Vernon Hills Park District, IL to Host Worldwide Day of Play 2018 Event on Saturday, Sept. 15

Vernon Hills, IL - Local children are invited to put down their electronic devices and head outside for some "unplugged" fun when the Vernon Hills Park District hosts its annual Worldwide Day of Play event on Saturday, Sept. 15!

Young participants in a previous Vernon Hills Worldwide Day of Play event at Century Park North compete in a sack race. This year's event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15. (Daily Herald File Photo)

Festivities are planned for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Century Park Pavilion, 1400 Indianwood Drive, Vernon Hills 60061 [Google Maps].

The idea for a Worldwide Day of Play was originated by Nickelodeon in 2003, to encourage children and their families to take some time away from the television and play outdoors.

The Vernon Hills Park District has taken that idea to heart, providing an annual day of family-friendly outdoor activities.

The 2016 Vernon Hills queens demonstrate synchronized Hula-Hoop during that year's Vernon Hills Worldwide Day of Play at Century Park North. (Daily Herald File Photo)

Park district staff will lead participants in old-fashioned picnic games, such as sack races, hula hoop contests, and the ever popular egg toss. There will also be several other games available.

No registration is necessary. Just come to the park and be ready to play! The event will be cancelled in the case of inclement weather.

For information, visit www.vhparkdistrict.org/event/worldwide-day-play-2.

Worldwide Day of Play is Nickelodeon's summer-long play campaign, a slime-filled cross-country tour that celebrates all the ways kids love to play.

On the ground, Nickelodeon will celebrate with over 4,000 events hosted by local and national partners including: Afterschool Alliance; Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Girl Scouts of the USA; Kiwanis International’s Builders Club and K-Kids; Laureus Sport for Good; National Fitness Foundation; NFL PLAY 60; Playworks; Police Athletic League; Special Olympics International; The Aspen Institute’s Project Play; The Association of Children’s Museums; US Play Coalition and USA BMX. Additionally, the network will launch two new grant programs in partnership with Laureus Sport for Good and National Fitness Foundation in honor of Worldwide Day of Play’s 15th anniversary.

Nickelodeon will commemorate Worldwide Day of Play on-air on Saturday, September 29 with interstitials featuring cast members from Nick’s hit series I Am Frankie. The interstitials, which highlight the importance of physical play in kids’ lives and encourage them to get outside and get active, will air across all Nickelodeon platforms.

In addition to hosting nationwide grassroots events with its partners, the network will also mark Worldwide Day of Play with the launch of two new grant programs in partnership with Laureus Sport for Good, funding underserved communities’ afterschool programs, and National Fitness Foundation along with DonorsChoose, which will fund in-school activities. Both grant programs aim to bring fitness and play to kids across the country.

In May, Nick kicked off its summer-long play campaign, a slime-filled cross-country tour which visited: Phoenix, Ariz.; St. Louis, Mo.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Houston, TX and Oakland, Calif.; for Worldwide Day of Play events in partnership with the Children’s Museum of Phoenix; The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum; the Pittsburgh Steelers; Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Harris County Precinct One; and the After-School All-Stars, the Oakland Athletics and the Oakland A’s Community Fund.

The tour culminates in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Sept. 15, with Nick teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City’s Walk for the Kids. The fun-filled event will feature appearances by stars from Nickelodeon’s hit series I Am Frankie, Alex Hook, and Carson Rowland; Nick-themed games and activities; a slime booth; costumed characters; a Nick Radio dance party and more. The network will be joined by longstanding partners including: Canine Companions for Independence; Jr. NBA; KidTribe; MLB “PLAY BALL;” New York Red Bulls; NFL PLAY 60; Peppa Pig and George; Playworks; The Muddy Puddles Project; Tough Mudder’s “Mini Mudder” and USA BMX; and new partner Nike.

