Viacom International Media Networks Announces Slew Of New Deals For Nickelodeon Preschool Shows In The Americas

Broadcasters in Brazil, Mexico and Canada have acquired the rights to a raft of hit Nickelodeon Preschool series such as "PAW Patrol" and "Dora the Explorer" from Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN)!

TV Cultura in Brazil has picked up the first season of "Paw Patrol" and seasons seven and eight of "Dora the Explorer", while fellow Brazilian network SBT has taken season one of the latter series' spin-off "Dora and Friends: Into the City!".

Televisa in Mexico, meanwhile, has signed on for new seasons of "Bubble Guppies", "Dora the Explorer" and "Paw Patrol" for its weekday morning programming block for children.

Finally, Canadian broadcasters Treehouse and French-language pay TV channel Yoopa have licensed "Dora & Friends" and "Bubble Guppies" respectively, while TeleQuebec has bought "Dora the Explorer" and "Paw Patrol".

VIMN was one of many US-based distributors who recently visited Los Angeles, California for L.A. Screenings, an international television market where major studios opened their doors to international buyers to screen their new shows for next season. L.A. Screenings 2015 was held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.

Source: C21 Media.

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Nickelodeon Hosts Summer Events In Asia

Nickelodeon is kick-starting the summer season with a series of Sponge-Tastic SpongeBob SquarePants-themed shopping mall events across Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and China that will run until the end of July 2015!

In Malaysia, Nickelodeon organized the "SpongeBob SquarePants Summer Holiday Splash", with the main attraction being a pop-up Bikini Bottom Playland located at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur. Visitors enjoyed a SpongeBob-themed inflatable playground, hung out with the characters themselves and enjoyed a range of the latest Nickelodeon merchandise.

In Singapore, the network hosted "Fun with SpongeBob SquarePants & Friends at VivoCity", which included live performances, meet-and-greets with SpongeBob and Patrick and merchandise from a retail section managed by Toys 'R' Us.

Finally in Manila, the Philippines, was the "The SpongeBob BFF – Best Friends Festival!" at SM Malls.

Nickelodeon superstar SpongeBob SquarePants can now be found at Shengyang Plaza in China where he is hosting the "SpongeBob Ocean Adventure" exhibition in partnership with Star Mall that includes a detailed and interactive pop-up art gallery and character appearances.

Source: License! Global.

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"Winx Club" Season Seven Debuts At 2015 Taormina Film Festival

Film lovers were recently treated to a Winx-Tastic "Winx Club" surprise at the 2015 Taormina Film Festival as the venue previewed the much-anticipated seventh series of the popular animated series!

The scenic event held under Sicily's active Mt. Etna volcano played host to the first three episodes from "Winx Club" season seven before welcoming Iginio Straffi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rainbow S.r.l. and the creator of "Winx Club", to the stage to accept a coveted Citta di Taormina award.

In true "Winx Club" style, the town of Taormina was even turned pink for the day with a variety of fairy-themed activities taking place throughout.

"Winx Club" follows the adventures of a group of young fairies. "Winx Club" series seven carries on the theme of recent Winx releases by carrying a strong environmental message. In this adventure the fairies discover the real importance of the rare Fairy Animals, which they must save from Kalshara, an evil shape-shifter and her clumsy brother, Brafilius. Each Fairy Animal has their own special talent, which is necessary for the balance of the Magic Universe. The theme of endangered animals recurs throughout the series as the Winx establish an Animal Rescue Park on Earth, where they look after vulnerable animals such as pandas and tigers. The girls also undertake missions in the Magic Dimension and Earth to raise public awareness about the animal cause. This builds to their final mission – to discover the ultimate power of the Fairy Animals, which can give control over all the animals of the Magic Universe. The Winx will also be confronted with two new terrible villains. "Winx Club" season seven is currently rolling out on Nickelodeon's global network of channels, including Nickelodeon UK & Ireland and Nickelodeon HD UK, where new episodes currently premiere every Saturday from 7:00am (repeated from 8:00am on Nick+1)!

Source: Licensing.biz.

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Nickelodeon Suites Resort Expands Family Markets with Digital Alchemy Email, Social Media

Official Digital Alchemy Press Release via PRWeb:

Nickelodeon Suites Resort Expands Family Markets with Digital Alchemy Email, Social Media

What Is the Result of a 10-Year Marketing Partnership? Millions in Revenue, Thousands of Slimings

Nickelodeon Suites Resort

(PRWEB) June 30, 2015

When is green slime a major selling point for a property's most valued market? At Nickelodeon Suites Resort, the "official SLIME hotel" of Orlando, Florida. SpongeBob, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and an activity list that reads like kid heaven keep families returning to the "wild, wacky" destination resort.

