Nickelodeon UK To Premiere Brand New "iCarly" Episode "iPity the Nevel" On 11th November 2011

According to the online TV guide Digiguide, Nickelodeon UK and Ireland and Nickelodeon UK HD will premiere the brand new episode of the hit Nickelodeon live action television show "iCarly" called "iPity the Nevel" on Friday 11th November 2011 at 5.30pm (repeated at 6.30pm on Nick Replay UK), straight after a brand new episode of the popular animated Nickelodeon show ("NickToon") "SpongeBob SquarePants" at 5.00pm.

Below is a description of the brand new episode of "iCarly" titled "iPity the Nevel" from Digiguide:

Ipity the Nevel.

When a video of Nevel yelling at a little girl surfaces on the internet, Nevel becomes hated by everyone. After he begs them for help, the gang works to restore his honour.

You can find out more information about Nick UK and Ireland and Nick HD UK premiering the brand new episode of "iCarly" titled "iPity the Nevel", including sneak peek video clips, here.

Below is a streaming video and a transcript of Nick UK's latest trailer/promo for the brand new "iCarly" episode called "iPity the Nevel":

This Friday, a brand new "iCarly".

Find out why their worst enemy is about to take being evil to a whole new Nevel.

But while the iCarly crew celebrate his downfall, you won't believe who's come looking for their help.

Can these sworn enemies ever really be friends?

And if so, at what cost?

Find out in "iPity the Nevel", this Friday at 5.30, on Nickelodeon!

Also, posted by Nickelodeon UK and Ireland on their official Twitter profile page (@NickelodeonUK):

The @iCarly episode this Friday is iPity The Nevel! Check out this latest snap of the cast, looking good guys! http://ow.ly/i/k0cp

Nickelodeon UK To Premiere New "SpongeBob SquarePants" Episode On 11th November 2011

According to the high quality high-definition (HD) streaming video of Nickelodeon UK's new "A Squidward Shaped Mystery" episodic trailer (below), Nickelodeon UK & Ireland and Nickelodeon UK HD will be premiering and showing a brand new episode of the hit animated Nickelodeon show ("NickToon") "SpongeBob SquarePants" on Friday 11th November 2011 at 5:00pm (repeated at 6pm on Nick Replay UK), followed by the brand new episode of popular Nickelodeon live action show "iCarly" called "iPity the Nevel" at 5.30pm (repeated at 6.30pm on Nick Replay UK).

Brand New Spongebob Squarepants, Allan Blatch from Allan Blatch on Vimeo.

"A Squidward Shaped Mystery" written, edited and produced by Allan Blatch for Nickelodeon UK. Voiced by Gary Martin, Graphics by Lucky Cat Post and audio by the Jungle Group.

Below is a transcript of Nickelodeon UK's new ""Brand New Episode Of "SpongeBob SquarePants"" promo:

Somethings off at the Krusty Krab...

...and it's not the [Krabby] Patties.

A Squidward shaped mystery...

...calls for Sea-Eye Squarepants!

To find out what happened to Squidward, no Pattie will be left unturned.

Brand new Spongebob, next Friday at 5, followed by "iPity the Nevel", only on Nickelodeon!

Nickelodeon UK Announce 'Afternoons on Nickelodeon' Sponsorship Opportunity For 2012

From the official Sky Media website:Afternoons on Nickelodeon:

Sponsor 'Afternoons on Nickelodeon' across broadcast and online!

Sky Media and Nickelodeon are pleased to announce the chance to sponsor 'Afternoons on Nickelodeon', an excellent broadcast and online opportunity.

Nickelodeon is the most popular commercial kids channel in the UK and 'Afternoons on Nickelodeon' is its most watched zone. The channel has built its reputation on imaginative comedies, award-winning animation and the very best in live-action entertainment. Featuring premium content and Nickelodeon's most popular shows, 'Afternoons on Nickelodeon' is guaranteed to reach kids after school, when they are at their most receptive. This campaign offers brands the opportunity to really engage with kids.

The strand's average for kids viewing in October was 1.6m and this reached 20% of all kids.

Scheduling

12 months January - December 2012
Times:1600-1900
Day: Monday - Friday

Example Shows

SpongeBob SquarePants
Kung Fu Panda
Tuff Puppy
iCarly
Victorious
True Jackson
Big Time Rush
Life with Boys

*Example shows are not guaranteed and may be subject to change

Online

To compliment the on-air media, Nickelodeon will create an online campaign which will engage kids with your brand! As well as ad media, Nickelodeon will create and host a competition page, giving kids the chance to interact directly with your brand.

