The Backyardigans, Tale of the Mighty Knights Premieres January 14, 2008

NICKELODEON’S THE BACKYARDIGANS TAKE PRESCHOOLERS ON THREE ROCKIN’ MEDIEVAL ADVENTURES WITH A PRIMETIME TV MOVIE, NATIONAL LIVE TOUR AND NEW MUSIC CD

“TALE OF THE MIGHTY KNIGHTS,” GUEST STARRING TONY-NOMINATED ADAM PASCAL, PREMIERES MONDAY, JAN. 14, 7 P.M. ON NICKELODEON

BACKYARDIGANS LIVE! TALE OF THE MIGHTY KNIGHTS 50-CITY TOUR KICKS OFF MARCH 28

The Backyardigans: Born to Play New CD Featuring Performances By Alicia Keys, Cyndi Lauper and Adam Pascal Goes On-Sale Jan. 22

NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2008 – Nickelodeon invites the preschool set to rock out with The Backyardigans with multiple medieval musical journeys including a new hour-long primetime TV movie, “Tale of the Mighty Knights,” premiering Monday, Jan. 14 (7 p.m. – 8 p.m. ET/PT); a new CD release from Nickelodeon/Sony BMG, titled “Born to Play,” available Jan. 22; and the launch of a new 50-city live theatrical tour, The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights, in partnership with Live Nation, on March 28.

“The Backyardigans has quickly rocked its way to become the number-two television show for preschoolers, so we’re giving fans a triple dose of backyard, music-filled adventures,” said Brown Johnson, Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool Television. “We hope that this new movie, live tour and CD will provide exciting hands-on opportunities to jam with Pablo, Uniqua, Tyrone, Tasha and Austin.”

“Tale of the Mighty Knights” TV Movie
Special guest Adam Pascal, Tony-nominated star of the original Broadway cast of Rent and Aida, joins The Backyardigans as narrator of the hour-long TV movie and performs the original rock opera power ballad “Not An Egg.”

In “Tale of the Mighty Knights,” royal knights Uniqua and Tyrone are ready to do mighty deeds in service to their King (Pablo). It seems like a pretty simple task until the King asks them to babysit an egg, which grows legs and runs away! A rock opera soundtrack moves the action along as the knights pursue their egg in Goblin Land and encounter a grabbing goblin (Austin), through Fairyland where they meet a tiny and mischievous fairy (Tasha), and finally to Dragon Mountain where they face a mighty baby dragon (Adam Pascal). Will the knights conquer their greatest challenge yet?

Content from “Tale of the Mighty Knights” will roll out across several Nickelodeon Preschool platforms including music videos and additional episodes on Time Warner’s Video On Demand service (Dec. 31); streaming clips and music videos, an interview with Adam Pascal and behind-the-scenes clips from the TV movie on Nick Jr. Video (Jan. 4); clips on wireless carriers (Jan. 4); and an interactive game and activities on Nickjr.com (Jan. 4).

“I have two boys who are six and three and they love The Backyardigans the same way I loved shows like The Electric Company, Sesame Street and Zoom,” said Adam Pascal. “Those shows stay with me to this day. The Backyardigans is a classic on that same level, and it will stay with kids for decades to come. I’m really proud I can be a part of it.”

Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights
Based on the primetime special, The Backyardigans Live! will follow the success of previous Nickelodeon touring shows Go, Diego, Go Live! and Dora The Explorer Live!. The Backyardigans Live! tour will visit over 50 cities across the USA kicking off in York, Pennsylvania on March 28, 2008. Nickelodeon’s live stage shows have been among the top grossing touring family shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

During Backyardigans Live!, Pablo, Uniqua, Tasha, Tyrone and Austin will need the audience’s help as they face a mighty dragon and return the egg to the king. The stage show will have the entire family singing, dancing and laughing along to songs from the rock opera.

Other scheduled tour stops include: New York, NY; Boston, Massachusetts; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Atlanta, Georgia; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Tampa, Florida, San Antonio, Texas; and Houston, Texas. For schedule information visit www.nickjr.com.

The Backyardigans: Born to Play CD
On Tuesday, Jan. 22, Nickelodeon and Sony BMG release the ultimate playtime playlist as The Backyardigans: Born to Play CD hits retailers nationwide. The third CD from the hit series features 22 new tracks, including six songs from “Tale of the Mighty Knights.” Joining the backyard gang in the studio are celebrity guest artists Alicia Keys, Cyndi Lauper and Adam Pascal. Alicia Keys lends her unique R&B vocals on “Almost Everything is Boinga.” Cyndi Lauper reminds us to think pink on the jazz-tinged “Lady in Pink,” and Adam Pascal powers the Zepellinesque rock-opera ballad “Not an Egg.”

The Backyardigans: Born to Play is packaged at retail with a special “Backyard Match-Up Game” and is being distributed in an earth-friendly recycled sleeve. The CD will also be available digitally on iTunes, with a special deluxe-edition that includes four bonus exclusive tracks and a digital folder.

The Backyardigans airs regularly weekdays at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET/PT on Nick Jr. Each half-hour episode features a unique music/dance genre with four original songs, along with real choreographed movements recreated in animation. The animated dance steps are choreographed by Beth Bogush, a former director of the Alvin Ailey Dance School’s children’s program. The show’s rich animation style features lush, fantasy backgrounds created with CGI and 3D techniques.

Since its debut on Nickelodeon’s preschool weekday lineup, The Backyardigans has become the number-two-rated preschool show on all of commercial TV among the target audience of kids 2-5. On average, The Backyardigans draws approximately 18.5 million viewers every month, including 4.7 million kids aged 2-5 and 5.7 million adults aged 18-49.*

Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely dedicated to preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.’s Emmy, Peabody and Parents’ Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial free. At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.

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