CANPRO-WINNING TV SERIES FOR KIDS IS "DISCOVERED" IN THE UNITED STATES

Released: March 30, 1999

(REGINA) In just two seasons (26 episodes), Incredible Story Studio, the series that makes kids stories into movies, has catapulted to the top of the hotly contested world of children's television in Canada. This weekend the popular series will launch in the United States and South America as Discovery Kids Story Studio on DISCOVERY CHANNEL's new weekend block for children as one of its premiere programs.

The series premieres Sunday, April 4 in the 10:30 - 11:00 AM (ET/PT) time slot on the DISCOVERY CHANNEL U.S. Story Studio airs in the DISCOVERY KIDS block, which allows kids to experience the adventure of their world through entertaining and informative programs every Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 AM - noon (ET/PT).

DISCOVERY CHANNEL U.S. is one of the two largest cable television networks in North America, serving more than 79 million households.

This series is kids television in the truest sense - all of the stories are written and performed by kids. Each episode has two thematically linked stories, which are introduced by the actual kids who wrote them: it's the only series on television today that turns kids' stories into "mini-movies" - some dealing with real issues faced by kids every day and others are fantasies that only kids could create.

The popularity of the series is testament to its fresh, innovative style and its unique vision of providing a venue where kids tell their own stories on TV. In Canada the program is one of the top ranked shows on YTV (airing Mondays 7:00 PM ET/PT) and was recognized by TV Guide as one of the top ten recommended children's programs in the nation. Besides being a ratings winner, the series has also picked up a number of Canadian television's most prestigious awards including a 1999 Canadian Association of Broadcasters CANPro Award for Best of Independent - Youth & Children category, an honour received Saturday, March 27 at the Annual Awards Ceremony in Ottawa. The series garnered a Gemini nomination in its first season, as well as numerous other national and international awards.

Producers of the series say its unique format and quality entertainment value give the series its one-two punch.

Executive Producer of the series, Kevin DeWalt says, "The response to this series has been overwhelming. It's given kids new opportunity to expand their creative writing skills, here in Canada, and now around the world."

Incredible Story Studio is a co-production between Regina's Minds Eye Entertainment and Verite Films. Kevin DeWalt is Executive Producer. Virginia Thompson and Rob King are Producers. Virginia Thompson and Rob deLint are Co-creators. For DISCOVERY KIDS, Eric Eggelton is Executive Producer and Marjorie Kaplan is Senior Vice President for children's programming and products.

Incredible Story Studio is produced with the financial participation of Telefilm Canada, Canada Television and cable Production Fund, The Shaw Children's Programming Initiative, Independent Production fund, The Saskatchewan Film Employment Tax Credit, Government of Canada - Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program, Saskatchewan FutureSkills, SCN and YTV.