Premium Media

6 Home page takeovers during the year
6 Games page takeovers
Win Button / Nav bar button 6m residency
Traffic driving display media across site
500,000 Page Impressions per month (Skys, MPU's, Leaderboards)
VOD pre rolls, 200,000 pre rolls per month

Also, below is more information about Nickelodeon UK's and Sky Media's 'Afternoons on Nickelodeon' sponsorship opportunity from the PDF (Portable Document Format) file download on the "Nickelodeon UK 'Afternoons on Nickelodeon' Sponsorship Opportunity" page on the official Sky Media website:

Afternoons on Nickelodeon

* 12 months January – December 2012
* The strand will run 1600-1900 Monday – Friday
* Nickelodeon will create a Sponsorship Strand which will help XXBRANDXX align themselves with cool, credible programming
* The Strand will reach kids after school, when they’re relaxing in front of the TV

Online on Nickelodeon

12 months January – December 2012

To complement the on-air media, Nickelodeon will create an online campaign which will engage kids with your brand! As well as ad media, Nickelodeon will create and host a competition page, giving kids the chance to interact directly with your brand

Premium Media

*6 Home page takeovers in year
*6 Games page takeovers
*Win Button/ Nav bar button 6m residency
*Traffic driving display media across site
*500,000 Page Impressions per month (Skys, MPU’s, Leaderboard)s
*VOD pre rolls
*200,000 pre rolls per month

The Figures On-Air

Package For 12 months

*Approx 1372.8 x 5” kids TVRs + 1372.8 x 10” Kids TVRs
*Vaule = £500K gross
*On-air Investment needed: £370K gross + production

The Figures Online

Premium Media

*6 Home page takeovers in year - £2,500 per day - £15,000 gross
*6 Games page takeovers - £2,000 per day - £12,000 gross
*Win Button/ Nav bar button 6m residency - £1,500 per month - £9,000 gross

Traffic driving display media across site - £36,000 gross
*500,000 Page Impressions per month
*Skys, MPU’s, Leaderboards – blended rate of £8 CPM
*Value - £4,000 per month

VOD pre rolls - £48,000 gross

*200,000 pre rolls per month
*£20 CPM
*Value £4,000/ month
Production - £10,000 net
Online Investment needed: £120K gross + £10K net production

Coverage Figures

Contacts

Please contact:

Drachan Forster
Sponsorship Controller – Viacom
0207 032 6637
Drachan.Forster@bskyb.com

Hannah Laird
Sponsorship Manager – Viacom
0207 032 6441
Hannah.laird@bskyb.com

Connecting The Kids - Nickelodeon Talks About Dual Screen Content

From C21 Media:

Connecting the kids

Connected TVs are changing the way people access and engage with content, while tablets are opening up dual-screen options. But what will these changes mean for the kids TV market? Andrew McDonald reports.

Although web-connected TVs are still not the norm in most households, sales are increasing rapidly. According to GfK stats, roughly 12% of the 46 million TV sets bought in Western Europe last year included access to the web.

This figure has already increased to 19% of the 20.6 million sets sold in the first half of this year, and with Blu-ray players, set-top boxes and games consoles also offering ways for viewers to access the web, players from all areas of the TV market are increasingly looking to exploit the possibilities of the internet.

One firm on the cutting edge of these developments is Capablue, a company that specialises in video-on-demand and connected TV apps. The firm has already worked with some of the major UK broadcasters and head of business development Craig Chuter believes there are lots of opportunities for kids-focused content.

"While we have not created an application around kids' content, we are talking to various clients about developing in the connected TV space. There is a lot of excitement around the opportunity to combine video content and interactive services to enable both entertainment and learning," says Chuter.

"With the TV predominantly being a living-room experience it is ideal for shared and learning experiences such as parent and child – more so than the PC. An important element of developing for the 'large screen' is understanding that it is neither a website nor mobile app, but something completely different," he adds, claiming that as more "companion device apps evolve," the opportunities for inputting text, navigating pages, entering competitions and playing games will also improve.

Recent research by US non-profit organisation The Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids aged eight to 18 spend an average of seven hours and 38 minutes a day consuming media, through activities like watching TV and playing computer games. However, thanks to multi-tasking on devices such as mobile phones, they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes of media content into that time.

So how are kids' TV networks rising to the challenge of web-connected TV screens and the behaviour shift towards consuming content across more than one screen simultaneously? Japhet Asher, the executive producer of CBBC Online, says the channel's plans for connected TVs are still "pretty embryonic." However, its existing multi-platform strategy is already starting to bridge the divide between online content and linear TV.

