Nickelodeon And Tennis Australia Announce New Three-Year Partnership

Tennis Australia, the governing body for the sport of tennis in Australia, has announced in the following article, from TA's official website, that Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids and families, and Tennis Australia have announced a brand-new three-year partnership to produce the hugely popular Kids Tennis Day event that takes place in the lead up to the Australian Open!

The event works in association with the MLC Tennis Hot Shots program and encourages kids to play tennis alongside some of the world's greatest players.

The decision to partner followed their successful collaboration on multiple initiatives throughout 2012 and 2013, including Kids Tennis Day 2013, which resulted in 15,000 guests in attendance, a 70 per cent increase from the previous year.

The 2014 event, which takes place on Saturday 11th January 2014, is set to be bigger than ever with the appointment of 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer as the official Kids Tennis Day ambassador. Federer will take centre stage alongside favourite Nickelodeon characters, including Nickelodeon megastars SpongeBob SquarePants and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a host of entertainers yet to be announced. The event will also feature live music performances from celebrity guests and heaps of MLC Tennis Hot Shots activities.

Ben Richardson, General Manager for Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand, said that Nickelodeon was excited to expand on its partnership with Tennis Australia and build on the success of the Kids Tennis Day 2013 event.

As part of the partnership activity, Nickelodeon will also be supporting the MLC Tennis Hot Shots promotional programs throughout the year, along with the AO Blitz and Australian Open Series throughout November and December 2013.

The AO Blitz is a national competition that allows individuals, clubs and schools to play tennis, win prizes and have an Australian Open 2014 player represent their local town. It is the largest participation drive ever seen in Australian tennis.

Kids Tennis Days will feature at each AO Series event, which will see SpongeBob SquarePants and other Nickelodeon favourites join the world's best tennis players on the following dates:

Hyundai Hopman Cup in Perth (28 December)
Brisbane International (30 December)
World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide (4 January)
Hobart International (5 January)
Apia International Sydney (6 January)

For a complete line-up of tennis events and for more information on Kids Tennis Day, visit hotshots.tennis.com.au/kids/kids-tennis-day.

For AO Series ticket information, visit www.ticketek.com.au.

Tickets for Kids Tennis Day went on sale on Wednesday 4th December 2013, and are available on Ticketek, only A$10 for adults and free for kids under 16!

From tennis.com.au:

Nickelodeon, TA announce new partnership

(L-R) Victoria Azarenka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic during Kids Tennis Day in 2013 at Rod Laver Arena with Dora the Explorer (far left) and SpongeBob SquarePants (far right); Fiona Hamilton

Melbourne, Australia, 26 November 2013 [/] Nickelodeon Australia

Global kids entertainment brand Nickelodeon and Tennis Australia have announced a three-year partnership to produce the hugely popular Kids Tennis Day event that takes place in the lead up to the Australian Open.

The event works in association with the MLC Tennis Hot Shots program and encourages kids to play tennis alongside some of the world’s greatest players.

The decision to partner followed their successful collaboration on multiple initiatives throughout 2012 and 2013, including Kids Tennis Day 2013, which resulted in 15,000 guests in attendance, a 70 per cent increase from the previous year.

The 2014 event, which takes place on 11 January, is set to be bigger than ever with the appointment of 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer as the official Kids Tennis Day ambassador. Federer will take centre stage alongside Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants and a host of entertainers yet to be announced.

Ben Richardson, General Manager for Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand, said that Nickelodeon was excited to expand on its partnership with Tennis Australia and build on the success of the Kids Tennis Day 2013 event.

“As a leader in family entertainment, this is a great opportunity for us to use our experience with kids and take Kids Tennis Day to a whole new level. We are looking forward to working with Tennis Australia on their national yearlong events program, which will ultimately encourage the next generation of tennis players in Australia,” he said.

As part of the partnership activity, Nickelodeon will also be supporting the MLC Tennis Hot Shots promotional programs throughout the year, along with the AO Blitz and Australian Open Series throughout November and December 2013.

The AO Blitz is a national competition that allows individuals, clubs and schools to play tennis, win prizes and have an Australian Open 2014 player represent their local town. It is the largest participation drive ever seen in Australian tennis.