Nickelodeon is expanding Worldwide Day of Play’s reach through a new partnership with Mini Mudder, Tough Mudder’s one-mile Mud Run designed for adventure-seeking kids and consists of eight to ten fun and challenging team-focused obstacles. In celebration of Worldwide Day of Play, Mini Mudder will add a brand-new Nickelodeon-themed “Slime” obstacle to its courses, providing kids with the opportunity to be physically active while also having fun.

Nike is a proud partner of Nickelodeon’s 15th annual Worldwide Day of Play.

To find out more about Worldwide Day of Play and Nickelodeon's partners helping bringing the initiative alive for kids all around the US, visit http://worldwidedayofplay.com. To register a event as a official Worldwide Day of Play event, visit https://www.day-of-play.com.

More Nick: Nickelodeon Kicks Off Summer Celebration Of Play, Bringing Worldwide Day Of Play Events To Cities Across The USA!

Original source: Chicago's Daily Herald.

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Dylan Becomes the Superhero of His Dreams On and Off the Set of Nickelodeon’s 'Henry Danger'

Dylan has been through many challenges with his lifelong autoimmune condition. He deals with daily stresses in an attempt to keep it under control, and was recently hospitalized for almost a week due to seizures. Dylan’s illness also affects his immune system, causing him to miss many days of school. When he shared with Kids Wish Network that he loves watching Henry Danger on Nickelodeon, had no idea that his Kids Wish Network would grant his amazing wish to join his favorite superheroes Kid Danger and Captain Man on the set of Henry Danger would come true!

Kids Wish Network flew Dylan and his family to Los Angeles, California. Dylan felt like a Hollywood celebrity with all of his VIP treatment. On his big day, Exclusive Sedan Service chauffeured his family to The Burbank Studios. It was lights, camera, action on the set of Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger! Dylan was taken through each scene where the actors did their run through. Then Dylan excitedly met the stars, took pictures together, and personally received signed photos from Jace Norman (Kid Danger), Cooper Barnes (Captain Man), Riele Downs (Charlotte), Sean Ryan Fox (Jasper), Ella Anderson (Piper) and Michael D. Cohen (Schwoz).

After hanging out with the cast, actor Cooper Barnes (Captain Man) gave Dylan a private tour of the set. Dylan experienced Henry Danger’s top-secret Man Cave. While on the set, Dylan explored the control panels and went “up the tube” with Kid Danger Jace Norman. Cooper Barnes also taught him some of his own superhero moves. Dylan felt like one too when they pretended to kick down doors and fight crime together. “Captain Man taught me lots of stuff,” said Wish Kid Dylan.

“Cooper Barnes took my son under his wing and treated Dylan like he was one of his own,” said his mom Shannan. “It was incredible. He gave Dylan a pep talk and told him to ‘be the superhero that I know you are.’ This was life changing for Dylan. It empowered him and brought out so much confidence.”

Dylan also received special mementos… He was gifted a duffel bag filled with Henry Danger merchandise. Cooper Barnes also thoughtfully arranged for their production team to send Dylan clear plastic tubes filled with Henry Danger themed gumballs - the kind Henry Hart and Ray Manchester use to blow bubbles to become their superhero alter-egos, Captain Man and Kid Danger - as a reminder of his experience in the Man Cave going “up the tubes”!

“Being on the set of Henry Danger was the best day of Dylan’s life,” said his mom.

During the wish, the family stayed at the beautiful Double Tree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown. They also visited Universal Studios Hollywood, and enjoyed dinners at Tony Roma’s and The Hard Rock Café. Dining was also scheduled at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., but Dylan wasn’t feeling well, so his family was unfortunately not able to attend.

“Thank you very very much for my wish,” said Dylan. I really appreciate everything and loved it all!”

Check out more photos of Blake's awesome visit to the set of Henry Danger on kidswishnetwork.org!