The BBC has already developed a CBBC version of the iPlayer, while CBBC's brand content strategy also extends to online games and live programme interaction. Last year, for example, the corporation created a section on the website for its Saturday morning show Live 'n' Deadly to let kids connect to the series by sending messages through a real-time, Twitter-style service, which ran alongside a simulcast online stream of the programme.

"We had something around 70,000 unique users a week coming in to experience Live 'n' Deadly online, as well as on television – that's a lot," says Asher. "It had a lot to do with the popularity of (presenter) Steve Backshall and the Deadly brand. But it also showed us that when you let the audience have extra engagement, they come, and they're delighted to have had that opportunity to be part of that process."

"The value of being able to bring together what we're doing on the website with what's happening on-screen is huge, and that obviously will transfer to hand-held devices and IPTV over the coming year or two," adds Asher. However, with a core audience of 6-12s, he is also cautious that the channel doesn't "precede the marketplace and precede the audience" when it comes to developing dual-screen content.

Nickelodeon too is treating dual screen with some degree of trepidation. Philip O'Ferrall (left) is senior VP of digital for Viacom International and works across the kids' network and other channels in the portfolio like MTV. He claims that developing dual-screen content is currently more of a priority for adult audiences, but says Nickelodeon is not ruling it out, pinpointing tablet devices as a particular area of interest.

"For the kids' market, it will come later, because the device proliferation may take a bit more time to catch up," says O'Ferrall. However, he says it is only a matter of time before children have access to the best technology in their bedrooms. "When the devices are there, they will be the ones teaching the parents how to use them and that goes with any new technology. Connected home is coming, and it's very real in many households. The tablet is a good example where you'll see that being more commonplace," he adds.

O'Ferrall says Nickelodeon's engagement strategy is already "very 360-focused." The network promotes brands such as SpongeBob SquarePants online and also has a series of standalone multiplayer games, such as Monkey Quest and Neopet. However, the executive claims that TV remains its "lifeblood" and says the natural extension of web-connected TV and dual-screen content will be "strangely back to linear, where there is going to be some playalong and some interactivity."

A recent IHS Screen Digest study agrees. The research shows that the vast majority of TV viewing will remain real-time and linear for years to come, with DVR and on-demand viewing only expected to account for 15.8% of programmes watched in the US in 2015, and 12.7% in the UK in the same year. This is up only slightly from 9.9% in the US and 7.8% in the UK last year.

Samsung is a leading light in the internet-connected TV space and for content services manager Darren Petersen, the potential of Samsung's built-in app platform goes far beyond catch-up services. Games, subscription film rental and social networking services are already among the 90 apps available for the firm's connected TVs.

"You'll see a lot of services that have become available online through PC-type devices migrating back to the television, which is where they belong," says Petersen, predicting that connected kids-based content will also start to progress with the platform – especially given that Samsung's marketing efforts have now shifted from 3D TVs last year to smart TVs this year. He adds: "You'll see the services evolve to offer more children's content that will perhaps become a little bit more interactive as we move forward. We have a lot of games already, and a lot of kids' games, which are more education-focused."

Disney aims to meet this technological challenge head-on. VP for digital media distribution Chiara Cipriani says connected TV technology generates more opportunities for audiences to sample its content, feeding into its existing multi-platform franchise-led strategy. "In these environments, brands are increasingly important and as Disney we have an advantage in this space as viewers are drawn to brands they recognise and trust," says Cipriani.

The Mouse House recently signed its first film subscription on-demand deal in the UK with LoveFilm, which is available on a number of platforms. Meanwhile, in Belgium, Disney has been working with Telenet to pilot a multi-screen strategy that will make its content available on PC, iPhone and iPad through the cable network's TV Everywhere-style service Yelo. "We need to be wherever our audiences are, and among kids and younger people, that is undeniably in the multi-screen, multi-tasking world," adds Cipriani, pointing out that Disney's TV brands already exist across apps, games, music and e-books.

Another notable connected-screen initiative starting to take shape in the US is UltraViolet. Though Disney is not yet part of UltraViolet, the digital service is backed by a powerful consortium of 70 studios, technology firms and retailers, and is designed to introduce a common standard for buying and accessing video content across a number of different devices, including smartphones, tablets and connected TVs.

While this has the potential to shore up flagging DVD sales by bundling digital access rights with physical media, it could also have profound implications on how families access media at home – both through their TVs and other devices.

