BKN Appoints New Sales Director, Announces Fall DVD Schedules

LONDON, July 23: BKN has announced the fall DVD release schedules for a range of its kids
programming in the U.K. and North America, and has appointed Adrian Ball as
sales director to support the launches.

Ball will
be based in London. He joins BKN from Prism Leisure. He has also held
senior sales positions at Warner Vision International and PolyGram Video.

BKN will
handle all sales and marketing in the U.K. and Ireland directly and has
appointed Genius Products in the U.S. and Morningstar in Canada to handle all
physical DVD activities. BKN has also named Digital Music Group in the U.S. to
handle all digital downloads on personal computers, portable devices and mobile
phones.

In the
U.K., the triple disc set of Robin Hood—Quest for the King, The Prince and The Pauper—Double
Trouble and The Three
Musketeers— Saving the Crown will be
released September 3, Meanwhile, a number of DVDs from Kong—The
Animated Series, will be rolling out on
October 1. A triple-disc set of Jungle Book—Rikki Tikki Tavi to the Rescue, A Christmas
Carol—Scrooge’s Ghostly Tales and Alice in Wonderland—What’s the
Matter with Hatter? launches
November 5, while a triple disc Christmas box set of Nick & Noel, Dot & Spot and Christopher & Holly—The Bears that Saved
Christmas debuts
November 19. On December 26, a box set of 26 episodes of Pocket Dragon
Adventures: The Entire First Season rolls out. Prices for DVDs released in the
U.K. range from £5.99 to £12.99.

In the
U.S., a number of DVDs will roll out beginning July 31, with The Prince and
The Pauper—Double Trouble. Other titles being released on DVD include Magical Winter Tales—which includes Nick
& Noel, Dot & Spot and Christopher & Holly—The
Bears, A Christmas
Carol, Once Upon A Time: A Storybook Collection three-disc set of The Prince and The
Pauper—Double Trouble, Alice in Wonderland—What’s the
Matter with Hatter? and The Three
Musketeers—Saving the Crown, Zorro: Return to the Future, along with a free download, and Highlander—The
Animated Series: The Complete First Season. Prices
range from $14.95 to $19.95.

In Canada, DVD rollout will begin July 31, with The Prince and The Pauper—Double
Trouble. Other titles
rolling out include Legend of the Dragon Volume 2, Kong,
The Animated Series Volume 1, Legend of the Dragon Volume 3, Kong: The Animated Series Volume 2, A Christmas Carol Special Collectable
Snow Pack featuring glitter
snow globe packaging, and Zorro: Return to the Future, along with a free download. The fourth
volume of Legend of the Dragon will launch on December 26, along with a Legend of the Dragon 4-Disc Gift Set, and Kong—The
Animated Series Volume 3.
The prices range from $16.98 to $39.98. The promotion for Zorro consists of a customer purchasing
or downloading the DVD of the film, Zorro: Return to the Future, and receiving a special code where
he or she can download a special promotional episode online for free at www.bknstore.com. This will be supported
with TV advertising at launch on major network for kids in applicable
territories, including GMTV and CITV in the U.K. and Family Channel in Canada.

“We are anticipating a full line-up of great children’s
films and TV series this fall,” stated Matthew Graham-Clare, BKN’s managing director. “Genius,
Morningstar and DMGI will undoubtedly do a great job marketing these titles and
Adrian’s team in London will do likewise directly with wholesalers and
retailers.