Award-winning children’s TV series LazyTown is back in production for a third series of brand new 13 half hour shows following its acquisition by Turner Broadcasting in September 2011.

Charting the adventures of action hero Sportacus, aspiring dancer Stephanie, resident villain Robbie Rotten and the rest of the LazyTown gang, the show once again stars its creator Magnus Scheving as Sportacus, with a new actress in the role of Stephanie.

Ten-year-old Chloe Lang, from Connecticut in the US and already a successful competition dancer, takes over from Julianna Rose Mauriello as Stephanie, the show’s lead female character, who is much loved by children for her bright pink hair, sunny disposition and dancing skills.

“I‘m happy and honoured to take on this role and very excited to have the opportunity to live in Iceland for the next few monthsand work with the LazyTown crew,” says Chloe. “ I have always looked up to Julianna – she was great on the show and I just hope I can perform to her standards.” 

Created as a concept nearly 20 years ago by Magnus Scheving, LazyTown is the only global entertainment brand dedicated to kids’ health. Its aim is to motivate kids and their families to make positive lifestyle choices in a fun, entertaining and inspirational way.

As well as the TV show, the brand encompasses live shows, music, games, radio, publishing, retail and community initiatives such as marathons, sports clubs, meet ‘n greets and government-backed healthy eating campaigns.

“I’m really excited about filming the new series, not least because Sportacus has got some really cool new gadgets to help him in his mission to get kids active and having fun in a creative way,” says Magnus.

Filmed as usual in the LazyTown Studios in Iceland, the special effects are being created this time round by Turner Studios in Atlanta, whose credits include Ben 10, Level Up, Matrix and X-Men.

The new series is being produced by Magnus Scheving and Björn Thorir Sigurdsson and directed by Magnus Scheving and Sigvaldi J. Karason.

“LazyTown is one of the most powerful kids’ brands in the world,” says Turner’s Chief Content Officer for EMEA Michael Carrington. “It’s not only great entertainment, but – thanks to Magnus – has had a huge impact on society’s fight against childhood obesity. The new TV series promises to be even bigger and better than before and will play an important role in our plans to build up and extend our pre-school channel Cartoonito.”

The first two series of LazyTown have also been acquired by Turner and will be transmitted on Turner channels before the new series airs in early 2013.

Further information: suzanne@stunningpr.com

About Turner Broadcasting

Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) Europe currently broadcasts 18 channels in 26 languages in over 130 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Turner Broadcasting brands currently operating in the region include Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Cartoonito, CN Too, TNT, Boing, Adult Swim, TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and CNN International. In EMEA the company is at the forefront of innovation and development, with its brands available to audiences across the region via the web, VOD, DVD, gaming, mobile, merchandising, publishing and emerging platforms. Turner Broadcasting is a Time Warner company.

About LazyTown

LazyTown is a children’s entertainment brand dedicated to promoting health and wellbeing in a fun way. Created and starring Icelander Magnus Scheving, the programme has been seen by more than 500 million children and aired in over 170 countries throughout the world. LazyTown is currently collaborating with various government agencies worldwide on developing far-reaching and impactful health initiatives and has aligned with likeminded organisations such as Change4Life, the US Soccer Foundation and Mediterranean Diet.

About Cartoonito

Cartoonito is a pre-school channel where young children can explore their world in a fun and imaginative way. Cartoonito airs an array of exciting pre-school programmes including LazyTown, Bananas in Pyjamas and Jelly Jamm. Six cute animated characters called the Cartoonitos introduce the shows. Cartoonito is a channel in the UK, Italy and Spain and is shown as a branded block on Boomerang or Cartoon Network in other Turner EMEA regions.

FitPro has teamed up with the biggest-selling children’s TV brand in the world, LazyTown, to bring you KidzMove.

Children love moving – and they adore Sportacus, the hero of LazyTown, where kids are anything but couch potatoes. With KidzMove, the LazyTown team and FitPro have created a resource for anyone passionate about getting children active, healthy and confident.

