New Chinese-language Sesame Street airs on East Coast

Finally, 芝麻街 (Sesame Street) in Mandarin! Two Chinese-produced series — Big Bird Looks at the World and Fun Fun Elmo made their debut in the United States on July 30th. The shows are running on SinoVision, the largest U.S. Chinese language television program broadcaster, serving the Chinese community in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island, and sections of Pennsylvania. Their web site is sinovision.net.

For those who live outside of the area reached by SinoVision, please contact your local Chinese language TV station and request that they air the shows. Contacts are

Sesame Workshop’s developing Chinese Culture and Language initiative will not only cater to the vast populations of Chinese communities in the U.S., but will also encourage Chinese cultural appreciation and exchange, using locally developed content from China. Newly developed content from Fun Fun Elmo introduces viewers to Mandarin language through new animation and live action films shot in China, underscored by catchy music. Live action segments follow local children in modern-day China, as their authentically daily lives interweave with the curriculum from episodes. The Fun Fun Elmo series will especially encourage Mandarin language exposure, as each episode introduces a Chinese tone, word, and stroke order for writing characters.

Sesame Street’s Big Bird Looks at the World fosters children’s natural curiosity about nature and science and encourages hands-on exploration as a great way to learn.  Each episode is triggered by a question that the Muppet characters have when they notice something about the world around them (e.g., “Where does the sun go at night?” “What are seashells?”).  Within each episode, two live-action films provide in-depth information and real-world visuals. These segments are designed to extend the science knowledge and to bring it to life.

“Sesame Workshop has had a proud history of serving the needs of children globally since 1969 and we continue to encourage cultural exchange and celebrate this diversity within the states,” said H. Melvin Ming, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop. “We are very happy to offer Sesame Street content to communities serviced by SinoVision as the first step in the Workshop’s developing language-learning initiative in the U.S., as we continue to address the diverse needs of our young fans.”

“A long-running program, Sesame Street has brought joy and laughter for many generations, and Sinovision is proud to present the U.S. premiere of Sesame Street content in Chinese,” said Philip Chang, President of SinoVision. “As a Chinese language television provider founded in 1990, Sinovision has emerged to become one of the most influential TV stations with extensive coverage across North America. We are honored to provide our Chinese viewers and their children with Chinese learning opportunities and educational programs, to promote Chinese culture.”

The locally developed, Mandarin-language series Sesame Street’s Big Bird Looks at the World first debuted in China in December 2010, on HaHa Channel by Shanghai Toonmax Media Co. Ltd., as well as on CCTV Children’s Channel by the national broadcaster CCTV.  The “Tree Use” episode won a 2011 Hugo award for “’innovative and outstanding” contribution to the world of television, and the series continues to reach 200 million school-age children in China. This debut with SinoVision is the first step in the developing expansion of Chinese-language Sesame Street content in areas around the U.S.

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized children’s television programming with the landmark Sesame Street.  The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 150 countries, and other acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The Electric Company.  Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy and health. Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning.  Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.

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《芝麻街》系列中文节目与美国中文电视携手

北美首播

（纽约2012年7月19日）世界著名儿童节目《芝麻街 Sesame Street》里的神奇大鸟(Big Bird) 1983年第一次来到中国。30年后的今天，芝麻街工作室，这个国际知名的非盈利教育机构，仍然致力于为儿童提供寓教于乐的内容，而且更加本地化。从7月30日起，每周一至五，中文版《芝麻街-大鸟看世界》和《乐乐ELMO》节目将在北美首播。芝麻街工作室携手北美最有影响力和最具规模的中文电视机构之一——美国中文电视，第一次将《芝麻街》系列中文节目带到北美。免费24小时数字频道美国中文电视63.4覆盖大纽约地区、新泽西、长岛和部分滨州。从7月30日起，这些地区的观众都有幸看到中文版《芝麻街-大鸟看世界》（Sesame Street’s Big Bird Looks at the World）和《乐乐ELMO》（Fun Fun Elmo）这两个节目，而全世界的华人观众，通过美国中文网sinovision.net的网络直播，也可以收看。芝麻街工作室与美国中文电视此次合作的节目发布会，将通过美国中文电视63.4和英文频道63.3同步直播。

