Nickelodeon Announces Will Smith As The Host Of The "2012 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards"

From Nickelodeon's official "2012 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards Press Kit" Website:

WILL SMITH TAPPED TO HOST NICKELODEON’S MILESTONE 25TH ANNUAL KIDS’ CHOICE AWARDS LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES ON SATURDAY, MARCH 31, AT 8PM ET

1.10.12

Smith to Helm Silver Anniversary of Star-Studded, Slime-Dousing Telecast Honoring Kids’ Favorites in the Worlds of Film, Music, Sports and Television

Santa Monica, CA – Jan. 11, 2012 – World-renowned actor, producer and recording artist Will Smith (I Am Legend, The Pursuit of Happyness and the upcoming Men in Black III) will host Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, airing live on Saturday, March 31, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/tape delayed for West Coast) from the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles, California. Smith, a ten-time Blimp Award winner, will be joined by Hollywood’s biggest stars in an unforgettable, special anniversary slimefest where kids rule.

“How better to celebrate 25 years of Kids’ Choice Awards than with the biggest movie star in the world?” said Marjorie Cohn, President, Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon Group and an Executive Producer of the show. “Will has enough KCA blimps at home to fill a room, having long been one of kids’ favorites. He’s a larger than life presence who knows how to play big and we’re excited he’ll be taking the stage for the biggest, loudest, messiest spectacle in the show’s 25-year history.”

"The Kids’ Choice Awards are always the year's liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens," said Will Smith, "I'm honored they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun."

Two-time Academy-Award® nominee Smith recently finished filming Columbia Pictures’ Men in Black III, which will release on May 25, 2012. Up next, he will begin filming and producing One Thousand A.E. co-starring Jaden Smith.

Smith’s extraordinary list of blockbusters includes the most recent I Am Legend and Hancock. He also thrilled audiences in such huge hits as I, Robot, Independence Day, Men in Black and Men in Black II. Smith, along with partner James Lassiter of Overbrook Entertainment, also produced Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, Karate Kid, The Secret Life of Bees, Seven Pounds, Lakeview Terrace and The Human Contract, which marked the feature directorial debut of Overbrook Entertainment Partner, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Last year, Nickelodeon's 2011 Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by actor/comedian Jack Black, ranked as basic cable’s top telecast for the week (March 28, 2011–April 3, 2011) with 7.3 million total viewers. The show also ranked as the week’s top telecast with kids and tweens on all TV, averaging a 9.8/3.5 million K2-11, 12.7/2.7 million K6-11 and 11.7/2.5 million T9-14. The star-studded telecast scored the most votes in the show’s history—a record 200 million (+70%, over 2010) votes were cast across Nick.com, Nick’s mobile site, a brand-new iPhone application and for the first time ever, an iPad-optimized site, TeenNick.com and Nick's Facebook page. Nick.com celebrated its highest trafficked day ever on April 2, earning 42 million page views (+9%) and reaching over 2.2 million visitors across its website, mobile and tablet sites (+14%). Additionally, the audience for the live simulcast of Countdown to Kids’ Choice across these digital platforms posted double-digit increases (+39%) over the previous year.

Once again, kids will pick the winners and get tons of Kids’ Choice Awards content online and across multiple devices. http://www.nick.com/KCA12 will serve as the official site for the Kids’ Choice Awards with nominee information, voting, videos, celebrity photos, news, and Orange Carpet and backstage webcasts. Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards is more global than ever in 2012, seen in over 300 million households around the world. Within hours of airing live in the United States and Canada, the show will roll out in additional international markets, providing kids around the world the opportunity to tune into their local Nickelodeon channel to enjoy the show faster than ever. In many international markets, the 2012 KCAs will feature country-specific award categories and nominees, such as Nickelodeon Italia's Favorite Star and Nickelodeon UK's Favorite Show. Voting for the 2012 KCAs will span over six continents across 15 localized voting sites, giving kids practically everywhere the chance to decide who takes home a coveted blimp.

Nickelodeon’s 25th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards is being produced by Nickelodeon Productions in association with Bob Bain Productions. Bob Bain, Marjorie Cohn and Paula Kaplan are Executive Producers. Media outlets can reference the most up-to-date information on Nickelodeon’s 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards by logging onto www.NickKCApress.com.

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 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 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, VIAB).

Also, from ATV Today:

Will Smith to host Children’s Award Show

The actor, singer and producer is to front Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards 2012. The event will take place at the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles, California.

“Will Smith is one of the world’s biggest stars and is instantly recognisable with kids and parents alike around the globe” said Tina McCann, Managing Director for Nickelodeon UK. “A mega blimp winner, Will is sure to be the life and soul of the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2012 party. ”

Two-time Academy-Award® nominee Smith recently finished filming Columbia Pictures’ Men in Black III, which will be released this spring in the UK. Up next, he will begin filming and producing One Thousand A.E. co-starring Jaden Smith.

“The Kids’ Choice Awards is always the year’s liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens,” said Will Smith. “I’m honoured they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun.”

Smith’s list of blockbusters includes the most recent I Am Legend and Hancock. He entertained a youth audience across the early 1990s with sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bellair.

The premiere of the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2011, hosted by actor and comedian Jack Black, was the highest rated Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards ever. The 2011 UK premiere received an 8.2% share, up +325% on the slot average, making Nickelodeon the #1 kids’ channel during the time slot. The performance was up +32% on the previous year, with nearly half a million viewers tuning into the show during its premiere slot.

The 2012 awards will air on Sunday April 1st. Nickelodeon is available on Sky 604, Virgin 712, through BT Vision and TalkTalk.

Also, from the official MTV UK website, MTV.co.uk:

Will Smith To Host Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards

The Men In Black star will front the 25th KCAs on 31st March...

Will Smith has been announced as the host of the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.

The Men In Black star, who has taken home ten KCA blimps over the years, claims he is "honoured" to be fronting the star-studded 25th KCAs on 31st March.

In a statement, the Switch hitmaker said: "The Kids' Choice Awards are always the year's liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens. I'm honoured they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun."

President of Original Programming and Development Marjorie Cohn said of Smith's involvement: "How better to celebrate 25 years of Kids' Choice Awards than with the biggest movie star in the world?

"Will has enough KCA blimps at home to fill a room, having long been one of kids' favourites. He's a larger than life presence who knows how to play big and we're excited he'll be taking the stage for the biggest, loudest, messiest spectacle in the show's 25-year history."

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Also, from Digital Spy:

Will Smith to host Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2012

Will Smith has been named as the host of this year's Kids' Choice Awards.

The Men in Black III star will headline Nickelodeon's 25th KCAs ceremony on March 31 at 8pm ET.

"The Kids' Choice Awards are always the year's liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens," he said. "I'm honoured they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun."

Will has earned ten awards at the annual show over the past few years.

"How better to celebrate 25 years of Kids' Choice Awards than with the biggest movie star in the world?" said President of Original Programming and Development Marjorie Cohn. "Will has enough KCA blimps at home to fill a room, having long been one of kids' favourites.

"He's a larger than life presence who knows how to play big and we're excited he'll be taking the stage for the biggest, loudest, messiest spectacle in the show's 25-year history."

The actor recently reunited with his former Fresh Prince of Bel Air castmates at a charity luncheon.

He is married to Jada Pinkett Smith, and is the father of Karate Kid actor Jaden Smith and 'Whip My Hair' singer Willow Smith.

Will Smith can next be seen in the third instalment of the Men in Black franchise, which opens in cinemas on May 25.