Developed specifically for the health and fitness industry, KidzMove offers health club operators and fitness instructors the opportunity to co-brand with the biggest selling kids’ TV licence, guaranteeing children have fun visiting your club every time. Incorporating programming for children of all ages, instructor inspirations, training courses and qualifications and music, KidzMove is the complete package for clubs and instructors looking to work in children’s fitness.

With LazyTown-branded marketing materials and merchandise available for retail via the LazyTown SportsClub, the KidzMove business model is an ideal opportunity for health club operators to broaden their membership offering.

“KidzMove is all about getting kids excited about playing, dancing, running, having fun and moving. It will be a massive boost to the fitness industry as we play our part in improving the nation’s health,” says Andy Jackson, global commercial director of Fitness Professionals.

11th June 2011. LazyTown continues its success on air, with broadcast deals agreed with numerous TV channels across the world. In particular recent agreement with American children’s channel Sprout, which is the #1 kid’s network among moms of pre-schoolers, has selected LazyTown as a “flagship brand” with everyday HD episodes starting this September and a 2-hour branded afternoon block starting January 2012. LazyTown currently also airs on Vme, #1 Spanish network for preschool children, multiple times daily.

Cooking show

Currently a Cooking show with 13 episodes 9 minute long is being developed in co-operation with TVE Spain, Olive Oil Association and the Mediterranean Diet Foundation who are funding the production. “The LazyTown Cooking Adventure“ is a cooking show like you´ve never seen before as it will mix together puzzles, obstacles and simple healthy recipes. The format will be supported with a cooking book and extra video for online extension to the format. It’s now in pre-production, with filming taking place in 380 Studios in September and October 2011 with post-production completed in November.

Action Time

A new action packed show for kids – a magazine-style format delivered the LazyTown way. Each episode is themed around one healthy topic, such as sports, outdoor activities, or healthy eating. Episode themes range from basketball to SportsCandy (fruits and vegetables), encouraging children to make healthy lifestyle choices in LazyTown’s fun, fast-paced style.

The show stars the lovable Ziggy meeting real kids and introducing them to the LazyTown lifestyle.

There are 26 episodes 11 minute long available or 130, 1-minute sequences available as interstitials.

Turner Broadcasting Systems in the Nordics and France

LazyTown has after 5 years on Disney entered into a partnership with Turner Broadcasting Systems for Pay TV in France and the Nordic countries which will replace the Disney broadcast in the respective territories.

Italy: LazyTown moves to new terrestrial kids’ channel

Following a successful test run last year on the Italian channel Rai Tre, we launch in September on Rai Yoyo – the national public broadcast network’s dedicated digital children’s channel.

South Africa’s e.tv launches twice-a-week airings

In June, LazyTown will launch on e.tv, South Africa’s leading commercial free-to-air broadcaster, showing twice a week, on Sundays at 8.30am and Wednesdays at 3.30pm. E.tv Group Head of Multi-Channel Development, Monde Twala, says: “LazyTown is a welcome addition to e.tv’s children’s programming, and forms part of our new brand, Little e. The show forms part of our broader strategy of promoting a healthy lifestyle to our younger viewers, encouraging them to keep fit and eat correctly.”

Irish channel leads the way with Action Time

Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, has been the first broadcaster, after Iceland’s Channel 2, to acquire LazyTown’s new series, Action Time. It will launch in the Emerald Isle later this year. They have also re-licensed, once again, the original LazyTown series.

Sportacus Down Under

Australia’s prestigious ABC network has now licensed all 53 episodes of LazyTown. As well as being Australia’s national public broadcaster, ABC is also the leading broadcast platform for children’s programming. Episodes are being aired daily on ABC2, as part of the new “ABC 4 Kids” 13-hour-daily pre-school block.

Star TV, Greece, renew contract

Last September, LazyTown was launched in Greece by the national free-to-air broadcaster, Star TV and captured with approximately 50% share of viewers in the target audience group. It is currently being broadcast every Saturday and Sunday in their children’s block, and Star have recently renewed their licence.

LazyTown remains ever-popular in Germany

LazyTown has already been on air in Germany for five years. It continues to perform well on the Super RTL channel, and, as a result, has once again been re-licensed this year.