"An UltraViolet account can have customised log-ins for up to six different family or household members. What that means is you can let your kids have a log-in and be able to use and access your family's digital collection, but you have choices in how they do so," explains UltraViolet's general manager and executive director Mark Teitell. "Today, in many cases, families are faced with a more binary choice. Most services just have a user ID and a log-in that an account holder would have. So either you give that to your children or you don't. The idea behind UltraViolet is you shouldn't really be forced to make that choice."

Through this service, parents will be able to put locks on content, allowing their children to access only age-appropriate films. They will even be able to dictate whether they are allowed to download or simply stream programmes and films from given devices.

Although Screen Digest analyst Dan Cryan says it is still too early to say how UltraViolet will play out with consumers, in a rapidly moving digital space, where kids are increasingly accessing media through different devices and a range of online services, he believes that changes to the content delivery model are definitely afoot.

"There are concerns about extrapolating too far from the behaviour of teenagers; different life-stages lend themselves to different modes of behaviour. But at the same time, we may well be staring down the barrel of some quite significant changes in viewing behaviour," says Cryan. "By gut, you've got to say that viewing habits are changing. It's just a question of how fast."

2 Nov 2011
© C21 Media 2011

Nickelodeon Consumer Products UK Targets Big Retail; Reveals Plans For 2012-2013

From ToyNews:

King of the Toon

Mark Kingston, VP at Nickelodeon & MTV Consumer Products UK and Australia, has built a new team and put more attention on retail. [ToyNews news reporter] Samantha Loveday reports…

It hasn't been very often over the past couple of years that someone has uttered the word bullish in an interview. Mark Kingston, VP Nickelodeon & MTV Consumer Products UK and Australia, however, just comes right out with it. “We’re confident overall, very bullish,” he tells ToyNews.

And, as he talks through the changes he’s made since he arrived at Nickelodeon in February and the plans coming up for its content, you can see why he’s so upbeat.

Kingston joined NCP from Disney, where he worked with all the key retailers (the last four years with the Tesco business unit), building up relationships and explaining the added value that licensors can bring to the process.

“For the last four or five months I’ve been doing a strategic review of the business, looking at having the most efficient structure in place, ensuring that we have the resource to focus on retail, but also develop great products,” Kingston says. “We’ve really invested in people. We have a ‘retail facing’ team of five people, which, aside from Disney, I can’t think of anyone else in the licensor community who has that.

“Retail is so important. We have to be as close to the consumer as possible to understand what they want. The retail landscape has changed drastically over the last decade and it will change again, drastically, over the next ten years. We’ve never really had the team to be able to build up those regular contacts with retailers until now. We need day to day contact with key retail partners to understand their strategies and ensure that we can provide products and solutions to meet their needs.”

NCP is also working on expanding its licensee base, strengthening its existing relationships as well as bringing on board new partners.

The appeal of NCP’s portfolio is already quite broad, of course. Evergreen properties Dora the Explorer and Spongebob Squarepants continue to lead the way. Dora, which has been in the UK now for 11 years, was still the number four brand for girls 0-4 last year, according to NPD. “We’ve probably diluted the marketplace over the last few years by having too many different looks and feels to Dora,” Kingston offers.

“So we’ve used the last six to 12 months cleaning that up and we have got some great new creative coming through.”

For Spongebob, meanwhile, the fastest growing category is tween girls, with apparel and stationery both appealing. Overall, says Kingston, Spongebob Squarepants has grown 19 per cent YOY [Year On Year] from a consumer products perspective.

Plans are also afoot to make Winx Club more appropriate for UK and US audiences. The firm controls the English speaking territories following its deal with Rainbow, so has re-voiced the existing four seasons using Nickelodeon talent from its live action show. It is now working on new CGI content for season five, as well as carefully editing some of seasons one to four. The show has just started airing on Nickelodeon in the UK and Kingston says it will be broadcast for a full year before products appear in the marketplace.

The strong start made by Victorious and Big Time Rush on air will also be built on. Fashion will be the lead category here, with the main product launch likely to take place in autumn/winter 2012.

Live action shows like Victorious have been a key feature of Nickelodeon's 2011 portfolio

The big news, however, is the return of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in spring/summer 2013. “We firmly believe this is an evergreen franchise which can be established as a huge CP property over the next ten years,” Kingston continues. “We’re not looking at this as just a movie property or an ‘in and out’ property, we’re looking at this being a long-term franchise for Nickelodeon. Over the years the different iterations of Turtles had seen the four brothers almost become identical, the same height, same clothing, whereas boys want to have a favourite, they want to be able to associate themselves with those characters. We’re putting the tongue in cheek humour back into it, we’re going back to the 1984-esque Turtles.”

So, bullish? Most definitely. But not without good reason.