Postman Pat delivered to the U.S.

Entertainment Rights has found a stateside home for one of its top-performing preschool properties, Postman Pat. The 26 x half hours series will air daily in both English and Spanish on pay-TV service HBO Family, following its launch this fall. The platform currently has a subscription base of 35 million American households. Additionally, ER plans to roll out a consumer products program in the US in 2006.

The move is the latest in an overall strategy for the U.K.-based prodco and distribution house to expand across the pond, following the opening of a U.S. office and acquisition of the classic Filmation library in 2004.

Dyke, Steinberg tapped to helm HIT

London, England’s Sunshine Acquisition, the company formed by Apax Partners to acquire HIT Entertainment, has hired kid industry heavies Greg Dyke and Bruce Steinberg to helm HIT’s portfolio post-sale.

Dyke has been appointed to the chairman’s post, which comes as no surprise to many insiders – he currently acts as an adviser to Apax on media transactions. His resume boasts a number of senior positions in the television industry, most recently as director-general of the BBC. Steinberg, meanwhile, has been appointed the company’s new CEO, the same post he held at Fox Kids Europe where he oversaw the integration of the company into majority shareholder Disney.