Kids Wish Network would like to thank the following sponsors for making Dylan’s dreams become a reality: Nickelodeon, Jace Norman, Cooper Barnes, Double Tree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown, Universal Studios Hollywood, Tony Roma’s in Universal City, Hard Rock Café in Hollywood, Bubba Gump, Shrimp Co. in Universal City, and Exclusive Sedan Service.

For more information about Kids Wish Network and to donate to help grant more wishes for kids, please visit https://www.kidswishnetwork.org.

Kids Wish Network Grants Detroit Boy Superhero Powers on the Set of Nickelodeon’s 'Henry Danger'

A boy from Detroit, Michigan who faces several life-threatening conditions was able to visit the set of his all-time favorite TV show in Los Angeles, California, thanks to the Kids Wish Network!

Blake Lang was born with a hole in his heart. At only 6 weeks old, he underwent surgery to repair it. Challenges kept coming. Blake has Down syndrome, autism, and atlantoaxial instabilities, a separation in the spine that can originate from congenital conditions. Years later, the unthinkable happened. The gap in Blake’s spine dangerously widened after he was hit by a car… nothing remained to hold his back in place. Blake had to wear a back brace and undergo surgery to remove 11 of his ribs and insert a rod. He lost a large amount of blood, and also needed a blood transfusion. He still tires easily from walking, and his family travels from Michigan to Philadelphia every 6 to 8 weeks for medical visits to monitor his progress.

Blake’s happiness comes from watching his favorite TV show Henry Danger on Nickelodeon. When he shared with Kids Wish Network that he loves watching the comedy series on Nickelodeon, had no idea that his wish would come true.

He had no idea that his wish would have him joining his idolized superheroes Kid Danger and Captain Man on the set of Henry Danger!

Kids Wish Network flew Blake and his family to Los Angeles. Blake felt like a Hollywood celebrity with all of his VIP treatment. On his big day, Exclusive Sedan Service chauffeured his family to The Burbank Studios. It was lights, camera, action on the set of Henry Danger! Blake was taken through each scene where the actors did their run through. Then Blake excitedly met the stars, took pictures together, and personally received signed photos from Jace Norman (Kid Danger), Cooper Barnes (Captain Man), Riele Downs (Charlotte), Sean Ryan Fox (Jasper), Ella Anderson (Piper) and Michael D. Cohen (Schwoz).

After hanging out with the cast, actor Cooper Barnes (Captain Man) gave Blake a private tour of the set. Blake experienced Henry Danger’s top-secret Man Cave. While on the set, Blake role-played at the control panel and went “up the tube” with Kid Danger Jace Norman. Cooper Barnes also taught him some of his own superhero moves. Blake felt like one too when they pretended to kick down doors and fight crime together. “They were like best friends,” said Blake’s mom Kristie. “Cooper Barnes stepped up and took on Blake like he was one of his own. Blake has speech issues, and it was like Cooper knew exactly what he was saying when he said it… he was a saint to do that.”

“My favorite memory was seeing Blake smile,” said his mom. “It was amazing seeing his reaction to something that he watched for years.”

Blake also received special mementos… He was gifted a duffel bag filled with Henry Danger merchandise. After seeing how excited Blake was with the “tubes” on the set, Cooper Barnes also thoughtfully arranged for their production team to send Blake clear plastic tubes filled with Henry Danger themed gumballs - the kind Henry Hart and Ray Manchester use to blow bubbles to become their superhero alter-egos, Captain Man and Kid Danger!

During the wish, the family stayed at the beautiful Double Tree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown hotel. They also visited Universal Studios Hollywood, and enjoyed dinners at The Palm Restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and The Hard Rock Café.

“Blake’s been through so much… and it’s been amazing to have a day for him where he’s not in the hospital, not seeing a doctor, and where he’s doing something that we didn’t think was possible,” said his mom. “It’s wonderful to know that there’s good things that recognize him and show him that his fight is appreciated. The impact that his wish made is going to be memorable for him forever.”

