Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards Tops The Week in Basic Cable, Reaches More Than 11 Million Viewers

NEW YORK, April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards (Saturday, March 31, 8-9:30 p.m. ET/PT) was a slime-filled extravaganza watched by more than 11 million total viewers over this past weekend.  Hosted by Will Smith, the Saturday-night live premiere (March 31, 8p.m. all times ET/PT) ranks as basic cable's number-one telecast for the week (3/26-4/1), averaging 6.2 million total viewers. It also took the top spot for the week with kids and tweens on all TV, averaging a 7.9/2.8 million K2-11, 11.0/2.3 million K6-11 and 11.3/2.3 million T9-14. 

Additionally, the show's 10 p.m. airing on Saturday averaged a solid 3.1/1.1 million Kids 2-11 and brought in more than 2.5 million total viewers, followed by a Sunday, April 1, noon airing that scored a strong 3.8/1.3 million K2-11 and also more than 2.5 million total viewers.

The star-studded telecast scored the most votes ever with a record 223 million (+11%, over last year).  Votes were cast from Feb. 23–March 31, across Nick.com, Nick's mobile site, brand-new iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch apps, an iPad-optimized site, an application on Nick's Facebook page and via Twitter and custom hash tags. Nickelodeon's digital platforms celebrated their highest trafficked day ever on March 31, reaching over 2.3+ million visitors across the net's website, Facebook page, mobile and tablet sites and mobile apps (+10%).  Also, the audience for the live simulcast of Countdown to Kids' Choice posted double-digit increases (+39%) across these digital platforms over last year.

Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards featured First Lady Michelle Obama who presented Taylor Swift with this year's The Big Help Award; slimings of Halle Berry, Taylor Lautner, Chris Colfer, The Big Show, The Miz, Santino Marella, Justin Bieber and host Smith. The show also featured Chris Rock, Robert Downey Jr., Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, Jaden Smith, Willow Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Heidi Klum, Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Lautner, Ludacris, Cody Simpson, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter and Nolan Gould.  Musical performances included Katy Perry, performing her hit single "Part of Me," UK Pop sensation One Direction, who belted out "What Makes You Beautiful" and a preshow performance by Keke Palmer and Max Schneider, who performed "Me and You Against the World," from Nickelodeon's upcoming original TV movie, Rags.

Internationally, the 2012 KCAs delivered strong preliminary results across the board. This year's show was the highest-rated KCA ever among kids in all international markets analyzed to date, with several markets up double digits over last year: UK was up +18%, Germany up +40%, and Australia up +28. The KCAs also was the number-one show in its time slot among kids' channels in the Netherlands, UK and Australia. This year, Nickelodeon extended voting for the KCA to more countries and platforms than ever before, drawing more than 39 million votes from fans outside the US –a triple-digit increase from last year's tally of 7 million.

Following the KCAs was a brand-new episode of Nick's latest live-action series How to Rock (9:30 p.m. ET/PT), which set a ratings record for the series with tweens and total viewers and ranks as the week's number-two telecast with all kids and tweens on all TV (second only to the KCAs).  The half-hour episode drew 4.4 million total viewers and posted double-digit increases over the series' season-to-date average, with a 5.7/2 million K2-11 (+37%), 8.1/1.7 million K6-11 (+41%), 8.5/1.8 million T9-14 (+51%).

Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd 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 17 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, VIA.B).

SOURCE Nickelodeon