Viacom and SMiT Enter Collaboration to Bring Award-winning Edutainment Kids Service, My Nick Jr. to China

BALI, Indonesia, April 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Asia, a division of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), one of the world's leading providers of original entertainment content, today announced it has entered a collaboration with SMiT, a global leader in conditional access module (CAM) manufacturing based in China. The award-winning My Nick Jr., a first of its kind user-personalized edutainment programming service that allows parents to curate and customize their children's multiplatform linear viewing experience around 11 educational themes, will be launched in China by both partners - marking the first time in the world that My Nick Jr. will be delivered as a dedicated over-the-top (OTT) service. This collaboration also signifies the inaugural introduction of My Nick Jr. in Asia following successful debuts of the service in France and the UK, and an announced launch in the U.S. For it's great performance in the market, My Nick Jr. won "Best Application for Entertainment" at the Trophee des Apps in October 2013 and "Best Enhanced TV Service" at International Interactive TV Awards during MIPCOM 2012.

Announced at the Asia Pacific Operators Summit (APOS) in Bali this week, My Nick Jr. in China will be available to subscribers of iVmall, an OTT Internet video service platform operated by Shenzhen Video Mall Network Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of SMiT. iVmall will run China's first completely paid subscriber model for an Internet video service and is expected to roll out My Nick Jr. as part of iVmall's commercial launch by middle of 2014 via iOS and Android apps and a dedicated website.

My Nick Jr. in China will feature hundreds of Nick Jr. episodes, including titles such as Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go!, Team Umizoomi, and Ni Hao Kai Lan. The advertisement-free personalized programming service allows parents to create a customized My Nick Jr. profile and schedule for their child, according to their child's age and gender, and 11 educational themes identified within the programs in Nick Jr.'s extensive library of preschool content (e.g. Problem Solving, Math, Language, and more). My Nick Jr. also constantly adapts to the preferences of each child, who may at any time use the app to rate each episode. The partnership with SMiT also marks the first time that My Nick Jr. will be offered in two languages in one market, providing parents the option to set their children's viewing experience to English or Mandarin. Additionally, parents may choose desired viewing durations, can be sent email 'report cards' summarizing what their children have watched and which topics have been covered within the viewed episodes, and use the shows for discussions with their children.

"Nick Jr. is about giving children and parents what they want - 'A Smart Place to Play.' With My Nick Jr., we are offering parents a unique user-personalized digital viewing edutainment experience for their children to learn in a safe, supervised, environment while maximizing their enjoyment watching their beloved Nick Jr. shows and characters like Dora the Explorer," said Bob Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer of VIMN. "We're thrilled to be SMiT's exclusive international kids' entertainment app partner for pre-school children through this collaboration on iVmall. SMiT not only shares our belief in this product for children, but also delivers the technology know-how to bring My Nick Jr. to life in China."

"We are convinced of the potential of the My Nick Jr. service as we are living in the world of personalization. Chinese families who join our Internet video service will love the My Nick Jr. service for their children and we are delighted to not only be the first Internet video platform to launch it in China, but in Asia too. This certainly reinforces our commitment to be a serious player in the burgeoning Internet Video service market in China," said Chairman and CEO of SMiT Corporation, Xueliang Huang.

According to the latest report by CNNIC, 247 out of nearly 500 million Chinese mobile users now watch videos online in China.

My Nick Jr. was first launched in France through CanalSat, a unit of Vivendi SA, in 2012. It has launched in the UK through Virgin Media for its TiVo customers and will soon launch in the U.S. through Verizon. VIMN Asia plans to roll out My Nick Jr. to other Asia Pay-TV/OTT operators later.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 35th year globally and 16th year in Asia, is one of the most globally recognized and widely distributed multimedia entertainment brands for kids and family. The company has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does with a portfolio that extends across television, music, publishing, digital media, mobile, and consumer products. Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. are seen in more than 60 million households throughout North and Southeast Asia region with 24-hour programming services including Nickelodeon Southeast Asia, Nickelodeon Korea, as well as Nickelodeon branded program blocks and syndications. For information about Nickelodeon in Asia, visit www.nick-asia.com.

About Viacom International Media Networks

Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is comprised of many of the world's most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Channel, VH1, VIVA, COLORS, Game One, and Tr3s: MTV, Musica y Mas. Viacom brands are seen globally in more than 600 million households in 170 territories and 37 languages via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com. Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom's blog at blog.viacom.com and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Viacom.

About iVmall

iVmall (originated from the concept of Internet Video Mall) is a service platform operated by "ShenZhen Video Mall Network Technology Co., Ltd.", a subsidiary of SMiT. Aimed to be as the first full pay service platform in China, iVmall provides users with unique quality programs in pre-school education, sports, lifestyle and live events (please note that the products planning might be adjusted). Subscribers can enjoy quality programs without the interruptions of commercials (advertisement), children can watch their favorite programs in a much cleaner environment with no negative impact of violence, pornography, and other undesirable advertising.

The goal is to build up our service platform to be the no. 1 brand that provides subscribers (aimed for upper middle class) an efficient access to be connecting to the world-class quality life, i.e. to Travel with iVmall to see the world.

About SMiT Corporation

SMiT Corporation ("SMiT") provides devices that enable secure digital content delivery for the pay-TV industry, allowing authorized subscribers access to protected content. SMiT is a global leader in the design and development of conditional access modules ("CAM"s), which enable the delivery of premium content to digital TVs without the need for a set-top-box ("STB"). SMiT's CAMs are custom designed to meet the strict security requirements of each conditional access ("CA") provider and the varied user-interface and compliance requirements of each pay TV operator. As Over-the-Top TV ("OTT"), Internet video streaming, enriches the way content is delivered and consumed, SMiT also provides OTT solution and offers cloud platform to allow access to paid content by multiple screens in the household.

SOURCE SMiT