Check out more photos of Blake's awesome visit to the set of Henry Danger on kidswishnetwork.org!

Kids Wish Network would like to thank the following sponsors for making Blake’s dreams become a reality: Nickelodeon, Jace Norman, Cooper Barnes, Double Tree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown, Universal Studios Hollywood, The Palm Restaurant Los Angeles, Hard Rock Café in Hollywood, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Universal City, Exclusive Sedan Service.

For more information about Kids Wish Network and to donate to help grant more wishes for kids, please visit https://www.kidswishnetwork.org.

H/T: WXYZ.com.

Viacom18 Rejigs Top Deck as it Gears Up for the Next Growth Phase

Official Viacom18 Press Release via Viacom18.com:

Viacom18 rejigs top deck as it gears up for the next growth phase

11 SEPTEMBER, 2018

• Appoints Manisha Sharma as Chief Content Officer- Hindi Mass Entertainment
• Consolidates all Revenue under Raj Nayak, COO - Viacom18
• Expands Nina Jaipuria’s role as Head – Hindi and Kids TV Network
• Ajit Andhare to take over the expanded role of COO - Viacom18 Studios

The country’s youngest and fastest growing media organization, Viacom18, today announced a management restructuring aimed to consolidate its growing portfolio play as it prepares to further enhance performance through focused content innovation and collaboration across brands.

Manisha Sharma, who has been the force behind the continued success of COLORS, has now been elevated to Chief Content Officer, Hindi Mass Entertainment. In her new role, she will be heading content for the entire HME cluster including COLORS and Rishtey. Manisha will now report directly to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and Managing Director Designate, Viacom18.

In a first for the organization, Viacom18 has unified all revenue across the network under the leadership of Raj Nayak, Chief Operating Officer.

After establishing the Kids’ cluster of Viacom18 as the country’s foremost one in the genre, Nina Elavia Jaipuria’s role has been expanded to Head – Hindi and Kids TV Network. Her mandate now includes channels across Kids and Hindi Mass Entertainment clusters.

Ravish Kumar as Head – Regional TV Network, will be leading the network’s aggressive foray into regional broadcast entertainment across languages and genres.

Ferzad Palia will continue leading the network’s efforts in strengthening Viacom18’s command on Youth, Music and English entertainment while creating content and experiences for Viacom18’s universe of the young.

Ajit Andhare, will now take on the expanded role of Chief Operating Officer, Viacom18 Studios, as he drives Viacom18 Motion Pictures’ forays into national and regional cinema and builds Tipping Point as a brand for digital content production.

Saugato Bhowmik will continue to lead Integrated Network Solutions, building homegrown IPs in experiential entertainment and driving the licensing business under Viacom18 Consumer Products.

All the above will report into Sudhanshu Vats.

“The first decade of Viacom18 marked the hyper-growth phase for us with ~50X growth in topline. In order to make Viacom18 future-ready and dial up growth across different lines of business, it is imperative to drive synergies, leverage scale and build content capabilities across screens. As we step into our next phase, it is important that we shape an organizational structure that allows us to retain the garage-nimbleness that got us here while enabling Viacom18’s independent business lines to leverage the synergies that consolidation brings. Integrating our revenues and building content engines to cater to multiple screens across India, under the above leaders, is an important step towards a forward-looking organization.” Explained Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and Managing Director Designate, Viacom18.

These organizational changes will be operationalized with immediate effect.

ABOUT VIACOM18:
Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. is one of India's fastest growing entertainment networks and a house of iconic brands that offers multi-platform, multi-generational and multicultural brand experiences. A joint venture of TV18, which owns 51%, and Viacom Inc., with a 49% stake, Viacom18 defines entertainment in India by touching the lives of people through its properties on air, online, on ground, in shop and through cinema.

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More Nick: VOOT Harnesses Viacom18 India's Multiple Brands and Businesses, Goes Local to Travel Global; To Launch in the UK in November 2018!