芝麻街工作室取材中国本土内容，致力传播中国文化和推广中文。美国广大的华人社区人口众多，芝麻街工作室通过制作中文芝麻街节目，鼓励广大华人观众认同中华文化和促进中美文化的交流。新节目《乐乐ELMO》运用新的动画模式、音乐和真人表演的场景向观众推广中文。生动的真人表演场景，就设在当代中国，拍摄当地小朋友们的日常生活，和每一集的教程紧密相连。《乐乐ELMO》节目的每一集都会介绍一个中文发音，一个中文字和书写中文的笔划，鼓励小朋友们学习中文。

中文版《芝麻街-大鸟看世界》节目激发了孩子们关于自然科学天生的好奇心，启发他们实地探索，学习知识。每一集节目中，人偶们都会对周遭世界，提出一个问题，例如：晚上太阳去哪里了？贝壳是什么？在每一集里，2段真人表演秀，给孩子们展现了真实世界的场景，并提供详尽的信息。这些节目环节的设计将科学知识带入真实生活。

“芝麻街工作室从1969年起就服务全世界的小朋友，我们为此感到十分自豪。我们一直鼓励文化间的交流和多样性”，芝麻街工作室总裁兼首席执行官H. Melvin Ming说，“我们非常高兴迈出第一步，提供中文版芝麻街节目给美国中文电视，在美国发展芝麻街提供语言学习的功能。我们将继续为满足广大年轻粉丝的多样化需要而努力”。

美国中文电视总裁蒋天龙先生说：“芝麻街一直是享誉全球的电视儿童节目，为一代又一代的儿童带来快乐。美国中文电视很高兴与芝麻街合作，促成了中文版芝麻街的北美首播。美国中文电视1990年建立。作为拥有22年历史，在北美最有影响力，最具规模的中文电视台之一，我们很荣幸为广大华裔家庭和儿童提供学习中文，寓教于乐的儿童节目，普及中文教育和中华文化。”

中文版《芝麻街-大鸟看世界》在2010年12月第一次与中国观众见面，由上海炫动传播股份有限公司推出，在上海电视台哈哈少儿频道，炫动卡通频道和中央电视台少儿频道播出。其中一集《树的用途》（Tree Use）获2011年雨果奖电视类“最具创意和杰出贡献奖”。中文版《芝麻街-大鸟看世界》在中国面向3到7岁学龄前儿童。芝麻街工作室携手美国中文电视在北美的首播，是芝麻街工作室和华文媒体在美国传播《芝麻街》系列中文节目的第一步。

关于芝麻街工作室

芝麻街工作室是一家非营利性教育机构，推出了以《芝麻街》系列节目为代表的创新性儿童电视节目。芝麻街工作室出版发行的《芝麻街》儿童电视节目，收视覆盖150多个国家，并推出其他深受好评的节目，例如《The Electric Company电力公司》，致力于弥补学龄前儿童的读写能力差异。除电视节目之外，芝麻街工作室致力于多媒体平台，制作推出了包括读写能力和卫生健康等在内的大量题材的内容，满足年幼的儿童及其家庭对发展孩子重要技能、养成健康习惯和培养情感交流能力的特殊需求，为他们的终生学习奠定良好的基础。

关于美国中文电视

美国中文电视成立于1990年，总部位于纽约，是北美地区最具影响力和规模的中文电视台之一，全天候24小时在WMBC63.4播出。如今，拥有9档实时滚动新闻和娱乐新闻，白金剧场以北美首播剧为主，黄金综艺档齐聚华语地区优秀的综艺节目，自制的谈话节目、美食栏目以及深度专题报道致力服务华人社区和传播中华文化。