New York, March 1^st, 2010 – Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, and Aniboom, the world's first virtual animation studio, today announced the Grand Prize judging panel in conjunction with the March 1^st launch of the Aniboom Awards 4 Sesame Street competition.

Sesame Workshop has tapped top-name celebrities, experts and opinion-makers to take part in judging the contest finalists to determine the Grand Prize winner. Actor and How I Met Your Mother star, Neil Patrick Harris; Grey's Anatomy's Sandra Oh; Good Morning America's news anchor Juju Chang; Co-Executive Producer and Sesame Street's Elmo, Kevin Clash; Co-Director of the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College, Columbia University, Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan; and original Sesame Street "Pinball Number Count" animator, Jeffrey Hale, are all lending their individual expertise, wisdom and talents to the contest. Animators of all levels, amateur through professional, can register with the Aniboom Virtual Animation Studio (www.aniboom.com) to submit their entries over an eight week period from March 1st until April 26^th.

This year's awards will showcase the work of artists creating animations appropriate for pre-school age children in five separate categories: School Readiness Skills, Pro-Social, re-make of the Sesame Street classic animation "Pinball Number Count," Anything Goes "The Sky is the Limit," and Community Favorite. Sesame Workshop will ultimately chose a winner in each category – except Community Favorite which will be determined by a voting tool via Aniboom's website. The top five category winners will be announced on May 10^th, 2010. The panel of celebrity judges will then determine the Grand Prize winner who will be announced on May 17^th. A total of $50,000 in cash and development money is to be awarded to the winners. Additionally, the Grand Prize winning animation will be included in Sesame Street's 41st season which begins airing later this year.

Sesame Street has a 40 year history of utilizing animation to reinforce educational content and has always sought after innovative artists in the field. The Aniboom Awards 4 Sesame Street recognizes outstanding creativity among independent animators around the world and provides an opportunity for unknown and well-known artists to present themselves and their work to Sesame Workshop – a unique prospect for both animators and the Workshop. This marks the first time the show has participated in a world-wide competition for content in its 40 year history.

"We're thrilled that so many artists and experts in their fields have chosen to be a part of such an exciting competition for Sesame Street and we look forward to being introduced to talented animators all over the world who care about educating children," says Miranda Barry, Executive Vice President of Content for Sesame Workshop. "We're eager to share with Sesame Street fans around the world the incredible animations from this amazing contest."

"Creating animation for children – and especially for Sesame Street – is particularly exciting for the 8,000 animators in 72 countries who participate in Aniboom's Virtual Studio"," says Uri Shinar, founder and CEO of Aniboom. "Aniboom is eager to share the new characters and themes that this community will present."

Celebrating its impressive 40^th anniversary this season, Sesame Street is the longest-running program in children's television. The series has received more Emmy awards than any other show in television history (122), as well as a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award honoring the 40^th year.





New York, NY, February 16, 2010 - Aniboom, the world's first virtual animation studio, today announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, one of the world's most beloved children's brands, for the Fourth Annual Aniboom Animation Awards. The Aniboom Awards 4 Sesame Street contest recognizes outstanding creativity among independent animators around the world and encourages animators of all levels to push the boundaries of innovation in the medium. This marks the first time the show has participated in a world-wide competition for content in its 40 year history. Cash prizes will be awarded to category winners and the Grand Prize winner's animation will appear on an episode of Sesame Street.

This year's awards will showcase the work of artists creating animations appropriate for pre-school age children in 5 different categories: School Readiness Skills, Pro-Social, re-make of the Sesame Street classic animation "Pinball Number Count," Anything Goes "The Sky is the Limit", and Community Favorite (to be determined by a voting tool on the Aniboom website). Each category will have one finalist (all but Community Favorite to be determined by Sesame Workshop), and a Grand Prize winner will be chosen among the finalists by a panel of celebrity judges. A total of $50,000 in cash and development money is to be awarded to the winners. Additionally, the Grand Prize winning animation will be included in Sesame Street's 41st season which begins airing later this year.

"This is the first year that the Aniboom Awards have focused on children's animation and there is no better partner than Sesame Street to be associated with," says Uri Shinar, founder and CEO of Aniboom. "We have provided our community of over 8,000 animators in 72 countries with remarkable opportunities to make programming for FOX, music videos for Radiohead and animation for Marvel Comics. But Sesame Street is a uniquely exciting partner for all the animators who are so eager to create for children."

"Sesame Street has a long history of using animation to teach generations of children all about numbers, letters, shapes and the world around them," adds Carol-Lynn Parente, Executive Producer of Sesame Street. "We are thrilled to partner with a community of animators like Aniboom to find unique programming from around the globe to help educate and engage today's kids."

Animators registered with the Aniboom Virtual Animation Studio will be able to submit their entries over an eight week period from March 1st until April 26^th. The top 5 category winners will be announced on May 10^th, 2010 and the Grand Prize winner on May 17^th. For the full list of rules and Sesame Street animation guidelines for the competition, please visit www.aniboom.com.

Celebrating its impressive 40^th anniversary this season, Sesame Street is the longest-running program in children's television. The series has received more Emmy awards than any other show in television history (122), as well as a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award honoring the 40^th year.

For the full list of rules and Sesame Street animation guidelines for the competition, please visit www.aniboom.com



About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized children's television programming with the landmark Sesame Street. The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 140 countries, and other acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The Electric Company and Pinky Dinky Doo. Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and military deployment. Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.

About Aniboom
Aniboom is the world's first virtual animation studio - a full service studio including over 8,000 animators in 72 countries. Aniboom's proprietary production methodology creates a faster and less expensive process to create high-quality animation for all platforms: TV, Film, Advertising, Video-Gaming, Web, and Mobile. Aniboom's investors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, DFJ Tamir Fishman Ventures, and Evergreen Venture Partners, who embrace the company's management of experienced entertainment and new media executives. Aniboom is based in Israel and has offices in New York and San Francisco.