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Viacom18 Adds ThinkAnalytics Personalized Multi-Language Recommendations to VOOT

Official ThinkAnalytics Press Release via Streaming Media Magazine:

Viacom 18 adds ThinkAnalytics personalized multi-language recommendations to VOOT

ThinkAnalytics launches on Viacom 18’s OTT platform VOOT.

Los Angeles, CA(9/11/2018) -

Pay-TV and OTT content discovery and viewer analytics vendor ThinkAnalytics today announced that Viacom18 in India has gone live with ThinkAnalytics on the ad-funded OTT service VOOT. VOOT’s 37 million monthly active users now have personalized recommendations in seven languages on the home screen, making it quicker and easier to find content they want to watch.

Viacom18 has also deployed the ThinkComposer UX engine and ThinkEditorial, integrated with the ThinkAnalytics Recommendations Engine, enabling its editorial team to automate and streamline content curation and promotions to better meet KPIs and business goals.

The ad-funded VOOT service offers over 50,000 hours of original, domestic and international content for free. Content includes: COLORS TV, MTV India, Nickelodeon India, a wide range of Bollywood movies, and VOOT Original shows.

The ThinkAnalytics Recommendation Engine uses machine learning and predictive analytics to understand individual viewer preferences and broader viewing trends in real-time and suggests new content, personalized to each viewer. As a result, operators see a substantial uplift in viewer engagement and loyalty.

Mohit Srivastava, Head - Product and Engineering, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, said, “When we saw the data showing how much ThinkAnalytics boosts viewer engagement, we knew it was the right service for VOOT and for our viewers. Having ThinkAnalytics intelligent search and personalized recommendations on the main UI makes it easy for viewers to discover more exciting programs from the wealth of content available on VOOT.”

Peter Docherty, Founder and CTO, ThinkAnalytics added, “By adding ThinkAnalytics personalized recommendations to the VOOT home screen, Viacom18 is once again staying ahead of the innovation curve and offering its large and loyal customer base the ability to find suitable content fast. This represents the very best in personalized entertainment on a significant scale.”

For over 15 years ThinkAnalytics has grown to become the leader in content discovery and viewer lifecycle management. By applying advanced machine learning technology and analytics to content discovery, editorial curation, ThinkAnalytics increases viewer satisfaction, boosts engagement across all TV and video content platforms and increases operator ARPU. Viewers’ interests and previous viewing behaviour are analyzed using advanced AI and machine learning techniques to help them find new content they want to watch quickly and easily.

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More Nick: VOOT Harnesses Viacom18 India's Multiple Brands and Businesses, Goes Local to Travel Global; To Launch in the UK in November 2018!

H/T: Rapid TV News, Advanced Television, Television Post.

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Twitter Expands Premium Video Content in Asia with 50 New Content Collaborations, Including with Viacom

Social media giant Twitter today, Tuesday 11th September 2018 announced over 50 premium video content collaborations, bringing hundreds of hours of live stream and video highlights programming, across entertainment, sports and news, to the platform. Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), FMA Indonesia, FOX Sports Asia, NBC Universal, Network 18, NET TV, Red Chillies Entertainment, Sony Music, Stadium Astro Malaysia, and VICE Media are among the partners that Twitter will collaborate with to bring new content to audiences in Asia Pacific and opportunities for APAC advertisers. The announcement expands the premium video content available on Twitter to advertisers in Asia Pacific and builds on extensions of existing global and regional content deals.

As part of VIMN's collaboration with Twitter, the international division of Viacom, comprised of many of the world’s most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central, MTV, Paramount Channel and more, will be amplifying and extending the reach of some of their key IPs and event franchises with Twitter in Southeast Asia, while exploring offering additional digital solutions to their clients together. The content collaboration also includes premium TV programming from MTV Asia (@mtvasia) and Comedy Central Asia (@ComedyCentralAS).

