Nicktoons, Nickelodeon's Channel for Kids' Favorite Animated Hits Becomes Ad-Supported in August 2005

Nicktoons, Nickelodeon's Channel for Kids' Favorite Animated Hits Becomes Ad-Supported in August 2005

Network, Featuring 75% Exclusive Programming, to Add Three New Series in 2006 Skyland, Shuriken School and Kappa Mikey

NEW YORK, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Nicktoons, Nickelodeon's channel for kids' favorite animated hits, will become basic cable's newest ad-supported network as of August 2005, it was announced today by Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon Television.

"Nicktoons' emerging popularity enables us to use another screen as an avenue to reach kids in a more targeted way," said Zarghami. "Now that it's in almost 34 million homes, Nicktoons is well on its way to becoming a top viewing destination for animation lovers and a sought-after brand with an identity all its own," she added.

Featuring current and classic programming that is 75% exclusive to the channel, Nicktoons targets kids and tweens. Launched in May 2002, Nicktoons has been a commercial-free television network and website since its inception.

"It is exciting for us to be bringing another one of Nickelodeon's networks to the ad sales market," said Tom Ascheim, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Nickelodeon Digital Television. "Under the leadership of general manager Keith Dawkins, Nicktoons will continue to develop its own unique flavor and showcase original animated programming from around the world, building on the current line-up of classic Nicktoon hits."

In 2006, Nicktoons will be launching three new series: Skyland -- produced by Method Films and created by Emmanuel Gorin, Alexandre de la Patelliere and Matthieu Delaporte -- a sci-fi action adventure series set in the year 2251 that follows a heroic young brother and sister team searching for their parents in a new world order; Kappa Mikey -- produced by Animation Collection and created by Larry Schwarz (Leader Dog, Tortellini Western) -- a parody that centers on an American actor named Mikey who inadvertently becomes a huge star in Japan after joining the cast of a struggling Japanese anime series and Shuriken School -- produced by Xilam Entertainment -- a quirky comedy with a martial arts twist about a boy's adventures at Ninja school.

Nicktoons currently airs a slate of acquired programming exclusive to the channel, including two full-length series, Corneil & Bernie and Kaput & Zosky, as well as the original shorts, Leader Dog, Tortellini Western and Doodlez. The channel also recently premiered the Nicktoons Film Festival in partnership with Frederator Studios and Animation magazine, a 14 episode series which featured original animation shorts submitted by independent cartoon filmmakers around the globe. Selected from hundreds of entries, the animated film shorts of one grand prize winner and ten finalists were showcased in various episodes throughout the series. The network will launch its second Nicktoons Film Festival, the Nextoons: The Nicktoons Film Festival, in 2005.

Nicktoons' 24-hour schedule features a roster of hits that have defined kids' and animation lovers' TV for more than 10 years. Nicktoons showcases a wide variety of favorites from Nickelodeon's vast library of more than 2,200 hours of animated programming, offering fans an ongoing marathon of Nicktoon classics such as Doug, Rugrats, Invader Zim and Ahhh! Real Monsters, mixed with current favorites including SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, The Wild Thornberrys and As Told by Ginger.

Nicktoons partners with some of the industry's top graphics companies for its original on-air packaging and showcases vignettes, shorts and music videos featuring Nicktoon characters and animation developed by various Nickelodeon international channels. Reflecting the multi-media entertainment world that today's kids live in, Nicktoons also experiments with new technologies such as web-to-air animation.

Nicktoons, and all related titles and logos are property of Viacom, Inc.

Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Joanna Roses, +1-212-846-7326, Joanna.roses@nick.com, or Nicole Mazer, +1-818-736-3613, Nicole.mazer@nick.com

Web site: http://www.nick.com/

------- Profile: Ent