But, marketing is serious business at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort, aka the Nick Hotel. Its digital marketing for hotels ensures its whimsical style of family fun stays on guests' radar between visits. Email and social media outreach to its prime demographic produces millions of dollars in additional revenue and phenomenal repeat business.

Once upon a time, a chain hotel became a purveyor of green goo

The Nick Hotel was once a Holiday Inn Resort. In 2005 the property converted to a family-themed independent. Nick Hotel is affiliated with Nickelodeon, the #1 children's cable channel. The property brings Nickelodeon's programming to life for guests and their families. Kids mingle with show characters and the property's Entertainment Team conducts poolside casting for nightly Double Dare LIVE shows in its very own Studio Nick. Best of all, a 400-gallon tank of Nickelodeon's signature green goo stands ready to slime courageous guests daily.

"The property's new life as a themed independent was our opportunity to innovate," says Tony Aslanian, Nickelodeon Suites Resort's director of sales, marketing & revenue strategy. The property chose Digital Alchemy for advanced CRM and targeted digital marketing. Digital Alchemy also provides secure, cloud-based data collection and warehousing to track, deliver, and retrieve guest information for effective marketing.

Digital Alchemy: The 'Power Ranger' marketing provider

"Digital Alchemy's E-Relationship tool interfaces directly with our PMS and Nick Hotel Club database," Aslanian explains. "Digital Alchemy mines guest data for stay-date preferences, favorite activities and other information to create customized email messages with very high open and response rates." The system also sends personalized automatic-response confirmations, pre-stay messages, thank you notes, and guest satisfaction surveys.

'We attribute millions of dollars in revenue to Digital Alchemy's marketing'

Aslanian said, "75% of our marketing budget is digital. Our primary marketing partner is Digital Alchemy. We meet monthly to analyze marketing campaigns and assess results. We review message effectiveness and how we utilize the data to reach target segments. We attribute millions of dollars in revenue to Digital Alchemy's email strategies. We've seen the $20,000-$30,000 in revenue from typical campaigns jump to $100,000-$150,000 with Digital Alchemy's best practices."

Prior to Digital Alchemy, Nickelodeon Suites Resorts was e-blasting to its entire database twice a month. But open rates dropped, opt-outs climbed, and ROI sagged. Digital Alchemy recommended that Aslanian's team segment campaigns based on location, past stay dates, and which guests opened property emails.

The Nick Hotel also created messages that established a conversation with recipients with an appropriate call to action. Open rates for Nick Hotel's newsletter jumped from 9.6% to 30.5% for segmented campaigns in 2015 and ROI also climbed 300% for some campaigns during this time period.

"When we include a specific benefit in the subject line, 'book now and save 20%,' the ROI jumps," says Aslanian. "The word 'free'--as in 'book one night; get one free'--also boosts ROI. Video clips generate more interaction. So does a 'book now' button."

Today the Nick Hotel focuses on mobile marketing. "A majority of guests use mobile to access our emails," says Aslanian. "The subject line is important for mobile and the first 20-30 characters must capture the recipient's attention. Digital Alchemy designed our mobile guest satisfaction survey. And we created easy 'click to call' navigation. We have an incredible open rate on mobile marketing with over 22% of our revenue booked through the mobile platform in 2015. This is a 105% increase from 2014."

Facebook campaign; draw 20x the industry standard shares

The Nick Hotel leverages social media for its current marketing success. Early Facebook testing "looks extremely promising," Aslanian says. "Digital Alchemy integrated Facebook messaging with our email campaigns. We have over 125,000 Facebook fans, a very high level of response to our messages, and a relatively low cost per 1,000. We have more than 20 times the industry standard shares for this type of campaign. Digital Alchemy is certified and experienced in social media marketing for hotels. It is a valuable marketing partner."

About Digital Alchemy
Digital Alchemy, based in Ft. Worth, Texas, is the leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and email marketing solutions that increase revenue. Clients include boutique hotels, Four-and Five-Star properties, branded hotels and spas. Digital Alchemy guarantees its data-centric marketing solutions and campaigns will deliver a 400% ROI.

Founded in 1999, Digital Alchemy pioneered virtually every email-based concept used in the hospitality industry. Its email templates are mobile-optimized and it offers the industry's first Facebook-email integration to attract guests. Digital Alchemy delivers accurate real-time campaign revenue reporting to verify results. The company provides dynamic 2-way mobile messaging on one integrated platform. It creates clients' email designs in-house to free staff for other activities. Digital Alchemy innovates new solutions such as the industry's first Facebook-Email integration and integrated spa CRM functionality. Click here or more information.

