Be Ponkickies Debuts on North American Channel Oznoz

Iconic Japanese preschool series BE PONKICKIES premieres in the US and Canada via collaboration between FUJI TV and Oznoz

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- In an unprecedented deal, Fuji Television Kids Entertainment, Inc. has entered into an exclusive agreement with Oznoz to debut Be Ponkickies, on North America's biggest bilingual platform.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141028/154826

Long touted as the "Sesame Street" of Japan, the iconic preschool series Be Ponkickies has enjoyed a 40-year-run on Fuji Television Network and BS Fuji. Now, the famous characters will be accessible for the first time in the US and Canada on Oznoz along side other popular and educational series from Sesame Workshop, Hit Entertainment and much more.

"The Be Ponkickies series fits right into our line-up at Oznoz. The show has exceptional production value and a long history of educating generations of children all over Japan. We think anyone learning Japanese or any Japanese-American families would be delighted to watch the show," said Shabnam Rezaei, President of Oznoz.

Oznoz has acquired 26 half-hour episodes in Japanese, which will sit along side other Japanese content such as Sesame Street, Babar, Ruby Gloom and On-Chan. Included in the deal is the right for Oznoz to dub the show into English and other languages. Oznoz is the largest bilingual online channel in the US and Canada, catering to families seeking children's programming in their language. The channel also has carries English and non-dialogue content with a particular focus on preschool.

"We are so happy to be working with Oznoz, which provides a solid, child-safe educational environment for our beloved Be Ponkickies series in the US and Canada," said Mr. Yoshikazu Obata, president of Fuji TV Kids' Entertainment.

On Oznoz, customers can sample new series by watching the first episode for free. Shows can be streamed from any browser at www.oznoz.com or downloaded for offline viewing via the popular Oznoz Video App for iOS and Android.

About Oznoz

Oznoz.com provides "stuff for bilingual kids," including cartoons and books in eleven languages. Current offerings are in Arabic, English, Chinese, Japanese, Persian, French, German, Korean, Spanish and Hindi. Popular titles include Elmo's World, Bob the Builder®, Angelina Ballerina®, Babar, Super Why, 1001 Nights and Thomas & Friends®. Oznoz features a multitude of bilingual books with famous titles like "Dear Zoo", "Wheels on the Bus" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" The channel covers ages 0-14 and includes animation, live-action, stop motion and much more. The Oznoz iPad app and the Oznoz Android app allow kids to watch videos on the go. Oznoz was founded by Aly Jetha and Shabnam Rezaei, a husband and wife team who also started Big Bad Boo, an animation studio that produces high quality kids content such as Lili & Lola, Mixed Nutz and 1001 Nights.

About Fuji Television Kids Entertainment

Fuji Television Kids Entertainment, Inc. is a subsidiary of Fuji Television Network, widely recognized as one of the most popular commercial and terrestrial broadcasters in Japan. Specializing in the children's business, Fuji Television Kids Entertainment strives to educate and engage children through the production of quality children's content. They are active in all aspects of the planning, development, and production of educational and entertaining programming for kids.

For more information, please contact:

Nina Gabriadze / Oznoz

212.960.8980 / [email protected]

Media Contact: Nina Gabriadze, Oznoz Entertainment, 2129608980, [email protected]