March On Nickelodeon Asia

From Nickelodeon Asia's Official Website, NickSplat.com:

What's New In Nick

Avatar: The Legend of Aang
What happened to the Zuko's soldiers face off with the Northern Water Tribe? Will Aang eventually be able to conquer the FireBenders? We recap Aang's past journey with the following highlight specials leading up to its latest season.

The Legend So Far (12-min specials)
Mar 1 @ 5pm
Mar 3 @ 11am
Mar 4 @ 5pm
Mar 7 @ 5pm
Mar 10 @ 10.45am
Mar 13 @ 2.15pm
Mar 16 @ 5.45pm
A flashback on some of the events that have taken place and the adventures through out the Avatar world, all en route to their ultimate destination, the Northern Water Tribe.

The Siege of the Nation (1-hour finale special)
Mar 10 @ 11am
Mar 13 @ 2.30pm
Mar 16 @ 6pm
At the North Pole, Aang and Katara continue their training, while Admiral Zhao brings a large force up against the Northern Water tribe in his quest for the Avatar.

Avatar: The Legend of Aang (Book 2 - New Episodes)
Weekends beginning Mar 17 @ 11am & 5pm
Aang returns and meet the Earth Kingdom general who has big plans for defeating the Fire Nation. Will they succeed? Look out for more exciting adventures in this new season of Avatar, the Legend of Aang.

LazyTown (New Episodes!)
Weekdays from March 12 @ 7.00am, 10.00am & 1.00pm
Jump back into action with our favourite exercise superhero Sportacus and Stephanie as they get you up and moving with more action-packed storylines, athletic stunts and high-energy music. Catch our brand new episodes of LazyTown coming to you from March 12.

Four Eyes (New Episodes!)
Weekends beginning Mar 24 @ 12.30pm
Four Eyes is back with new episodes as we follow the trials and tribulations faced by Emma as she tries hard to find a place in this world – despite the fact that she is out of this world!

My Life as a Teenage Robot (New Episodes!)
Every Friday @ 7.00pm (Brand New Fridays!)
Brand New Fridays continues this New Year with a mission to save the world. Meet our heroine, XJ9 as she continues to have her own ideas on how she would like to live and at the same time continues to protect the planet.

Don't Miss These Shows!

Lola & Virginia - New Show!
Weekdays beginning Feb 19 @ 4.30pm
This witty animated sitcom tells the story of Lola, aged 12. Life isn't always easy for Lola, taking care of her snotty siblings and putting up with her crazy group of friends. She considers herself the local princess, until Virginia barges into her life...

Mr. Meaty
Premiering in TEENick
Feb 5 to Mar 15, immediately after Drake & Josh (7.30pm)
With ten thousand food court locations in malls worldwide, you'll always find meat just the way you like it. At Mr. Meaty, its always a pleasure to meat you!

TEENick
Everyday, 7.30pm to 9.30pm

Mondays to Thursdays
Drake and Josh
Zoey 101
Romeo!
All That

Fridays to Sundays
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
Life with Derek
Unfabulous
Naturally Sadie

Life with Derek
Fri to Sun @ 8.00pm

Team Galaxy
Weekends @ 9.00am, 4.00pm

The X's
Weekends @ 12.00pm

Wonder Pets
Every Thursday and Friday @ 8.30am, 11.00am

The Upside Down Show
Weekends @ 8.30am

Go, Diego, Go!
Weekends @ 7.00am

* Showtimes are in Singapore time unless stated otherwise, and are subjected to change.

Nickelodeon Asia covers Nickelodeon Hong Kong, Nickelodeon India, Nickelodeon Indonesia, Nickelodeon Korea, Nickelodeon Macau, Nickelodeon Malaysia, Nickelodeon Philippines and Nickelodeon Singapore.

Nickelodeon Asia's March Highlights

From Nickelodeon Asia's Official Website, NickSplat.com:

Spring back into action this March with Nickelodeon!

Catch brand new episodes of LazyTown with our favourite exercise superhero Sportacus and Stephanie, who promise to get you up and moving with more action-packed storylines and athletic stunts. Join them in their exclusive high-energy music videos making its way only to Nickelodeon this month!