11th June 2011. For the first time in its history, LazyTown is set to launch an entirely new range of child-friendly products. Unlike traditional licensing products, Sports in Your Backyard is the result of innovative design collaboration between LazyTown and Youth Sports Direct.

The concept is to provide kids and parents with inspirational solutions motivating them to learn and enjoy sport in such a way that it stays with them for life. The product range manifests the LazyTown belief that children should be given the opportunity to be as active as possible through games and play. Sport is at the heart of the brand, and Sports in your Backyard is a strong communicator of that message. The sports being developed first are: soccer, Olympic-themed athletics, and bat sports, ball kit, basketball and golf, to name a few.

Along with an innovative version of the main equipment related to the relevant sport there is a support kit to increase variations of play as well as game cards, a DVD with inspirational material and a link to a website where kids can join the LazyTown Team and get more information as well as register their activities.

Examples of products that are part of the concept are the ThrowAll, the TriBat and the ActivSeat: Aimed at 3 to 11 year olds, the ThrowAll is designed to help children improve their throwing skills. The TriBat – as the name suggests – is based on a cricket bat and has three-sized surfaces (large, medium and thin) to aid kids in their batting skills. The ActivSeat is an inventive take on children’s seating.  A small cup type seat that rocks – in both meanings of the word! It enables small kids to watch the TV while remaining active. It also doubles up as fun activity where kids can jump, balance and build their own obstacle courses.

A UK-based company, Youth Sports Direct is already renowned for creating industry-leading educational materials and more recently innovative sports products. In particular, their range of Training Buddies. Designed to act as fitness training tools to improve posture and technique, they can be used to do a variety of exercise including squats and press ups. The first set of Training Buddies was installed outside at Loughborough University in Britain. Not simply sports products, the Buddies double up as fabulous art installations.

Now that LazyTown is onboard plans are in motion for a new scaled-down version of Training Buddies for children based on the LazyTown characters. Jo Simpson, Managing Director of Youth Sport Direct says, “We are passionate about the importance of physical activity for all children. The early years are a special time, and I knew that by working with LazyTown we could further support our joint missions. Important too is the fact that at Youth Sport Direct the profit we make is invested into future youth projects.”

The company has also supported over 20,000 schools by providing teaching resources, kit and sports equipment. “Quality is a key element of our work,” continues Simpson. “All of our products are developed with the users’ needs in mind and then tested and researched until we have the perfect solution.”

Training Buddies are ready to launch and the other products will be the first to launch under the Sports in your Backyard theme no later than spring 2012 coinciding with the Olympic-themed government campaign in UK (article p2). It marks the beginning of exciting times for both LazyTown and Youth Sport Direct with other developments in the pipeline. The aim is all about setting a new standard in activity products to engage children and their families.

Agust Ingason, Executive Vice President of LazyTown, says that Youth Sport Direct offered the high caliber partnership that LazyTown wanted. “I felt that the current offerings in the market were only replicating sports equipment as toys. The vision we had was to set a new standard in activity products for kids. We knew that they needed to be creative, energetic and irresistible so that children would want to experience them again and again. We concluded that YSD had such an impressive history, it was the company we needed to work with to achieve this. “

LazyTown took Mexico by storm when Magnus Scheving made an appearance in Mexico City to promote a new, world first initiative between the Washington Apple Commission, California Grapes, USA Pears and the US Department of Agriculture. The primary goal of the promotion was to increase consumption of fruits amongst kids in Mexico, the highest childhood obesity country in the world. This was the first time two governments collaborated on a kids health program, with USDA and Salud (Minister of health of Mexico). WAC shipped 66,500,000 apples during the promotion! Now LazyTown are working with the USDA on other potential markets with a similar concept.
 
The ‘Dulces Sanos’ (SportsCandy) campaign has been supported by Mexico’s Department of Health and all the key grocery retailers in the country who have committed to helping children to eat more fruit.  WAC saw a 29% increase on exports of apples in to Mexico during promotion  – the highest export in November in the last 7 years!
 
