Exclusive North American Licensing Agent Named for Martha Speaks

BOSTON/VANCOUVER, May 23: WGBH
Boston and Studio B Productions have appointed Lindberg Licensing &
Promotions (LLP) as the exclusive North American licensing agency for their
animated co-production Martha Speaks.

Lindberg Licensing &
Promotions will develop the Martha Speaks licensing and merchandising program in North America, targeting kids
4- to 8-years-old across key categories that include toys, interactive,
apparel, accessories and more. The initial rollout of the merchandise program
is anticipated for fall 2009. In addition, Lindberg Licensing & Promotions
will bring Martha Speaks to the
2008 Licensing International Expo next month.

Martha Speaks will launch on September 1 in the U.S. and Canada
on PBS KIDS, TV Ontario, Knowledge Network and SCN. Based on the best-selling
books by Susan Meddaugh that have sold more than 1 million copies to date, the
series follows the comedic adventures of Martha, a dog whose appetite for
alphabet soup gives her the gift of human speech. Using her speaking abilities,
Martha gets jobs, foils bad guys, wins contests, runs for office and orders
lots of steaks.

“We’re thrilled to bring Martha
Speaks to public television, and
to work with Studio B and Lindberg Licensing to further extend kids’ experience
of Martha in fun and innovative ways,” said Carol Greenwald, the executive
producer of Martha Speaks for
WGBH.

“The Martha Speaks partnership with WGBH has been fantastic so far,
and with Lindberg Licensing on board, it makes for a very exciting venture,”
added Chris Bartleman, the executive producer and one of the founding partners
of Studio B. “We hope to open kids’ hearts to Martha and her love of letters
and language.”

—By Irene Lew