MEGA Brands To Showcase "SpongeBob SquarePants", "Dora and Friends: Into the City!" And "Thomas & Friends" MEGA BLOKS Lines At Nuremberg 2015

ToyNews, a monthly trade magazine for the toy business, is reporting the exciting news in the following article that MEGA Brands, a trusted family of leading global brands in construction toys, games & puzzles, arts & crafts and stationery, will be showcasing their upcoming MEGA BLOKS "Dora and Friends: Into the City!" construction toy range and the newest additions to their MEGA BLOKS "SpongeBob SquarePants" product range at the Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair 2015 in Nuremberg!

MEGA BLOKS' brand-new "Dora and Friends" construction toy line, based on Nickelodeon's popular animated preschool series starring a grown-up "Dora the Explorer", will feature friendly characters, buildable locations and post building play features, such as music and magic.

The MEGA BLOKS "SpongeBob SquarePants" line will continue to focus on buildable collectible figures with new underwater themed vehicles and locations.

Additionally, to mark the 70th anniversary of Nick Jr. UK favourite "Thomas & Friends", MEGA BLOKS will be showcasing a special "Sodor's Celebrations" themed set featuring an exclusive new buildable Thomas the Tank Engine, complete with a birthday hat.

Each MEGA BLOKS line is expected to launch during Fall/Autumn 2015:

Mega Brands to showcase Minions, Thomas & Friends and SpongeBob SquarePants lines at Nuremberg 2015

This year sees the construction firm inject new products into its pre-school, girls and boys lines.

Autumn/winter 2015 is set to be a big season for Mega Brands as it continues to build upon its successful pre-school ranges, including the Mega Bloks First Builders line being showcased at Nuremberg this year.

New products joining the range include the innovative Block Picking Wagon. This allows pre-schoolers to pull the wagon, fill it with blocks for classic play or push it to scoop up blocks up for fun and easy clean-up.

To mark the 70th anniversary of Thomas & Friends, Mega Bloks will be launching a Sodor’s Celebrations themed set featuring an exclusive new buildable Thomas engine, complete with a birthday hat.

In addition there will be new characters and movie related product introduced to the range.

Elsewhere, in line with the new Dora and Friends TV series featuring a grown up Dora, Mega Bloks is launching a new range with friendly characters, buildable locations and post building play features, such as music and magic.

Also new for autumn/winter 2015 are six ‘spooktacular’ play-sets and eight mini monster figures creeping into the new Mega Bloks Monster High line.

Fans can build and create their own freaky fun with Monster High characters that feature full articulation so they can strike any pose. Each character comes with different fashion styles, trendy accessories, while there are also secret reveals hidden in the sets.

Consumers can also build and host a premiere with the Monster High Monster Moviemobile, dance away to the real music with the Graveyard Garden Party or strike a pose in Draculaura Vamptastic Room.

Mega Bloks is also launching its own IP brand for girls in the form of The Craftails. Based in Storywood, Craftails is a range of friendly little creatures boasting big imaginations and even bigger tails.

The brand allows boys and girls to indulge in building and mess free crafting with a selection of different collectable animal figurines, each with furry tails.

Mega Bloks will be building upon its popular Barbie range with new easy to build themes including Careers, Pets and Entertainment.

The stars of Despicable Me will be taking over the big screen this year with the Minions movie, and the little yellow creatures will be starring in their own Mega Bloks set, too.

The Mega Bloks Despicable Me line, inspired by the franchise’s new movie, characters, locations and vehicles, features easy-to-build and fully customisable construction sets with mix-and-match capabilities.

The sets include buildable Minions unique to each kit. This means there is a wide variety of Minions for fans to collect, build and play with.

Sticking with animated icons, the Mega Bloks SpongeBob SquarePants line will continue to focus on buildable collectible figures with new underwater themed vehicles and locations.

Elsewhere, for the first time, the popular Mega Bloks Hot Wheels line will incorporate real Hot Wheels track pieces into its play-sets.