Kids Tennis Days will feature at each AO Series event, which will see SpongeBob SquarePants and other Nickelodeon favourites join the world’s best tennis players on the following dates:

* Hyundai Hopman Cup in Perth (28 December)
*Brisbane International (30 December)
*World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide (4 January)
*Hobart International (5 January)
*Apia International Sydney (6 January)

Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open Tournament Director, added: “Kids Tennis Day has become an integral part of our Australian Open line-up and one of the keys to its success is partnering with a brand that kids can resonate with.

“Nickelodeon provides us with expert knowledge and a deep family connection that will assist us in our goal of encouraging kids to attend our events and play tennis. Working closely with Nickelodeon’s dedicated events team, we’ve created a strong entertainment calendar for a great family day out.”

For a complete line-up of tennis events and for more information on Kids Tennis Day, visit hotshots.tennis.com.au/kids/kids-tennis-day.

For AO Series ticket information, visit www.ticketek.com.au.

Tickets for Kids Tennis Day will be on sale from 4 December.

Tags: AO Blitz, AO Series, Australian Open, Ben Richardson, Craig Tiley, Kids Tennis Day, MLC Tennis Hot Shots, Roger Federer, SpongeBob SquarePants

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Nickelodeon Australia Nominated For Four 2014 ASTRA Awards

The Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) has announced the aweslime Nickelodeon News in the following press release, via the Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand publicity team on their official Twitter profile page, @NickPR, and mailchimp.com, that Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand, the Australian and Kiwi version of the popular children's channel, has been nominated for four ASTRA Awards in the industry-voted-for portion of the 2014 ASTRA Awards!

Nickelodeon Australia's second annual "SLIMEFEST" event, "SLIMEFEST 2013", Australia's first music festival just for kids, tweens and teenagers, which, hosted by Nick AU presenters Luke Ryan and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd, combined all the best bits from the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards with Australian celebrities, and of course, lots and lots of Nickelodeon's world famous SLIME, has been nominated for the "Most Outstanding General Entertainment Program" ASTRA Award, and the 2013 series of "Camp Orange", Nickelodeon's adventure reality show for best friends, called "Camp Orange: Spill Seekers", also presented by hosts Luke and Wyatt, has been nominated in the "Most Outstanding Reality Program" award category! Nick Jr. Channel Australia's new locally produced highly interactive and educational music preschool series called "Play Along with Sam", which premiered in May 2013, has been nominated for the "Most Outstanding Children's Content" ASTRA Award, and the shows host, former Yellow Wiggle from The Wiggles, Sam Moran, has been nominated for the "Most Outstanding New Talent" ASTRA Award!

The announcement of finalists in the 15 industry-voted categories has been brought forward on the entertainment calendar, because in 2014 – for the first time – the awards will be staged in March instead of mid-year, in line with other entertainment and media industry events.

The awards were judged on Monday, 9 December 2013 by 52 senior leaders drawn from Foxtel and 19 independently owned and operated television channels.

The 12th annual ASTRA Awards will take place at Sydney's Carriageworks in Redfern on Thursday, 20 March 2014.

Two new awards – the industry-voted sports entertainment program award and a channel achievement award – will be presented for the first time.

Finalists in the five subscriber-voted categories of the 12th ASTRA Awards will be announced on Monday, 3 February 2014 when voting opens to the public.

ASTRA's Industry Excellence Awards will be announced on Monday, December 16 2013.

The ASTRA Awards recognises excellence in the Australian subscription TV (STV) industry and are in their 12th year in 2014. The ASTRA Awards received 30 percent more entries this year, reflecting the growing diversity and quality of content screened on Australian subscription television throughout 2013.

You can find a full list of nominations in the industry-voted for section of the 2014 ASTRA Awards below.

Congratulations and good luck, Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand!!

Original ASTRA Press Release:

Issued: 13 December 2013

2014 ASTRA Awards: finalists announced

Finalists in the industry-voted categories of the 2014 ASTRA Awards were announced today, with more than 50 contenders across 15 categories representing 20 subscription television channels.

FOX SPORTS received the highest number of nominations, scoring 10 nominations across four categories.