In addition to the fun and action, Nickelodeon takes you onto a continuation of the journey of Aang in Avatar: The Legend of Aang. We bring you a flashback of Aang's past adventures in a 12-minute episode recap and a one-hour special leading up to the launch of the brand new season with exciting new episodes.

Four Eyes is back with new episodes as we follow the trials and tribulations faced by Emma.

So, get ready to warm up this spring with Nickelodeon!

* Check showtimes here

Nickelodeon Asia covers Nickelodeon Hong Kong, Nickelodeon India, Nickelodeon Indonesia, Nickelodeon Korea, Nickelodeon Macau, Nickelodeon Malaysia, Nickelodeon Philippines and Nickelodeon Singapore.

Animalia Comes to Television for Nickelodeon Australia

From PorchLight Entertainment:

Classic Children's Book Comes to Television for CBBC, PBS Kids Go!sm Channel, Network Ten and Nickelodeon Australia

Classic Children's Book Comes to Television for CBBC, PBS Kids Go!sm Channel, Network Ten and Nickelodeon Australia


RELEASE DATE: 2006-03-10

Graeme Base’s international best-selling picture book Animalia will come to life in a 40 x half-hour, high-end CGI animation series developed for television by Australia’s BAFTA Award winning Burberry Productions and the Emmy Award winning team at PorchLight Entertainment in Los Angeles. Executive Producers are Ewan Burnett, Murray Pope, Graeme Base, Bruce Johnson and Tom Ruegger.

“Animalia is the most ambitious animated television series ever produced in Australia,” said Burberry’s Ewan Burnett. “High quality CGI animation will allow us to maintain the rich imagery and whimsical humour of Graeme Base’s picture book, a perennial favourite with millions of children across the globe, while re-interpreting the world created in the book as a place of endless adventure and entertainment.”

“I have been a big fan of Graeme Base’s Animalia for many years,” said PorchLight’s Bruce Johnson. “When Burberry offered us the chance to help develop this series with them, we jumped at the opportunity. Bringing a writer with Tom Ruegger’s skill and sense of humour to the development process has helped make this an exceptionally strong co-production and we’re excited to be part of it.”

Animalia will be broadcast on CBBC in the UK; Network Ten and Nickelodeon in Australia; the PBS KIDS GO! 24-hour digital channel in the United States. Negotiations with a major broadcaster in Canada are expected to be concluded soon. The television series will be distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide and in North America by PorchLight Entertainment. Worldwide licensing and merchandising are being handled by PorchLight, excluding Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

“We are thrilled to be in partnership with such an outstanding group of production partners,” said Michael Carrington, Head of Animation at CBBC.

“PBS is excited to bring Animalia to early elementary school children in the U.S. via the PBS KIDS GO! Channel, a new 24-hour digital channel launching in fall, 2006,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, PBS Brand Management and Promotion.

“Network Ten’s goal is to build solid kids’ entertainment across all genres and we are thrilled to be associated with such a high-end animated program like Animalia. We believe it will deliver a unique experience to our young Australian audience,” said Cherrie Bottger, Network Ten’s Network Manager, Children’s Programming.

Animalia received international acclaim when it was first published in 1986 and has since achieved classic status with worldwide sales of more than three million copies. Graeme Base is one of the world’s leading creators of children’s books, with regular appearances on the New York Times best-seller list.

"Animalia is a many-layered world of detail, imagination and humour," said Graeme Base. "Capturing the spirit of the book has been central to our efforts, and seeing it come to life on the screen is tremendously exciting."

The series features two contemporary kids, Zoe and Alex, who visit the extraordinary land of Animalia, a spectacular place inhabited by talking animals from the pages of Graeme Base’s classic book. Mysterious events have undermined the very fabric of Animalian civilisation and Zoe and Alex and their new best friends, Gogo and Iggy (a huge green gorilla and a small but heroic iguana) will do everything they can to restore peace and order to Animalia.

Animalia blends comedy, adventure and mystery in its stories, targeting six- to nine-year-olds. But, like the original picture book, it will entertain the whole family. The episodes will also open young viewers’ eyes to the vast power of language and introduce them to the importance of communication skills.