Petrolheads can enjoy building cars that can ride on the new track and the sets landing in autumn/winter 2015 will include all-new original Mega Bloks designs, as well as a line of new drivers.

Mega Brands can be found in Hall 12.2 at Stand P-15 at Nuremberg 2015.

01844 350033

---

Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for the latest Nickelodeon, SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora and Friends: Into the City! News and Highlights!

Nickelodeon Growing Audience By Adding Sports To The Mix

Adweek has unveiled a article in which Keith Dawkins, the Senior Vice President (SVP) and General Manager (GM) for Nicktoons, TeenNick and Nick Jr. talks about how Nickelodeon is growing their audience by adding sports programming to their schedules, including the "Kids' Choice Sports" awards and Nicktoons' NickSports programming block, which both launched in 2014:

Nickelodeon Says It's Growing Audience by Adding Sports to the Mix

Programming block also opened a door for a new set of advertisers

NFL Rush Zone: Season of the Guardians is part of NickSports lineup.

It's been four months since kid-focused cable network Nickelodeon took the leap of dedicating a 2-hour prime-time block to sports programming. So how is it working out?

Pretty well, say the numbers. Since its September debut, NickSports has grown the Wednesday block by 15 percent with boys ages 6 to 11 and 19 percent with kids (girls and boys combined) in the same age group. "We are hitting all the touch points everyone wants to be involved in," says Keith Dawkins, svp and general manager for Nicktoons, TeenNick and NickJr.

Michael Strahan hosted 2014's Kids' Choice Sports Awards, drawing 2.7 million viewers.

The idea for the programming block, airing from 9 to 11 p.m. ET, came about relatively quickly. After the first-ever Kids' Choice Sports Awards hosted by NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan this past summer drew impressive ratings, Dawkins realized that regular, dedicated sports programming could do well with his demographic.

"Our research shows sports gets big ratings in every quadrant. Add the participation rate of boys and girls in youth sports, and it all adds up to the right time to do more in sports," Dawkins said.

As powerful as many sports leagues are these days, they still turned out to be an easy enough sell for Dawkins' proposal. "The leagues are used to getting big numbers on their own, but we are a place that gives them an entry to kids and families," Dawkins said.

The NFL, NASCAR, Major League Soccer and the WWE have all signed on. And for the NFL, the biggest fish of all, it was an easy decision. "We are always looking for ways to create lifelong fans and to connect with kids in unique ways," said NFL marketing and sales vp Jaime Weston said.

For a league dealing very publicly with some serious offseason concerns—[...]—partnering with Nickelodeon offered a positive counterpoint to much of the public discussion. It's also helped Nickelodeon seem like an attractive place for advertisers looking for options beyond gameday ads.

Dawkins believes that the best parts of the sports industry also align well with his network's strengths. "Nickelodeon has always been a place and space of creating iconic characters, such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer, that people have a deep affinity for," Dawkins said. "The sports world too has its characters, and they end up creating lifelong Lakers, Cowboys and Yankee fans."

It just so happens that such character-driven content also turns out to be the best antidote to all those digital devices that kids often prefer these days over television. "Sports has a stickiness that sets it apart," Dawkins said.

---

Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for the latest Nickelodeon News and Highlights!

Nickelodeon USA Kicks Off a Charged Up New Season of Popular Power Rangers Franchise with Premiere of Saban's "Power Rangers Dino Charge" On 2/7

Saban Brands and Nickelodeon have today, Tuesday 20th January 2015, announced and confirmed in the following press release, from PRNewswire, the exciting Nickelodeon News that Nick USA will start to premiere and show "Power Rangers Dino Charge", the 22nd season of Saban's popular "Power Rangers" franchise, from Saturday 7th February 2015 at 12:00pm ET/PT!

