CPB and the Barksdale Reading Institute to Fund PBS Kids Series

JACKSON, February 7: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
(CPB) and the Barksdale Reading Institute have agreed to provide new funding
for the PBS KIDS' series Between the Lions,
part of the Ready To Learn reading initiative.

Under the agreement, CPB will commit $7.5 million and the
Barksdale Reading Institute will contribute $3.5 million for the production of
seasons seven and eight of Between the Lions’—20 episodes in total—and an expansion of its preschool materials. CPB has
also committed an additional $2.5 million towards seasons nine and ten,
contingent, in part, on additional funds being raised. To further support the
series, PBS is contributing funds towards new platforms for Between
the Lions and other literacy-based
projects, while the Ready To Learn reading initiative is providing funds for
the development of the series' website.

Produced by WGBH Boston, Sirius Thinking and Mississippi
Public Broadcasting (MPB), Between the Lions targets children aged four to seven with a combination of phonemic
awareness, phonics, vocabulary and reading aloud that is aligned with
preschool, kindergarten and first-grade standards.

Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the CPB, noted,
"Throughout our history, CPB has been making investments in the successor
generations. CPB is proud to support Between the Lions, which has demonstrated that quality television can
make a significant difference in children learning how to read."

These grants come after several independent research studies
over the past four years demonstrated the positive impact of using Between
the Lions with high poverty, high-risk
children in Kansas, Mississippi and New Mexico. The studies all found that
young children who watched the series showed significant improvements in their reading skills.