Dulce Sanos also gave away thousand of tickets to kids for an exclusive LIVE Show event on Nov 28 in Mexico City. Magnus Scheving, LazyTown’s creator and star, appeared on TV and in no less than fourteen publications. The publicity campaign received over 37 million impressions.  A local Sportacus actor appeared at over 50 retail stores throughout the country during the 4 week promotion.
 
While in Mexico, Magnus also appeared at Sports World, a high quality family friendly gym chain, to launch the LazyTown Sports Club there. Over 2,000 people and twenty media outlets attended the event. Sports World have the exclusive to provide LazyTown branded Sports Clubs to children in all their gyms. This is fantastic news for Mexican children who will now have access to a sports club aimed specifically at them. The Sports Club concept is unique to LazyTown and is proving popular in the UK where it was first launched. Other territories are currently being sought to trial this amazing fitness program for children.

More news on www.lazytown.biz
Please contact us at biz@lazytown.com

Mansfield might not be the first town that springs to mind when it comes to launching a new song, but it will be, when, on 25^th August, Jango’s Indoor Play Centre hosts the stars of hit TV show LazyTown who will be performing their first single release ‘Go Step Go.’

North Nottinghamshire’s premier play facility, Jango’s, that opened in October 2009 is expecting over 300 children most of them dressed as LazyTown characters – Sportacus and Stephanie – to attend the event on 25^th August at 3pm.

Magnus Scheving, who is both the star and creator of LazyTown will fly in from his native country of Iceland to perform as Sportacus. Meanwhile, Julianna Rose Mauriello, who plays Stephanie will be taking a break from her studies at an American university, to sing the song to the children.

This is the first time Julianna has visited the UK and the first time that both Julianna and Magnus have been together since LazyTown collected a children’s BAFTA in 2006.

LazyTown is currently shown daily on Cbeebies and Nick Jr.

Magnus Scheving has been very busy since his last appearance in the UK back in 2009. He has appeared in the Jackie Chan film ‘The Spy Next Door’ as a Russian villain released in March 2010, met Michelle Obama as part of the launch of her ‘Let’s Move’ campaign and been back and forth to Los Angeles many times negotiating with film producers who want to produce a LazyTown movie.

Julianna Rose, starred as Stephanie in LazyTown and LazyTown Extra before taking a place at an American University where she is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance.

The Single ‘Go Step Go’ encourages children to get up off the sofa and get moving, which is especially important during the summer holidays when sitting at home and playing computer games may seem far more appealing! Written by Mani Svavarsson, LazyTown’s resident hitmaker, the song is an upbeat, infectious tune that has all the potential to be a summer hit single as the Macarena was way back in 1995. The single will be available for free for 30 days from 24^th August at www.asda.co.uk before it goes on general release.

Tickets are only available from reception at Jango’s priced at £7.50 per child, £2.50 per adult.

limited numbers apply.

Where:

Jango’s Indoor Play Centre, Sandlands Court, Fulmar Close, off Old Mill Lane, Forest Town,  Mansfield, Nottinghamshire,  NG19 0GG Tel: 01623 465 465

When:

25^th August – doors open for entry by ticket only at 2pm

Performances commence at 3pm

What:

Sportacus and Stephanie from LazyTown perform their new song ‘Go Step Go’ to be followed by fitness session with Sportacus, meet and greet/autograph signing and photo opportunity

For interview requests, please contact Suzanne at Stunning PR, 07957 371840 or suzanne@stunningpr.com

LazyTown Entertainment, the only children’s brand solely dedicated to helping families lead a healthier lifestyle, has completed its financial restructure. As a result, the company can now claim to be one of the most solvent in the children’s entertainment business with zero debt and many growth opportunities on the horizon. The future looks bright for the brand.

Magnus Scheving, the CEO of LazyTown Entertainment commented,” I am extremely happy that everyone worked together as a team with the singular vision to conclude this deal and to now be able to turn our focus towards building the company.”

The LazyTown Entertainment brand enjoys enormous respect from parents, educators and national Governments alike for its key messages, and for remaining focused on and committed to its core values. The company has a number of exciting prospects for the future including alliances with key retailers in the U.S. and Continental Europe, a new digital platform and a sports club roll out with the world’s leading provider of training packages to fitness professionals.

