The Electric Company Lands Daily Slot on PBS KIDS GO!

NEW YORK: Sesame Workshop’s literacy-based series The Electric Company is to air daily on PBS KIDS GO! starting this September, coinciding with a 20-city U.S. tour that kicks off in August.

The show has been number one on PBS KIDS GO! in its block, and the companion website at pbskidsgo.org/electriccompany has had nearly 4 million visits and more than 11 million video clips played since its launch in mid-January.

The Electric Company will be partnering with local PBS stations, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as well as after-school organizations to bring The Electric Company 2009 Circuit Tour to 20 cities across the U.S. Starting August 8, The Electric Company’s star beat boxer, Shock, will host a 90-minute event in each city beginning with a 25-minute multimedia, interactive show. The Circuit Tour will also include hands-on pre- and post-show activities that will engage kids with interactive content, games and demonstrations.

“We are thrilled to bring this critical piece of The Electric Company directly into communities around the country,” said Randell Bynum, the director of educational outreach for The Electric Company. “We look forward to sharing a live, interactive Electric Company experience that will turn kids on to the power of reading.”

The Electric Company is part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, a national literacy initiative focused on using public media to improve the reading skills for children ages 2 to 8, with an emphasis on children from low-income families.