Original Saban Brands Press Release:

Nickelodeon Kicks Off a Charged Up New Season of Popular Power Rangers Franchise with Premiere of Saban's Power Rangers Dino Charge Saturday, Feb. 7, at 12 p.m. (ET/PT)

Saban's Power Rangers Dino Charge

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Saban Brands and Nickelodeon will debut the 22nd season of the iconic Power Rangers franchise, Power Rangers Dino Charge, on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 12 p.m. (ET/PT). Premiering on Nickelodeon, the new season will deliver more dino-charged action and adventure than ever before, with an out-of-this-world storyline and an epic new team of Rangers. New episodes from this larger-than-life season will continue to air every Saturday at 12 p.m. on Nickelodeon in the U.S., with encore episodes airing Sundays at 8 a.m. on Nickelodeon and Saturdays at 7 p.m. on Nicktoons. The dinosaur theme has always been the strongest for Saban's Power Rangers franchise from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to Power Rangers Dino Thunder, priming this newest season to become a fan-favorite with the return to the popular theme for the first time in over 10 years.

In Power Rangers Dino Charge, an alien entrusted powerful Energems to 10 dinosaurs, but when the dinosaurs went extinct, the Energems were lost. Now, an intergalactic bounty hunter is determined to reclaim the Energems and rule the universe, destroying our planet in the process. A new team of Power Rangers must find the lost Energems and use their Dino Chargers to power up an arsenal of dino-fueled weapons, zords and Megazords to save the world!

"Power Rangers Dino Charge will bring fans an action-filled story packed with all-new monsters, villains, weapons, and of course, Power Rangers," said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands. "We know our fans will love what we have in store with this all-new dino-themed season."

"It's really great to be back with Power Rangers. I'm humbled to be part of a show that continues to capture the hearts of so many kids, even after 20+ years," said Executive Producer, Power Rangers Dino Charge, Judd "Chip" Lynn. "I've been involved in a lot of seasons, but for Power Rangers Dino Charge, we're pushing the limits, going to places and times we've never visited before, with some unexpected storylines and dino-charged plot twists!"

The new team of Dino Charge Rangers includes: Tyler, the Red Ranger (Brennan Mejia), Koda, the Blue Ranger (Yoshi Sudarso), Shelby, the Pink Ranger (Camille Hyde), Chase, the Black Ranger (James Davies) and Riley, the Green Ranger (Michael Taber).

Sneak peek videos, games and other activities for Power Rangers Dino Charge can be found at www.nick.com/dinocharge and beginning Feb. 16 fans can play the brand-new game, Power Rangers Dino Charge: Unleash the Power! For more information on Power Rangers Dino Charge, please visit www.powerrangers.com and follow Power Rangers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube.

About Saban's Power Rangers Dino Charge

Saban Brands will launch the newest installment of the Power Rangers franchise, one of the top-rated and longest running kids live-action series on television, with Power Rangers Dino Charge. The new series, which premieres on Nickelodeon this February, will deliver action, humor, excitement and entertainment, in addition to the core themes of friendship, teamwork, fitness and helping others. Power Rangers Dino Charge will introduce all-new villains, monsters, weapons, Zords and Megazords. The Power Rangers franchise is helmed by Haim Saban, who created and produced the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series in 1993. SCG Power Rangers LLC, which licenses and merchandises the Power Rangers brand, is an affiliate of Saban Brands. For more information, visit www.powerrangers.com.

About Saban Brands

Formed in 2010 as an affiliate of Saban Capital Group, Saban Brands (SB) was established to acquire and develop a world-class portfolio of properties in the entertainment and lifestyle sectors. SB applies a global 360-degree management approach to growing and monetizing its brands through content, media, marketing, distribution, licensing and retail to markets worldwide and consumers of all ages. SB operates out of its global offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Sydney, Shanghai and Singapore. For more information, visit www.sabanbrands.com.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 35th 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 more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 20 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, VIA.B).

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150120/170172LOGO

SOURCE Saban Brands

RELATED LINKS
http://www.nickpress.com

###

---

Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for the latest Nickelodeon and Power Rangers News and Highlights!