As the only children’s brands dedicated to helping children lead healthier lifestyles, it’s hardly surprising the impact the company’s licensing strategy has had directly on its core audience’s eating habits.  This is a pure and natural extension of the brand because the characters of LazyTown actually eat “SportsCandy” (fruits and vegetables), drink water and milk and engage in sports and activities in each episode.  Now LazyTown is actively licensing partners who share their vision of a healthier world.

LazyTown leverages this unique and relevant edge with strategic retail and healthy consumables partnerships.  As an example, LazyTown’s retail alliance with ASDA (the UK Wal-Mart) that has been using Sportacus to promote its Great Stuff range of products has seen the range sell a whopping 41% more fruit and vegetables during a kick-off promotion last year than it had the previous year, which included over 2.5 million incremental packages of Great Stuff Sports Candy!

In Mexico, the company’s tie-up with dairy company Lala that also featured Sportacus on pack achieved a significant double digit sales growth of white milk, proving the brand can carry a consumable other than Sports Candy. This was historic for LazyTown as it was their first major win in a territory where they are not on Free TV and where sales of white milk to children are virtually zero (children have been reported to drink soda for breakfast!). Parents even called the 1-800 customer service lines at LALA and left voicemails thanking them because their kids were drinking milk again.

In Columbia, Sportacus is at national hero status. During a recent visit to the country, LazyTown’s creator and star Magnus Scheving was asked by the country’s Minister of Health to help him to lower obesity in the country where it has become a growing concern. The show’s tie-up with fruit and vegetable superstore Surtifruver de la Sabana has branched into the country’s school system where children have participated in LazyTown/Surtifruver activities based around exercise and healthy eating.

In the U.S., the show is breaking new ground. LazyTown has aligned itself with Michelle Obama’s ‘Let’s Move’ initiative and will be sharing with the Administration some of the ground breaking work they have done in other countries to reduce childhood obesity. During a momentous week in March 2010, Sportacus met the First Lady when he warmed up local Washington DC school children at a US Soccer Foundation clinic that she attended. A deal with Windmill will see a range of completely natural vitamins go into over 20,000 retail outlets in the country. With a new broadcast deal soon to be announced in the U.S., LazyTown is confident they can make a real difference to American children’s health.

In their native country of Iceland, LazyTown have signed a world first deal with a local water company, Nordic Water, to produce a range of naturally fruit flavoured water. Nordic is aiming for worldwide distribution.

What’s clear is one thing – when companies use LazyTown to promote health, EVERYONE WINS!

LazyTown, V-me, Tycoon Entertainment to Bring LazyTown Live! to U.S.

International hit is first-ever live family show to tour U.S. nationally in Spanish

NEW YORK, June 22, 2009 - LazyTown Entertainment, the brand that has created a worldwide sensation with its top-rated TV series motivating kids to be healthy and active, has teamed with V-me – America’s 4th-largest Hispanic TV network – along with Tycoon Entertainment Group, and Global Entertainment Group to bring the smash hit live show LazyTown ™ Live! to families across the USA.

LazyTown Live!, the first-ever live family entertainment show to tour the US exclusively in Spanish, is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2010 and will visit markets across the country, supported by the V-me national broadcast network and local affiliates.

In its first season in Mexico in 2008, LazyTown Live! set box office records, with 46 sold-out performances at the nation’s 2nd largest theater venue (Teatro Metropolitan, Mexico City).  With similar success in Argentina, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama, LazyTown Live! is the most successful family theater production ever in Spanish-speaking Latin America, with over 500 shows seen by more than 600,000 engaged fans, who dance and sing along with the high-energy LazyTown music. The show, based on the hit LazyTown TV series seen in over 120 countries, has also played to sold-out audiences in the UK and Australia.

“LazyTown’s mission is to inspire kids and families to make healthier lifestyle choices. To bring this incredibly successful and important live show to families in the US, LazyTown needed a strong national Hispanic media partner and world-class integrated theatrical tour producers,” said Magnus Scheving, founder LazyTown Entertainment. “That’s what we have with V-me, Tycoon Entertainment and Global Entertainment Group , who all share the mission and values of LazyTown.”

