Nickelodeon Nabs Basic Cable's Top Spot This Month, Notches All-Time July High With Total Viewers

NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon secured the top spot this month as the number-one basic cable net with kids 2-11 (3.6/1.3 million) and persons 2+ (2.3 million) in total day, while nabbing its biggest total viewer audience ever for a July according to Nielsen Media Research (6/27-7/31/11).  Highlights from Nick's winning month include SpongeBob SquarePants' "Frozen Face Off" special; top-ranking A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! movie; the launch of Family BrainSurge; a hit Victorious TV movie, "Locked Up!"; and more top performances from the most popular preschool shows on television — Dora the Explorer and Bubble Guppies. Additionally, the 24-hour preschool channel, Nick Jr., brought in its biggest preschool and total viewer audiences ever; and TeenNick brought back the '90s with the high-rated "The 90s Are All That" late-night block of retro Nickelodeon programming.

Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants scored big again this month with the primetime premiere of "Frozen Face Off" (July 15, 8 p.m., all times ET/PT), which drew 6.6 million total viewers and was tops with kids 2-11 (10.3/3.7 million) and kids 6-11 (11.2/2.4 million) when it aired. In "Frozen Face Off," Bikini Bottom is buzzing with excitement as the town prepares for a sleigh race sponsored by an anonymous donor. But the gang's dreams of winning the $1 million prize come to a screeching halt when they discover Plankton's scheme to steal the Krabby Patty formula during the race.

Nickelodeon's premiere of A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! (Saturday, July 9, 8 p.m.) ranks as the number-one original TV movie on basic cable with kids and total viewers this year. The hour-long original scored double-digit gains across every demo, averaging a 10.6/3.8 million K2-11 (+136%), 13.4/2.9 million K6-11 (+131%) and 11.2/2.4 million T9-14 (+138%) and 7.3 million total viewers. A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! follows the adventures of a now 23-year-old Timmy Turner (Drake Bell) who refuses to grow up in order to keep his fairy godparents.  

This month also marked the debut of Family BrainSurge, which has significantly raised its time-period levels +67% among kids 2-11 (1.4 million), +78% with kids 6-11 (1.0 million) and +38% with total viewers (2.4 million) since its July 18 launch.  Family BrainSurge now ranks as the top co-viewed program in primetime on both broadcast and basic cable, with 56% of adults watching the show with kids 2-11. Airing weeknights at 8 p.m., Family BrainSurge features teams of parents and kids competing in mind-bending challenges that test their visual, memory and analytical skills with the shared goal of prizes like a trip for the whole family.

The Victorious primetime TV movie, "Locked Up!" (July 30, 8 p.m.), closed the month with a strong showing among kids, tween and total viewers, topping all of broadcast and cable with kids 2-11 and tweens 9-14 for the week it aired (July 25-31).  The TV movie averaged a 6.8/2.4 million among kids 2-11 and 9.9/2.1 million with tweens, and brought in an average 5.2 million total viewers. In "Locked Up!" a free exotic vacation goes awry when Tori (Victoria Justice) and the Hollywood Arts gang get thrown in prison and must rely on their musical talents to escape. The Emmy-nominated series Victorious, now in its second hit season, ranks as the number-one program in its timeslot on all TV. 

In preschool, Nick owns three of the top five preschool shows on commercial television, led by number-one Dora the Explorer and number-two Bubble Guppies.  For the month, Dora the Explorer averaged 6.0/857,000 K2-5 and 1.9 million total viewers. Bubble Guppies averaged 5.2/738,000 K2-5 and scored 2.0 million total viewers. Additionally, Nick Jr. posted its most-watched month ever with both K2-5 and total viewers, averaging a 3.1/339,000 among K2-5 and delivering 650,000 total viewers in total day.

TeenNick's late-night launch of its retro "The '90s Are All That" block has created a viewing destination for young-adult viewers and reached its highest late-night viewership levels ever.  Launched Monday, July 25, the 12a-2a (all times ET) block's first night raised TeenNick's ratings by record triple digits among A12-24 (+225%), A12-34 (+167%) and A18-34 (+500%).  The network was also propelled into the top five (#4) with A12-24 and top ten (#6) with A12-34 in the time period among otherwise fully distributed basic cable networks. Since its launch, the weekday block's first full week solidly raised the time period's levels: +60% with A12-24 (.8/260,000); +67% with A12-34 (.5/299,000); +100% with A18-34s (.4/167,000); and it averaged 382,000 total viewers — up +47% from last year's levels.

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 more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

Source: NMR, Live + 7 Day data through 7/17/11, Live + Same Day data 7/18-7/31/11, qualifications upon request

SOURCE Nickelodeon