Leapfrogging the Competition

The Jim Henson Co. and Hallmark Entertainment plan to launch the Kermit Channel, a 24-hour pay television network that will draw upon the family and children’s programming libraries and production resources of the 50-50 partners. The channel will launch in Asia and Latin America in September and in more locations afterward. Margaret Loesch, the recently named president of Jim Henson Television Group Worldwide, and George Stein, president and chief executive of the Hallmark Entertainment Network, will oversee the project.