Additionally, music channel VH1 India, operated by Viacom18, a joint venture of TV18 and Viacom Inc., will be collaborating with Twitter to bring live highlights from the Vh1 Supersonic. The world’s biggest DJs flock to India every February for Vh1 Supersonic, a three-day festival featuring the most popular artists across electronic music. Nowhere does this music come alive better than on Twitter. The partnership with Vh1 will showcase behind-the-scenes chat with all the talent in the Twitter #BlueRoom.

The expansion of existing partnerships and formation of new ones to feed increased Asian content demand was announced at the TwitterFronts event in Singapore on Tuesday 11th September 2018, where Twitter executives including Global Vice President of Content Partnerships, Kay Madati and Vice President of Asia Pacific Maya Hari presented the content partnerships to brand and agency partners in the region.

The announcement expands the premium video content available on Twitter to advertisers in Asia Pacific and builds on extensions of existing global and regional content deals.

They were joined by guest speakers including NBCUniversal MD Christine Fellowes, Network18 COO Avinash Kaul, FMA Indonesia CCO Shanna Murady, Astro Malaysia VP Of Sports Content CK Lee, Red Chillies Entertainment Head of Marketing Binda Dey, Sony Music Senior Manager, Digital Marketing & Visual Content Talina Cruz, and Vice Head of Sales Serene Lee.

“Content is happening now at Twitter, and we have proven through the efficacy of the partnerships we have crafted, that content programming and distribution on Twitter is an essential part of any media company’s audience engagement and content monetization strategies,” said Kay Madati, Global VP of Content Partnerships, Twitter.

“Asia Pacific is accelerating growth for Twitter. Our unique and strategic value proposition that positions Twitter as a compliment, not competitor to traditional media companies, has delivered great success and we seek to drive forward with more live stream and premium video content partnerships in the region.”

“Video continues to be an important way to stay informed and engaged on Twitter, especially for the younger millennial audience in the Asia Pacific. Building on the success of our premium video content launch at All That Matters last year, we are proud to expand our live stream and video highlights programming that is brand safe and will appeal to the audience and advertisers in APAC. The move strengthens Twitter’s presence and partnerships in the region, sharing with the world what’s happening right now in the Asia Pacific and for global audiences to talk about it,” said Twitter Vice President of Asia Pacific Maya Har.

Sources: techAU, TelevisionPost, Gadgets 360, Rapid TV News, exchange4media, Mediaweek, Firstpost, The Hindu BusinessLine; Additional source: Wikipedia.

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NickTube: Planet Nickelodeon Video Round-Up | Tuesday 11th September 2018

Check out a selection of video clips featuring your favourite Nickelodeon shows and stars from Nickelodeon channels around the world!

Nickelodeon Iberia to Premiere New Episodes of 'SpongeBob SquarePants' in September 2018

Nickelodeon Iberia today, Monday 10th September 2018, started to premiere more brand-new episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants! Each all-new episode airs at 18:05 on Nickelodeon Portugal and at 19:05 on Nickelodeon Spain (España). Check out the premiere schedule below!



- Sep. 10: Doodle Dimension (La dimensión garabateal) / Moving Bubble Bass (La mudanza de Lubina Burbujas)

- Sep. 11: High Sea Diving (Salto a la superficie) / Bottle Burglars (Ladrones de botellas)

- Sep. 12: My Leg! (Mi pierna) / Ink Lemonade (Limonada en su tinta)

- Sep. 17: Whale Watching (Ballena a la vista) / Krusty Kleaners (Crustáceo limpieza)

- Sep. 18: Patnocchio (Patrinocho) / ChefBob (Chef Esponja)

Localised titles en Español.

SpongeBob SquarePants is locally titled Bob Esponja in Spain.

More Nick: Nickelodeon Iberia To Premiere 'I Am Frankie' On Monday 3rd September 2018!

Original source: Invincibubble.

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