LUD Ludorum

RNS Number:3921D
Ludorum PLC
06 September 2007

LUDORUM PLC ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST MAJOR NEW ENTERTAINMENT PROPERTY


* Production of its first developed property for delivery in fourth quarter 2008

* UK broadcast agreement with the BBC

* Global master toy license with a major US based company

Ludorum plc, the AIM listed interactive media investment company, today
announced that it has commenced production of its first property, Chuggington, a
new train-based animated series and interactive website aimed at 3 to 6 year
olds. The series is a computer generated 3D series of 52 x 10 minute episodes
scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2008. The series and website
have a production budget of US$7.3 million.


The company also announced that it has secured a UK carriage agreement for the
property with the BBC with first transmission expected to commence in early
2009. Discussions with other leading broadcasters in France and Germany are at
an advanced stage.


A global master toy license with a major US based toy and consumer products
company is also signed.


Rob Lawes, Ludorum's Chief Executive Officer said: "We're pleased to be
announcing our first in-house developed property, and are extremely encouraged
with the progress we've made. The reaction we have received from our broadcast
and merchandising partners clearly demonstrates the potential Chuggington has to
become a true heritage property".


Michael Carrington, CBeebies Creative Director said: "We are delighted to have
secured the UK broadcast related rights to Chuggington which we believe will be
a wonderful addition to the CBeebies schedule in early 2009. We also look
forward to a close association with Ludorum plc in creating a strong on-line
programme for this exciting new series"


For further information, contact


Rob Lawes - Chief Executive Officer, Ludorum plc 020 8849 8735

Charlie Caminada - Chief Operating Officer, Ludorum plc





About Chuggington:


Chuggington is directed by Sarah Ball, who won a BAFTA award for her work as a
director and writer of Bob the Builder. Chuggington is a computer generated 3D
series of 52 x 10 minute episodes as well as a fully immersive interactive site
both scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2008. The series follows
the adventures of Wilson, Brewster and Koko, trainee diesel engines, each with
their own unique personality and learning style.   The series is set in a world
much like our own with cities, villages and diverse cultures and geography.
Entertainment and enjoyment is at the heart of Chuggington, but embedded within
each story are important educational messages centred on learning and
social-emotional development. The property has been conceived to seamlessly
integrate television, books and interactive view-and-play.


An innovative on-line program is in development where parents will be able to
personalise the site for their children, specifying many parameters including
the level of community interaction desired. The Chuggington site will allow
parents to prioritise the developmental and learning issues that they believe
are important to their children and it will present a truly entertaining and
immersive interactive world of Chuggington which is graphically and textually
consistent with the world defined by the television series, and which is also
uniquely interactive with various of the property's licensed products.


The Executive Producers are Charlie Caminada, Ludorum's Chief Operating Officer,
and Don Toht, who prior to joining Ludorum in 2006 as Vice President, Concept
Development, was the Vice President of Design and New Products for Learning
Curve Corporation where his responsibilities included the design of the Thomas &
Friends, Lamaze and Bob the Builder toy systems. Writers for the series episodes
are international in scope, coming from countries as diverse as England, the USA
and China, and the series' concepts and scripts are supervised by a prestigious
international committee of early childhood development professionals. The series
is being animated by Motion Magic Digital Entertainment Inc. in Shanghai, China.
Motion Magic will also play an important role in the development of the
interactive site which is being developed by the company's own interactive
project management.


About Ludorum plc


Ludorum was formed and is run by a management team drawn primarily from the
senior management team of HIT Entertainment PLC, a company which was subject to
a recommended takeover in May 2005 valuing the business at #476 million and
which managed a strong portfolio of children's properties including Bob the
Builder, Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, Pingu and Guinness World Records. The
company is dedicated to developing, acquiring and marketing intellectual
entertainment properties which are appropriate for both the new interactive
distribution channels as well as classic linear TV.









                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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