Will Smith Tapped to Host Nickelodeon's Milestone 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards Live from Los Angeles on Saturday, March 31, at 8PM (ET)

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- World-renowned actor, producer and recording artist Will Smith (I Am Legend, The Pursuit of Happyness and the upcoming Men in Black III) will host Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, airing live on Saturday, March 31, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/tape delayed for West Coast) from the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles, California.  Smith, a ten-time Blimp Award winner, will be joined by Hollywood's biggest stars in an unforgettable, special anniversary slimefest where kids rule. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120111/NY33907 )

"How better to celebrate 25 years of Kids' Choice Awards than with the biggest movie star in the world?" said Marjorie Cohn, President, Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon Group and an Executive Producer of the show.  "Will has enough KCA blimps at home to fill a room, having long been one of kids' favorites.  He's a larger than life presence who knows how to play big and we're excited he'll be taking the stage for the biggest, loudest, messiest spectacle in the show's 25-year history."

"The Kids' Choice Awards are always the year's liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens," said Will Smith. "I'm honored they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun."

Two-time Academy-Award® nominee Smith recently finished filming Columbia Pictures' Men in Black III, which will release on May 25, 2012. Up next, he will begin filming and producing One Thousand A.E. co-starring Jaden Smith.

Smith's extraordinary list of blockbusters includes the most recent I Am Legend and Hancock. He also thrilled audiences in such huge hits as I, Robot, Independence Day, Men in Black and Men in Black II. Smith, along with partner James Lassiter of Overbrook Entertainment, also produced Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, Karate Kid, The Secret Life of Bees, Seven Pounds, Lakeview Terrace and The Human Contract, which marked the feature directorial debut of Overbrook Entertainment Partner, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Last year, Nickelodeon's 2011 Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by actor/comedian Jack Black, ranked as basic cable's top telecast for the week (March 28, 2011–April 3, 2011) with 7.3 million total viewers. The show also ranked as the week's top telecast with kids and tweens on all TV, averaging a 9.8/3.5 million K2-11, 12.7/2.7 million K6-11 and 11.7/2.5 million T9-14.  The star-studded telecast scored the most votes in the show's history—a record 200 million (+70%, over 2010) votes were cast across Nick.com, Nick's mobile site, a brand-new iPhone application and for the first time ever, an iPad-optimized site, TeenNick.com and Nick's Facebook page.  Nick.com celebrated its highest trafficked day ever on April 2, earning 42 million page views (+9%) and reaching over 2.2 million visitors across its website, mobile and tablet sites (+14%).  Additionally, the audience for the live simulcast of Countdown to Kids' Choice across these digital platforms posted double-digit increases (+39%) over the previous year.

Once again, kids will pick the winners and get tons of Kids' Choice Awards content online and across multiple devices.  http://www.nick.com/KCA12 will serve as the official site for the Kids' Choice Awards with nominee information, voting, videos, celebrity photos, news, and Orange Carpet and backstage webcasts.  Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards is more global than ever in 2012, seen in over 300 million households around the world.  Within hours of airing live in the United States and Canada, the show will roll out in additional international markets, providing kids around the world the opportunity to tune into their local Nickelodeon channel to enjoy the show faster than ever.  In many international markets, the 2012 KCAs will feature country-specific award categories and nominees, such as Nickelodeon Italia's Favorite Star and Nickelodeon UK's Favorite Show.  Voting for the 2012 KCAs will span over six continents across 15 localized voting sites, giving kids practically everywhere the chance to decide who takes home a coveted blimp.

Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards is being produced by Nickelodeon Productions in association with Bob Bain Productions.  Bob Bain, Marjorie Cohn and Paula Kaplan are Executive Producers.  Media outlets can reference the most up-to-date information on Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards by logging onto www.NickKCApress.com.

Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).

SOURCE Nickelodeon