Image: ODD SQUAD, Filip Geljo as "Agent Otto" and Dalila Bela as "Agent Olive" (credit: courtesy of ODD SQUAD (C) 2014 The Fred Rogers Company)
PBS KIDS’ newest series, ODD SQUAD, proves to be a hit with children and families both on-air and on digital platforms
Arlington, VA, March 19, 2015 – This January, significant numbers of children and families across the country tuned in to the premiere of “Odd Squad Saves the World,” a special one-hour event from the new PBS KIDS live-action math series, ODD SQUAD. More than 3.7 million viewers* watched the ODD SQUAD kid agents save the day in the new special, which premiered on January 19. That week, “Odd Squad Saves the World” was the top-rated special across all kids’ demographics*.
In addition to the on-air broadcast, families have viewed the program on various digital platforms through pbskids.org, the PBS KIDS Video App and PBS KIDS on Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV. During the “Odd Squad Saves the World” special event, there were over 44.5 million** video streams spanning these multiple platforms, while more than 1.7 million** users also visited the ODD SQUAD website. In total, ODD SQUAD saw over 70 million** video streams in the month of January.
“In just a few months since it has premiered, ODD SQUAD has already become a family favorite,” said Lesli Rotenberg, General Manager, Children’s Media, PBS. “ODD SQUAD is a perfect example of the holistic and integrated approach we take to engaging children across multiple platforms. Kids were able to tune in to ODD SQUAD on their local PBS stations and on digital platforms, learning valuable math and collaboration skills as Olive and Otto solved some of their most unusual cases.”
“It is exciting to know that ODD SQUAD is engaging record numbers of children and families through its innovative approaches to math learning,” said Debra Sanchez, Senior vice President of Education, CPB. “CPB and the entire public media system are proud to be partnering with the U.S. Department of Education’s Ready To Learn program in developing media-rich approaches to support early childhood education.”
ODD SQUAD is a live-action series designed to help kids 5-8 build math, problem-solving and collaboration skills. The series focuses on two young agents, Olive and Otto, who are part of Odd Squad, an agency whose mission is to investigate unusual occurrences. A math concept is embedded in each of their cases, as Olive and Otto work together to problem-solve and set things right. ODD SQUAD premiered on PBS KIDS in November 2014 and airs weekdays on PBS stations (check local listings).
ODD SQUAD is created by Tim McKeon (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Adventure Time, The Electric Company) and Adam Peltzman (The Electric Company, The Backyardigans, Wallykazam!) and produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment and The Fred Rogers Company.
ODD SQUAD is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the U.S. Department of Education through the CPB-PBS Ready To Learn Initiative, a program that supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted to preschool and early elementary school children and their families, especially those from low-income communities.
* Source: NTI Nielsen NPower Live+7 Persons 2+ Reach (000) for Odd Squad Saves The World, 75% unification with a 6 minute qualifier, week of January 19, 2015.
** Source: Google Analytics (January 2015)
About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital platforms and community-based programs. Kidscreen- and Webby-award winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS also offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning. The PBS KIDS Video App is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. For more information on specific PBS KIDS content supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter and Facebook.
About Sinking Ship Entertainment
Sinking Ship Entertainment is an award-winning production and interactive company that creates and produces groundbreaking kids TV and transmedia content. Since its founding in 2004, Sinking Ship has created and produced numerous children’s TV series and has been on the forefront of TV production and interactive media for kids. From being selected as one of the first partners of Amazon Studios with the upcoming series “Annedroids” to achieving Nick Jr.’s highest debut of all time with the action-packed series “Dino Dan,” Sinking Ship Entertainment brings dynamic content to audiences around the world with shows broadcast in more than 130 countries. Other series highlights include the award-winning “This is Daniel Cook,” “This is Emily Yeung” and “Are We There Yet?: World Adventure.” Find out more at www.sinkingship.ca.
About The Fred Rogers Company
The company was founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 as the non-profit producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for PBS. In the years that followed, it not only created hundreds of episodes of this much-loved program, but also extended Fred’s values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional and behavioral health and supporting parents, caregivers, teachers and other professionals in their work with children. The Fred Rogers Company continues to build on Fred’s legacy in innovative ways through a wide variety of media, and engaging new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom. The company’s highly-rated, award-winning children’s series include Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Peg + Cat. For more information, visit www.fredrogers.org.
About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit www.cpb.org.
About The Ready To Learn Initiative
The Ready To Learn Initiative is a cooperative agreement funded and managed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement. It supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted to preschool and early elementary school children and their families. Its general goal is to promote early learning and school readiness, with a particular interest in reaching low-income children. In addition to creating television and other media products, the program supports activities intended to promote national distribution of the programming, effective educational uses of the programming, community-based outreach and research on educational effectiveness.
Contacts:
Maria Vera, PBS KIDS; 703.739.3225; mvera@pbs.org
Meredith Gandy, 360PR; 415.610.4067; mgandy@360pr.com
The contents of this release were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. [PR/Award No. U295A100025, CFDA No. 84.295A]
