(New York, NY) --- JANUARY 20, 2015 -- The FOX-Owned Television Stations have renewed through 2017 the broadcast syndicated series, “Xploration Station,” a two-hour, weekly, family-focused, science-themed block produced and distributed by Steve Rotfeld Productions.
The offering, which consists of four half-hour shows featuring STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subject matter, deals with earth science, technology, animal science and outer space and airs on FOX-owned stations, Tribune owned FOX affiliates, and other groups, covering over 80% of the country.
Airing on Saturday mornings in most cities, the block of shows includes “Xploration Awesome Planet,” hosted and executive produced by renowned environmental advocate Philippe Cousteau, Jr.; “Xploration Outer Space,” hosted and produced by MIT graduate and astronautics expert Emily Calandrelli; “Xploration Earth 2050”and “Xploration Animal Science.”
Debuting this past September, “Xploration Station” has garnered rave reviews, and all four shows were named in Common Sense Media’s (CSM) Best Science Shows for Kids. Common Sense Media (CSM) (www.commonsensemedia.org), based in San Francisco, is the country’s largest family advocacy and media ratings group.
“’Xploration Awesome Planet’ teaches viewers about Earth science through the host’s (Cousteau) visits to remarkable natural landmarks across the planet…The educational quality of its content makes it a great pick for curious families,” Common Sense Media wrote. Of “Xploration Outer Space,” CSM offered, “In addition to teaching young viewers a lot about the universe and how astronauts explore it, the show promotes STEM learning, and its female host (Calandrelli) challenges gender stereotypes typically associated with the subject of astronautics. Even better, the topics are entertaining enough that parents will want to tune in as well…”
“The FOX renewal shows that ‘Xploration Station’ is resonating with an audience that has so many other choices,” said executive producer Steve Rotfeld. “We get emails every week from not only viewers but school teachers who reference the shows in class and recommend it to their students.”
In announcing the shows’ debut, Frank Cicha, senior VP of programming for the FOX Television Stations, said, “We take our kids programming very seriously, and feel that ‘Xploration Nation’ is a rare, focused effort within the education/information world. Its emphasis on STEM education is timely, important and should appeal to the 13-16 year old target age.”
Steve Rotfeld Productions (SRP) has been producing and distributing shows for cable networks and TV stations for 25 years. Steve Rotfeld, its President, has produced shows including “The Haney Project” on Golf Channel, “Wild Weddings” for TLC, “Wild About Animals,” “Awesome Adventures,” The Lighter Side of Sports” for ESPN, and “Greatest Sports Legends,” for which he won an Emmy Award for writing. “Awesome Adventures” and another SRP show, “Animal Science,” were nominated last year for Daytime Emmys by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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