LazyTown Live! captivates audiences with special effects, colorful wardrobe and set changes, music and dance, and opportunities to interact with characters — all designed to motivate healthy, active lifestyle choices for the whole family.  And after each performance, families have a chance to meet Sportacus, Stephanie and the entire LazyTown team.

V-me broadcasts LazyTown M-F at 7:30A and 11:30A, Saturdays at 9:30A and 11:30A, and Sundays at 4P. (All times Eastern.) For local channel information, visit VmeTV.com.

About LazyTown Entertainment
LazyTown is the world’s only global entertainment brand dedicated to children’s health. Created in 1995 by international athlete, entrepreneur, producer and director Magnus Scheving, LazyTown has been nurtured into a household name worldwide, with businesses including publishing, home entertainment, music, live theatrical shows and even a dedicated radio station. LazyTown, the Emmy-nominated and BAFTA-winning TV series, launched in 2004, and is now available in 79 HD episodes and over 120 territories worldwide. The LazyTown Movement appeals to kids and parents alike and encourages healthy lifestyle choices for kids of all ages. The team is dedicated to finding exactly the right partners worldwide to sustain the brand and uphold the credibility and vision of LazyTown and its creator.

About V-me
V-me, one of America’s largest Spanish networks, entertains and informs Latino families in Spanish with primetime drama, music, sports, current affairs and Latin cinema, along with world class kids, food, lifestyle and nature. The 24-hour digital network, partnered with public television stations, is currently available in 70% of all US Hispanic homes – rising  to 80% by year end. V-me is the first venture of the media production and distribution company, V-me Media Inc., which is also developing a soon-to-be-announced 24-hour children’s channel. To find out more visit VmeTV.com.

About Tycoon Entertainment Group and Alejandro Gou Productions
Tycoon Group is a one-of-a-kind consortium of entertainment companies with presence in Mexico and Latin America, that together with Alejandro Gou Productions, have successfully presented musical productions which include Latin America tours of Barney, Bob the Builder, Hi-5, Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, and Lazy Town.

About Global Entertainment Group
Based in the “Entertainment Capital of the World” -Las Vegas – Global Entertainment Group provides a wide variety of services for the live entertainment industry, including international and domestic tour bookings and promotion of live events.  Global Entertainment also invests in various touring productions, theatrical shows and touring educational exhibitions.  The company’s core business is in international touring and promotion, having successfully orchestrated record breaking tours in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia including Japan and China.  By masterfully creating a worldwide network of promoting partners, Global Entertainment has taken artists like, Michael Flatley’s Lord of The Dance, Blue Man Group Megastar World Tour, Master Illusionist David Copperfield and Bob the Builder Live! to international destinations in established and emerging markets alike.

CONTACT INFO:
About LazyTown:  Jordan Jedeikin – 602.319.3776 or Jordan@lazytown.com
About V-me – Natalie Judd (for V-me) 203-389-5223 or njudd@dex-p.com

Magnus Scheving, the creator/director and star of LazyTown, is available for interviews in January to support the launch of LazyTown FitKid (UK) – fun fitness classes for kids that will be starting across the UK in schools, nurseries, community centres and health clubs from February 09. Sessions will incorporate the LazyTown music and dances along with fun play equipment such as parachutes, space hoppers, balls, etc. encouraging kids to move and get active. Parents will also be able to book LazyTown themed birthday parties for their child.

Magnus says, ‘We’re very excited about working with FitKid (UK). They’re a terrific company who really understand the LazyTown philosophy of making fitness fun for kids.

Aside from FitKid, a new LazyTown show, ‘The Pirate Adventure’ will be kicking off their UK tour on 29th January 2009 in Northampton. LazyTown Live was the UK’s highest selling show for kids in 2008 selling just under 400,000 tickets across 46 venues in the UK and Ireland. Many of the LazyTown Live 2008 cast are returning to play the same roles.

Contact:  Suzanne @ Stunning PR, Tel: 0203 355 1529/07957 371840