About Nickelodeon Suites Resort
Located in the heart of Orlando's tourism district, Nickelodeon Suites Resort, otherwise known as the Nick Hotel, is much more than a place for guests to lay their heads at night. From two over-the-top pool complexes with slides and flumes, to live entertainment and character breakfasts featuring Nickelodeon's beloved characters, to a multimillion dollar 4-D Theater, to the colorfully themed kid suites and gallons upon gallons of slime, Nick Hotel offers non-stop activity from dawn to dusk for the entire family any time of the year. For more information about the Nick Hotel, visit http://www.nickhotel.com or call (877) NICK-KID.

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Meet The Stars Of Nickelodeon's "Game Shakers"

Entertainment Weekly is reporting the very exciting news that Nickelodeon Star Kel Mitchell ("Kenan & Kel", "All That") Kel Mitchell has signed on to star in Nickelodeon's upcoming brand-new series "Game Shakers"!

Created by hit-maker Dan Schneider ("Henry Danger", "iCarly", "Victorious", "Sam & Cat"), the show centers on a pair of 7th grade girls, Babe (Cree Cicchino) and Kenzie (Madisyn Shipman), who after creating a wildly successful mobile music app called Sky Whale start a gaming company in Brooklyn called Game Shakers with their friend Hudson (Thomas Kuc). Mitchell enters the picture as Double G, a super successful, unpredictable rapper who first threatens to sue the girls after they use a song of his without permission. He then joins forces with them as a partner in the business. Benjamin 'Lil P-Nut' Flores, Jr. will play Double G's son, Triple G.

The full synopsis of Nickelodeon's "Game Shakers" is: When they created Sky Whale for their science project, seventh graders Babe (Cree Cicchino) and Kenzie (Madisyn Shipman) were hoping for a passing grade at best. They never expected their mobile gaming app to become the most popular game of the year! With the profits, Babe, Kenzie and their friend Hudson (Thomas Kuc) start Game Shakers, a super cool gaming company in Brooklyn.

But when superstar rapper Double G (Kel Mitchell) finds out the girls used one of his songs in their game without licensing it, he threatens to sue them for all he is owed! To make things right, Babe and Kenzie decide to make the rap superstar their business partner and hire his son, Triple G (Benjamin Lil P-Nut” Flores, Jr), as a game consultant. Together, Babe, Kenzie, Hudson, Triple G and Double G will work to make Game Shakers a huge success in the gaming world!

"I am so fortunate to be on this show with Kel and working with Dan Schneider," Lil P-Nut told Just Jared Jr. "I grew up watching all of Dan's shows from All That to Kenan and Kel and feel honored to be working for someone that is so caring, a head of the class, who knows what us child actors go through. And, I have always thought that anyone who has the chance to do so would just come out Victorious!"

"I get to play a hip-hop mogul who is the comedic version of artists like Kanye, Diddy, Eminem and 50 Cent," Mitchell tells EW. "Double G is a rapper/singer/dancer/entrepreneur/investor, which gives us great story lines on the show. I love playing such a wild character, because you will see some great physical comedy, but he also has heart; he is a single dad that loves his son, Triple G, played by the very talented Benjamin 'Lil P-Nut' Flores, Jr. There are so many layers to this character that it is one of those dream-come-true roles."

This role brings Mitchell home to Nickelodeon, where he rose to fame in the 1990s as a star of "All That", and "Kenan & Kel". He and Kenan Thompson — who is currently SNL's longest-tenured cast member — also starred in the 1997 big-screen comedy "Good Burger", which was based on an "All That" sketch. Mitchell has popped up briefly on Nick in recent years, guest-starring on such shows as "Sam & Cat" and "The Thundermans". "I fit in well with Nickelodeon — my name is even in the middle of the word Nic-Kel-odeon," quips Mitchell. "It's great to be back on the network that gave me my first big television job. It was an awesome network then and is still an awesome network. Now the whole family is excited to meet me — moms and dads quote my characters from the 90's and their kids are quoting my current characters on Nickelodeon. ... I'm ready to shake up the game again."

"Game Shakers" also reunites Mitchell with Schneider, who was an executive producer of "All That", "Kenan & Kel", and "Sam & Cat", a co-writer of "Good Burger", and is one of the reasons Mitchell chose this show as the vehicle for his return to weekly television. "Dan and I go way back and have a history of great characters together on Nickelodeon," notes Mitchell. "We understand each other's comedic styles and have so much fun on set playing around with different scenes and takes."

