Long-running children’s TV show “Sesame Street” has launched its first mobile application in conjunction with its 40th anniversary.
The application, Grover’s Number Special, finds the blue and furry Grover, responsible for counting and catching ingredients at a restaurant when Charlie the cook does not show up for work. The application for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch is $2.99 in the App Store.
"Our objective for iPhone apps is to better serve our audience by expanding on our goal to make educational and fun Sesame Street experiences available when, where and on the devices that people want,” said Jeff Fleishman, assistant vice president for media distribution business development at the Sesame Workshop, New York. “Mobile and handheld devices are particularly good for parents who want to turn five minutes of downtime outside the house into fun and constructive time for their children,” he said.
Over the past couple of years, Sesame Workshop has seen that parents really value mobile content through use of the Sesame Street podcasts and mobile video content. The iPhone and iPod touch allows Sesame Workshop to deliver high-quality interactive content that kids can use with ease. Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that produces Sesame Street. Beyond TV, Sesame Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms focusing on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and military deployment.
The Grover’s Number Special application includes original video content and encourages visual discrimination, counting and number recognition. To catch and count ingredients with Grover—users have to tip the iPhone or iPod touch back and forth to move the virtual tray. Grover tells users how many ingredients to catch and then counts the items with the user.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street’s anniversary, select episodes from Sesame Street’s current season will be available on iTunes. The season’s 40 episodes will include celebrity guests such as Cameron Diaz, Jimmy Fallon, Ricky Gervais and Maggie Gyllenhall. New episodes of the weekly Sesame Street podcast and new music will also be available on iTunes.
Mr. Fleishman said Sesame Street’s presence on iTunes and in the App Store provides an opportunity to get the brand in front of a wide array of people young and old. “Sesame Street has always been written on two levels in order to keep parents engaged with what their kids are watching, but the parodies and pop culture references are fun for everyone.”
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