kids.

In addition to family fare, Verizon offers its FiOS TV subscribers more than 10,000 video-on-demand titles each month, 60 percent of which are free. Also, subscribers to HBO, Cinemax or FiOS TV’s Movie Package, which includes Showtime, Starz, the Movie Channel and Encore, automatically have on-demand access to past and present episodes of original programming and movie releases.