The 40 x half-hour series will be animated at Photon VFX studios in Queensland, Australia and Absolute Digital Pictures in Glasgow, Scotland. Animalia will be in production for eighteen months, using the talents of some of the world’s best CG animators.

CBBC’s Michael Carrington added: “We are convinced that in combining the UK’s Absolute Digital Pictures’ expertise in CGI series animation with Australia’s Photon VFX strength in feature animation we will bring something quite extraordinary to CBBC’s audiences. Animalia is sure to be a ground-breaking animation series”.

“Our goal is to re-create the rich, imaginative artistic style of the book, while also creating a definitive animation style that will be unique to the Animalia television series,” added executive producer Murray Pope.

Animalia began pre-production in February, 2006 and is expected to be available for Fall 2007.





For further information contact:
Susan Combey, Burberry Productions
Tel: + 61 3 9693 0600
Email: susan@burberry.com.au
Or,
David Bynder, PorchLight Entertainment
310-477-8400 ext. 269
dbynder@porchlight.com

Michiel Bakker Leaves MTV Networks UK & Ireland

From C21 Media:

Bakker turns back on MTVNI

Michiel Bakker, one of the original employees of MTVN Europe and currently executive VP and MD of MTV Networks UK and Ireland, is leaving the company after 20 years.

Bakker, who also held overall responsibility for both children's network Nickelodeon UK and Paramount Comedy, was the driving force behind the launch of new services MTV Overdrive and MTV Flux.

His role will be filled by Heather Jones, senior VP and MD of music and comedy, and Richard Tan, senior VP of finance and operations, until a replacement is found.

During his tenure in the UK, Bakker has steered MTV through some of the network's key developments in multi-channel television. In 2000 he established MTV Networks UK's advertising sales arm, Viacom Brand Solutions, and led the company in a drive towards investing in UK programming.

Bakker has seen the network grow from a single TV channel to a portfolio of multi-media brands, which he said managed to "spawn an entire generation" while never losing its cool.

"The company has a great and challenging future ahead of it but I have decided it is time to turn the music off and see where life takes me," he said of his decision to leave.

Bill Roedy, vice-chairman of MTV Networks, said: "As one of the first employees of MTVN Europe, Michiel helped establish far-reaching distribution for MTV across the continent. In recent years, Michiel has helped build our strong multi-brand portfolio of TV channels and digital media services in the UK making it our largest international business."


Antony Reeve-Crook
2 Mar 2007
© C21 Media 2007

Also, from Digital Spy:

MTV Networks chief quits

Following yesterday's announcement that 250 jobs were to go from MTV Networks, Michiel Bakker, executive vice president and managing director MTV Networks UK & Ireland, is to quit the company.

Dutch-born Bakker joined MTV in 1987 and set up MTV Europe’s Amsterdam office. He went on to launched broadband video channel MTV Overdrive and user-generated content channel MTV Flux. He was also responsible for kids channel Nickelodeon UK and Paramount Comedy.

Bakker said: "I have had a great time at MTV Networks. In my time here I have seen the company grow from a single TV channel to a portfolio of great multi-media brands, spawning an entire generation on the way and never losing its cool. The company has a great and challenging future ahead of it but I have decided it is time to turn the music off and see where life takes me."

He also established MTV Networks UK's ad sales division, Viacom Brand Solutions, and spearheaded the firm's investment in UK programming.

Heather Jones, senior vice president and managing director of music and comedy, and Richard Tan, senior vice president of finance and operations, will assume Bakker's responsibilities until a successor is appointed.

Bill Roedy, vice chairman of MTV Networks, said: “Michiel has played an important part in the growth of our business in the UK and across Europe over the past 20 years. As one of the first employees of MTVN Europe, he helped establish far-reaching distribution for MTV across the continent. In recent years, I’d like to thank Michiel for his tremendous contributions to our business and wish him all the best in the next chapter of his career.”

Bakker will leave his post in the next few weeks, but has not made a decision where he will go. His exit is the latest in line of recent departures that include MTV Networks UK and Ireland's vice president for commercial strategy & digital media Angel Gambino, MTV vice president of scheduling Rupert Morling, MTV Networks Europe president and chief executive Simon Guild and MTV Networks president and chief operating officer Michael Wolf.