Tweenies set for US debut

US kids network Nickelodeon has bought 50 episodes UK preschool hit Tweenies for its joint-venture educational cable channel Noggin, after a deal with The BBC Sales Company in New York.

Created and produced by UK outfit Tell-Tale Productions for the BBC, the show will go to air in the US from April. Noggin said the twice-daily episodes, aimed at three-year-old viewers, will reach a potential audience of 30m.

Noggin joins broadcasters from 50 other countries, including Germany, Korea, France, Japan, Thailand, Ukraine, Slovakia and Australia, which have already secured broadcast rights for the Tweenies.

The series follows the adventures of Bella, Milo, Fizz and Jake and follows in the footsteps of the BBC's other major pre-school global success, Teletubbies. In January, US public channel PBS Kids began broadcasting a spin-off series, Teletubbies Everywhere, from UK's Ragdoll Productions.