Outside of Nickelodeon, Mitchell - who was the subject of a viral Internet death rumor in 2006 - has appeared in the movie "Mystery Men", and voiced characters on the PBS' "Clifford the Big Red Dog", Nicktoons USA's "Wild Grinders" and Netflix's "Veggie Tales". He recently popped up on truTV's "Friends of the People" and Cartoon Network's "Loiter Squad".

Nickelodeon USA is slated to premiere "Game Shakers" (26 episodes) in September 2015!

UPDATE: From Variety, via Toon Zone forum member NickDisneyCartoo:

'Kenan & Kel' Alum Kel Mitchell to Return to Nickelodeon with New Sitcom 'Game Shakers'

Kel Mitchell, who rose to fame on a slew of Nickelodeon's '90s staples, is coming back to his roots for a brand new series at the network, Variety has learned.

Mitchell, who starred on teen sketch comedy "All That," followed by his own show "Kenan & Kel" with "SNL's" Kenan Thompson and feature film "Good Burger," will star in new live-action sitcom "Game Shakers," which follows two 12-year-old girls (Cree Cicchino and Madisyn Shipman) who start a multi-million dollar gaming company and have no choice but to take on rap superstar Double G (Mitchell) as their business partner.

The project not only marks Mitchell's regular return to Nickelodeon, but also a reunion with series creator Dan Schneider who worked on "All That," "Kenan & Kel" and "Good Burger," before creating kids' hits "Victorious," "iCarly," "Sam & Cat," "Zoey 101," "Drake & Josh" and "The Amanda Show."

"When Kel is doing scenes on our new show, 'Game Shakers,' we all laugh so hard on set, just like we did 20 years ago," Schneider tells Variety. "It feels new, but also very familiar. Sometimes I have to think to myself, 'Wait, is this 1995 or 2015?'"

Mitchell is one of many '80s and '90s stars returning to TV in their original or similar roles. Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel, who starred in "Boy Meets World," are now headlining Disney Channel's ensemble "Girl Meets World," while Netflix's "Full House" spinoff is bringing back familiar faces John Stamos, Bob Saget, Candace Cameron Bure and more.

"People have this special place in their hearts for all Kel's work in 'All That,' 'Kenan & Kel' and 'Good Burger,'" Schneider explains of the nostalgia factor, which is rising in television popularity, as of late. "He can't go anywhere without being stopped by fans, asked to pose for selfies and all that stuff."

Schneider tells Variety more about "Game Shakers" and bringing Mitchell back to Nickelodeon.

What is it like to work with Kel again?

If someone were making a list of the Top 10 funniest comedy actors today, Kel Mitchell easily makes that list. It's a privilege to work with anyone that talented. It's the same kind of feeling I've had in the past, working with entertainers like Jack Black and Jim Parsons. But with Kel, there's also this great nostalgic feeling as we work together now. My writing/producing career began back in 1994 when I co-created 'All That' and 'Kenan & Kel' with my friend, Brian Robbins. Kel was a huge part of those shows, and then he starred in 'Good Burger,' the first movie I wrote and co-produced. Even back then in the 90's, working with Kel was magical. You never knew what insane, hilarious comedy he was going to add to scenes. Today, I swear, somehow he's gotten even better.

How did Kel get attached to the project?

A couple of years ago I was writing an episode of 'Sam & Cat.' There was a guest star role for an eccentric rap artist and business mogul, named Peezy B. When I was telling Ariana Grande (who starred in 'Sam & Cat') about the episode and the role of the rap mogul, I mentioned the idea of Kel Mitchel playing the part. Ariana got crazy excited. I didn't realize she was such a huge Kel Mitchell fan...Kel played the role and he was brilliantly funny. Then, a year or so later, when I was creating my new show, 'Game Shakers,' there was a similar role for a regular character named Double G. I asked Kel if he'd be into the idea of doing a weekly television series, playing this crazy, fun, big character. And now, it's happening.

Do you think Kel still has the power to draw in his old fans, along with new viewers?

Good question. Kel remains very popular, to this day…that being said, the audience for Nickelodeon is very young. Some of them know Kel's work, and some don't. But he's so universally popular, I feel sure that will attract viewers.

Any chance for a Kenan reunion on the show?

Almost nothing would excite me more than reuniting Kenan and Kel in a big way. People would go crazy to see them back together making great comedy again. It would be amazing because they're as strong and talented as any male comedy duo that's ever been. There's been talk of various ways to bring Kenan and Kel back together. All I can say is, I can't imagine anything more fun and exciting. I'm in!

Kel Mitchell's Five Favorite 90's Quotes | Nick



Kel Mitchell returns to Nickelodeon on the new show 'Game Shakers!' Watch him share some of his favorite quotes from 'All That' and 'Kenan & Kel!'

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