Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, the Home of Contemporary Classic Characters, Comes to Licensing Show With Today's Hottest Properties - Merchandising Plans Underway for Existing Hits Fairly OddParents, Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants as Well as New Properties Tak, EverGirl and All Grown Up.

NEW YORK, June 10 -- Nickelodeon, which this year boasted 47 of the top 50 TV shows for kids, comes to Licensing Show June 10-13 with today's hottest properties available for merchandising. The company, which remains the number one entertainment brand for kids, kicks off licensing programs for its latest hit show "Fairly OddParents," the upcoming "SpongeBob SquarePants" movie and "Rugrats" spin-off "All Grown Up." Nickelodeon will also expand its current roster with movie licensing plans for "A Series of Unfortunate Events" as well as the introduction of "Tak and the Power of JuJu" and "EverGirl," its first off-channel properties.

Nickelodeon Enterprises, which includes Consumer Products, generated roughly $2.6 billion in retail sales for 2002, up about 19 percent from the previous year while its competition remained flat. Nickelodeon Consumer Products has garnered nine LIMA award nominations this year including Entertainment Brand of the Year for both "Dora the Explorer" and "SpongeBob SquarePants."

"Nickelodeon has established itself as the home of contemporary classic characters," said Leigh Anne Brodsky, Senior VP, Consumer Products, Nickelodeon. "Our brand has resonated with kids of all ages and across many different media platforms from movies and TV to books and video games."

"The Fairly OddParents," Nickelodeon's newest hit for kids 6-11, has emerged as the #2 show on all TV with kids 2-11, right behind "SpongeBob SquarePants." It is the tale of average boy Timmy Turner and his fairly odd fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda. Timmy has virtually no power over anything in his world, but thanks to Cosmo and Wanda, life is always exciting. With their combined magic, they wreak magical mayhem by granting Timmy extraordinary wishes to overcome typical 10-year-old obstacles. Product based on "Fairly OddParents" debuts this Fall, including toys from master licensee, Flying Colors, a division of Jakks Pacific.

"SpongeBob SquarePants" enjoys continued success as the number one show on all kids TV and has a 30% adult audience. Since its debut on Nickelodeon in 1999, "SpongeBob SquarePants" has steadily grown into a national phenomenon and one of the hottest licenses in the marketplace today among all demographics with retail sales of $800 million for 2002. "SpongeBob" momentum will continue in 2004 with the release of a feature film in November, accompanied by a whole new assortment of product for kids, teens and adults.

The most-watched special in the history of kid's TV becomes its own series in September with the debut of "All Grown Up," starring the "Rugrats" characters as tweens. Here, kids get to see their favorite babies ten years into the future and share adventures like first crushes and navigating Jr. High. The pre-teen members of the one-time baby brigade will now manage to negotiate with bossy Angelica and even out-maneuver the trendy 13-year-old on occasion. A born leader, Tommy stays protective of his best pal, worrywart Chuckie, while mischief-makers Phil and Lil seek their individual styles outside of twin-dom.

"Dora the Explorer" remains one of the leading properties for preschoolers, with $500 million in retail sales in 2002. "Dora the Explorer," the number-one show on commercial television for kids ages 2-5, was introduced on Nickelodeon in August 2000. The show features Dora, a 7-year old Latina heroine, who teaches preschoolers a bit of Spanish as she goes about her on-screen adventures. Much of Dora's merchandise features bilingual elements, including Spanish words and phrases. "Dora the Explorer" is so popular that Dora Live!'s Radio City Music Hall appearance last month garnered $4 million in ticket sales over the course of its ten day run, making it the venue's most popular preschool show.

Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures, in association with Nickelodeon Movies, are in development on "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," slated to hit movie theaters Holiday 2004. The film, which will be based on the popular book series by Lemony Snicket (AKA Daniel Handler), will be directed by Brad Silberling ("Casper") and star Jim Carrey as Count Olaf.

The books are currently enjoying bestseller status with tweens by having seven of the top 10 books on the New York Times bestseller list for children's chapter books, with 13 million sold worldwide. Described as a cross between Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl, "A Series of Unfortunate Events" chronicles the misadventures of the Baudelaires, three savvy and resilient orphans in search of a home. From Chapter 1 of "The Bad Beginning," the kids find themselves abruptly orphaned and taken in by the villainous Count Olaf who has designs on their inheritance. While disaster lurks at every corner, the children are clever and enterprising enough to stay one step ahead of their comic nemesis. While the movie will be based on the first three books, there are currently nine books in the series, with the 10th book available Sept. 23 from HarperCollins.

Nickelodeon is particularly excited about the introduction of its newest property, Tak, the first character to be introduced off-channel as a videogame. Tak is a young medicine man in training. One morning he awakes to find everyone in his village has disappeared except for his mentor, Jibolba. Jibolba explains to Tak that the evil sorcerer Tlaloc has stolen the Moonstone that protects the local villages from evil. Tak will have to stretch beyond his training and find a way to defeat Tlaloc by returning the five Moonstones to the Temple of the Moon Juju.

Tak is an unprecedented property for Nickelodeon in that it is being introduced first as a videogame, with opportunities to grow into a major multi-platform franchise for the network as a TV show and consumer products property. Leading videogame manufacturer THQ has partnered with Nickelodeon to market and distribute Tak, which will be available on PlayStation 2, GameCube and Game Boy Advance platforms in October. Plans for a TV series based on the characters in the game is in development.

At Licensing Show, Nickelodeon will also offer the first peek at "EverGirl," which is being described as a "story-driven, lifestyle brand for tween girls," said Brodsky. The property will have major online and retail components and is expected to launch in early 2004.

Nickelodeon, which has also seen tremendous success with its Nick branded activity line, Nicktivities, is making the Nick name available for other lines of business as well. Earlier this year, the company announced deals with Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouses for a Nick line of paint under its Signature Collection as well as American Greetings for a Nick branded greeting card collection. Other categories expected to introduce Nick lines of product include homegoods, sporting goods, electronics and watches with retail boutiques carved out of major retailers featuring Nickelodeon characters and branded product.

Nickelodeon can be found at Licensing Show booth #1317.

Nickelodeon, now in its 24th 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, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 86 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than seven consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.