The announcement of finalists in the 15 industry-voted categories has been brought forward on the entertainment calendar, because in 2014 – for the first time – the awards will be staged in March instead of mid-year, in line with other entertainment and media industry events.

"The number of entries was up 30 percent this year, reflecting the growing diversity and quality of content screened on subscription television in 2013," ASTRA CEO, Andrew Maiden, said today.

"The Australian subscription television industry invests $700 million in Australian content, producing more than a quarter of a million hours of Australian television each year."

"The 2014 ASTRA Awards will recognise the quality, diversity and creativity of that content," Mr Maiden said.

The awards were judged on Monday, 9 December by 52 senior leaders drawn from Foxtel and 19 independently owned and operated television channels.

The 12th annual ASTRA Awards will take place at Sydney’s Carriageworks in Redfern on Thursday, 20 March 2014.

Two new awards – the industry-voted sports entertainment program award and a channel achievement award – will be presented for the first time.

Finalists in the five subscriber-voted categories of the 12th ASTRA Awards will be announced on Monday, 3 February when voting opens to the public.

ASTRA's Industry Excellence Awards will be announced on Monday, December 16.

For more information, visit astraawards.com and share your comments and congratulations @astraevent #ASTRAS

Finalists in the industry-voted categories of the 12th ASTRA Awards are:

Most Outstanding Children’s Content

* Disney Channel FanFest TV Special Event (Disney Channel)
* Squeak & Boo (Disney Junior)
* Play Along with Sam (Nick Jr.)

Most Outstanding Music Program

* Kings Of Leon On Sydney Harbour (Channel [V])
* STUDIO at the MEMO (STUDIO)
* The Riff (Channel [V])

Most Outstanding Sports Program

* The Code – Life With The Mariners (FOX SPORTS)
* The DHL Australia 2013 Lions Tour (FOX SPORTS)
* Socceroos’ 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign (FOX SPORTS)
* Friday Night Footy on FOX (FOX FOOTY)
* 2012/13 Hyundai A-League (FOX SPORTS)

Most Outstanding Sports Entertainment Program

* Monday Night with Matty Johns (FOX SPORTS)
* RUGBY HQ (FOX SPORTS)
* Open Mike (FOX FOOTY)
* AFL 360 (FOX FOOTY)
* Sunday Shootout (FOX SPORTS)

Most Outstanding Factual Program

* Australia: Life On The Edge (National Geographic Channel)
* Building Australia (HISTORY)
* Breaker Morant – The Retrial (HISTORY)
* The People Speak (HISTORY)
* Abalone Wars (Discovery Channel)

Most Outstanding News Program

* Witness to Courage [CNN International’s Coverage of Typhoon Haiyan] (CNN International)
* Election 2013 Coverage (SKY NEWS National)
* Paul Murray Live (SKY NEWS National)
Most Outstanding Reality Program
* Geordie Shore Season 6 – No Delay from the UK! (MTV Australia)
* Australia’s Next Top Model, Season 8 (FOX8)
* Camp Orange: Spill Seekers (Nickelodeon)

Most Outstanding Lifestyle Program

* Paddock to Plate (The LifeStyle Channel)
* Selling Houses Australia (The LifeStyle Channel)
* Grand Designs Australia (The LifeStyle Channel)

Most Outstanding General Entertainment Program

* Aussie Pickers (A&E)
* Oprah’s Next Chapter (Discovery Home & Health)
* SLIMEFEST 2013 (Nickelodeon)

Most Outstanding Australian Drama

* Top of the Lake (UKTV)
* Wentworth (SoHo)

Most Outstanding Use of Innovation

* Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda (Discovery Channel)
* Ref Cam (FOX SPORTS)
* Rugby on FOX SPORTS (FOX SPORTS)

Most Outstanding Performance By An Actor – Male

* Peter Mullan, Top of the Lake (UKTV)
* David Wenham, Top of the Lake (UKTV)
* Aaron Jeffery, Wentworth (SoHo)
* Robbie Magasiva, Wentworth (SoHo)

Most Outstanding Performance By An Actor – Female

* Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake (UKTV)
* Danielle Cormack, Wentworth (SoHo)
* Nicole da Silva, Wentworth (SoHo)
* Kris McQuade, Wentworth (SoHo)

