News
US: Busy Nick reveals new initiatives
Samantha Loveday Mar 18 2008, 9:16am
New episodes of key series, first original prime time movie, plus green kids initiative launched.
Nickelodeon has greenlit 86 all-new episodes of Nicktoon series Spongebob Squarepants, The Fairly Odd Parents and Back at the Barnyard.
It has renewed Spongebob and The Fairly Odd Parents for a seventh season, picking up 26 and 20 additional episodes respectively. In addition, it has greenlit 20 further episodes of Back of the Barnyard, while The Backyardigans was picked up for a fourth season.
"Our key animated properties continue to be innovative and fresh and feature characters that our viewers have grown to love and really connect with," said Brown Johnson, president of animation at Nickelodeon & MTVN Kids and Family Group.
Meanwhile, Nickelodeon is planning to debut its first original family prime time movie, Gym Teacher, this August.
The film has been produced in association with Dolphin Entertainment.
Finally, the channel will launch The Big Green Help, a new multiplatform environmental pro-social initiative for kids, next month. It will provide information and tools to help explain climate change to kids and connect them to energy saving and earth-friendly activities in their everyday lives.
The campaign will launch in the US in April, while it will also roll out internationally later on this year.
"We know that kids can truly be agents of change on important issues, and the environment is an issue that affects 100 per cent of our audience," said Marva Smalls, executive VP of public affairs for Nickelodeon & MTVN Kids and Family Group.
