Top-ranked Nickelodeon Details Season of Innovation and Momentum Across Entire Portfolio at Annual Upfront Presentation

NEW YORK, March 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- During its upfront presentation held today at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, Nickelodeon underscored its leadership position by unveiling plans for brand-new content, more of its top-rated hits and big events that span its entire kids and family portfolio. Punctuated by celebrity appearances and exclusive music performances, Nick's upfront event opened with Victoria Justice, star of the hit Victorious, debuting her brand-new single, "Beggin' on Your Knees," live for the first time. Guest appearances included iCarly stars Miranda Cosgrove and Jerry Trainor--who is also the voice of Nick's hit T.U.F.F. Puppy; the cast of Victorious; and Nickelodeon alumnus Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live, All That, Kenan & Kel).

The presentation also featured the first-ever sneak peek of footage from the brand-new, CG-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, revealed by actor Jason Biggs, who will portray the voice of Leonardo in the series. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is currently in production at the Nick Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif., and bows in 2012.  Nickelodeon also offered a preview of its critically acclaimed, original virtual world for kids, Monkey Quest, which launches April 2. Grammy Award-winning artists Jennifer Hudson and Raphael Saadiq closed the event with an exclusive duet of the Motown classic "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," as well as performances of Hudson's latest single, "Where You At," and Saadiq's latest, "Radio."

As part of the presentation, Nickelodeon announced an unprecedented roster of more than 400 new episodes of animation, live-action and preschool programming, including: four new animated series as part of the network's biggest-ever animation order; a new super-charged look and feel to the network's winning Saturday-morning animation block; an original primetime TV movie event that will bring the casts of iCarly and Victorious together for the first time; the addition of hit comedy series Friends and Yes, Dear to Nick at Nite; details about this year's annual Worldwide Day of Play, in Washington, D.C., for the first-time ever; and the launch of "The '90s Are All That!," a block of Nick's iconic '90s series, to air on TeenNick.  For first quarter 2011 to date, Nickelodeon is expected to close the quarter as basic cable's number-one network in total day with kids 2-11, kids 6-11 and total viewers and post its best quarter ever with total viewers.

Nickelodeon Animation

Nickelodeon, the global leader in television animation, will introduce 450 episodes of new animation programming over the next three years, with almost 200 episodes rolling out on Saturday mornings in 2012.  Representing the largest amount of animation production in the network's history, the new roster includes current hits like SpongeBob SquarePants, The Penguins of Madagascar, Fanboy and Chum Chum, T.U.F.F. Puppy, and the brand-new series The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra--a spinoff of Avatar: The Last Airbender; Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness--Nick's latest partnership with DreamWorks Animation; a new CG series, Robot & Monster; and the Italian import Winx Club.  In fourth quarter 2012, Nickelodeon will premiere a new CG-animated version of the wildly popular franchise, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Nickelodeon also will further elevate its powerhouse Saturday-morning animation block this spring with a vibrant new look, including never-before-seen program content, original animated shorts, animated music mash-ups and celebrity guests.  The block will originate from the Nickelodeon Animation Studios, allowing viewers to experience the process of how animation is made today and see the celebrity voice talent who come to the studio.  Nickelodeon's Saturday morning lineup (8 a.m.-12 p.m. ET/PT) has been the number-one destination for kids 2-11 for 11 consecutive seasons and currently delivers 3.2 million total viewers each week.  

Nickelodeon Live Action

The network will produce more than 100 new episodes of its hit live-action series, spearheaded by a new original primetime TV movie event, "iParty with Victorious," which unites the casts of the blockbuster iCarly and the new hit Victorious for the first-time ever, airing Friday, June 10.  In "iParty with Victorious," one cheating boyfriend, plus two scorned girlfriends, equals a night to remember as Carly and Tori plot sweet revenge while the rest of the iCarly and Hollywood Arts gang compete in a lyrical battle royale.  Culminating in an ensemble performance of the theme song mash-up, "Leave It All to Shine," the movie also guest stars Nickelodeon alumnus Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live, All That, Kenan & Kel) as himself.

Additionally, the network will roll out new episodes of hit series iCarly; Victorious; Big Time Rush; True Jackson, VP; House of Anubis; Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, which is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary on the air; the afternoon game show, BrainSurge; and The Troop.  The season will also feature new episodes of brand-new Nick series debuting later this year: Supah Ninjas and Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures.

Nickelodeon Preschool

Nickelodeon, which is home to four of the top five preschool shows on all TV, has ordered 125 new episodes of the network's beloved preschool series, including new episodes of the latest hits Bubble Guppies—currently the top-rated preschool program on all television, Team Umizoomi and The Fresh Beat Band, as well as new episodes of the groundbreaking series Dora the Explorer.  New seasons of Yo Gabba Gabba!, Max & Ruby and Olivia will also be a part of Nick's preschool line-up.  Additionally, Nickelodeon in conjunction with media content company Chorion (Olivia, Max & Ruby) and publisher Frederick Warne & Co. (owners of the Beatrix Potter™ property), is in production on 26 episodes of the brand-new animated preschool series The Tales of Peter Rabbit.  Slated to air in 2012 on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr., the series will feature many of the beloved and iconic Beatrix Potter characters, including Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny.

Nick at Nite

Nick at Nite's line-up of modern comedies will expand to include the complete libraries of beloved comedies Friends and Yes, Dear.  Yes, Dear, the 122-episode family comedy that follows two couples with dramatically different parenting styles, stars Mike O'Malley (Glee, GUTS) and bows in 2012.  The 236-episode catalogue of Friends, one of the most popular sitcoms of all time that made Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow household names, joins Nick at Nite in September.

"The '90s Are All That!"

Nickelodeon will launch a new nighttime programming block this fall on TeenNick called "The '90s Are All That!," featuring a rotating selection of iconic live-action and animated shows from Nickelodeon's 1990s library, including All That, Clarissa Explains it All, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Rugrats, Rocket Power, Salute Your Shorts, The Amanda Show and Kenan & Kel. "The '90s Are All That!" has been developed in part as a response to overwhelming demand from fans of Nick's groundbreaking original series from the 1990s, as there are more than 9 million fans of Nick's '90s programming on Facebook alone. Airing Monday through Sunday from midnight to 2:00 a.m. (ET), the block will also feature forthcoming acquisitions and feature films from the decade. TeenNick's audience will have the opportunity to influence the block's line-up by requesting their favorite shows via social media sites set up by the network, including a dedicated Facebook fan site.

Worldwide Day of Play

On Sept. 24, Nickelodeon will bring its flagship Worldwide Day of Play (WWDP) event to Washington, D.C., for its biggest celebration of active play in the eight-year history of the initiative.  The network will host an entire day of activities and games for kids and their families to encourage active and healthy lifestyles.  Additionally, Nickelodeon will once again "go dark" and suspend all programming the afternoon of WWDP to emphasize the importance of choosing an active and healthy lifestyle.

Nickelodeon finished 2010 in first place among all basic cable networks in total day–for the 16th straight year–among total viewers (P2+) and all kid demos, for the year to date (12/28/09-12/12/10) according to Nielsen Media Research.  Nickelodeon also closed the year averaging 2.3 million viewers P2+ and a 3.5/1.2 million K2-11, 3.1/680,000 K6-11, 2.3/498,000 T9-14.

Nickelodeon, now in its 31st 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 - News, VIA.B - News).

*For downloadable photos and additional information, visit: www.nickpress.com

SOURCE Nickelodeon