Most Outstanding Performance By A Broadcast Journalist

* Kieran Gilbert, AM Agenda, Election Coverage (SKY NEWS)
* Ahron Young, News Coverage (SKY NEWS)
* Daniel Bourchier, News Coverage (SKY NEWS)
* David Speers, PM Agenda, The Nation, Election Coverage (SKY NEWS)
* Gerard Whateley, AFL 360 (FOX FOOTY)

Most Outstanding New Talent

* Shareena Clanton, Wentworth (SoHo)
* Sam Moran, Play Along With Sam (Nick Jr.)
* Kelli Underwood, Back Page LIVE and ANZ Championship (FOX SPORTS)

About the ASTRA Awards

The ASTRA Awards reward the creativity, diversity and quality of the Australian subscription television industry. A total of 22 awards voted by subscribers and industry experts recognise the best content and presenters on more than 100 subscription television channels. Follow us on Twitter at @astraevent and on Facebook at fb.com/astraawards. For more information visit www.astraawards.com.

About ASTRA

ASTRA is the peak body representing more than 30 organisations in the Australian subscription television industry. ASTRA members broadcast content to one in three Australians, invest $700 million in local content, add nearly $1.6 billion to the economy and create jobs for 6600 Australians. For more information visit www.astra.org.au.

For media enquiries about the 12th ASTRA Awards, please contact eckfactor:
astraawards@eckfactor.com or (02) 8570 5555
www.eckfactor.com

ASTRA Awards 2014 Sponsors:

FOXTEL
T - It's How We Connect

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Nickelodeon Australia Job Opportunity - Production Coordinator

The Australian pop culture news website Pedestrian TV is reporting the Nickelodeon Jobs news that Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand has announced that they are on the lookout to recruit their next Nickhead to get a piece of the action as Production Coordinator!

Nickelodeon Australia, the Australian version of the world's leading entertainment network just for kids, has a rare opportunity for a Production Coordinator to join their team. This exciting role is fundamental to the operations of Nickelodeon's Creative Department working across the networks in-house productions, on-air promos, ad sales/client integration and short form content. You can find a full job description below.

Reporting to the Production Manager, the Production Coordinator is responsible for the daily administration and delivery systems overseen by the Production Management Team.

The job will be full-time and will be based in Sydney (SYD).

You will be hands on in the creative department, working across in-house productions; on-air promos, ad sales/client integration and shot form content. You will be dabbling in promo and production planning, acting as the direct liaison with internal and external stakeholders, coordinating ad sales/client services production, finance and admin support as well as coordinating production logistics and coordinating resource allocations.

Key areas of responsibility include:

* Promo & Production planning including media and asset requests

* Acting as the direct liaison for both internal and external stakeholders for all production requirements.

* Coordinate Ad Sales/Client Services production including generating speculative budgets and schedules for briefs

* Finance and administration support including raising purchase orders, processing invoices, financial tracking and internal compliance

* Coordinate Production logistics including preparation of calls sheets, booking crews, generating schedules etc.

* Coordinate resource allocation and bookings (edit,audio and voice over) along with supervising smooth delivery of completed projects for transmission

Nick AUS are looking for an exceptional communicator who is a big kid at heart, with loads of energy and enthusiasm. You must bring a mature, professional approach, overwhelming positivity (like SpongeBob SquarePants!) and a highly motivated work ethic. Ability to work well under pressure together with strong organisational skills will assist you in keeping up with this fast paced environment.

Over a year of experience in a similar role in television is required along with a technical understanding of production process and workflow. Study in a related field is preferred along with practical knowledge of financial systems.

So if you love feeling young at heart, know what Nickhead really means and love the challenge of having different sorts of tasks on your plate. If this sounds like you and you're ready to have the slime time of your life, then don't delay, apply today! To apply, simply forward your resume and cover letter to viacomjobsoz@vimn.com or apply for the Nickelodeon Australia job here on pedestrian.tv!

Applications for the above Nick Oz job close on Friday 3rd January 2014.

Good luck to everyone who applies for the above Nickelodeon Australia job!

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