Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Hilary Duff Guest Stars In Brand-New "Dora the Explorer" Primetime Special, "Dora's Ice Skating Spectacular", Premiering Monday 25th November 2013 At 7pm (ET/PT) On Nickelodeon USA

Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids and families, has announced in the following Press Release, from Nickelodeon's Kids and Family Press Site, NickPress.com, the exciting Nickelodeon News that Nick USA will premiere and show Nickelodeon Preschool's brand-new "Dora the Explorer" primetime special, called "Dora's Ice Skating Spectacular", on Monday 25th November 2013 at 7pm (ET/PT)! The half-hour special features actress Hilary Duff as the Ice Witch who has taken everyone's ice skates in the Snowy Forest and Dora must skate against her to get them back. To celebrate and promote Nickelodeon's all-new "Dora the Explorer" primetime special, two-time Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir appears in a new "Dora's Ice Skating Spectacular" promotional spot as Dora's Ice Skating coach, currently airing on Nickelodeon USA! Nick USA's press office has also unveiled a new online streaming video clip featuring a sneak peek first-look at the all-new "Dora the Explorer" primetime special episode, which you can watch below on NickALive!


Emmy Award-winning "Dora the Explorer" continues to be the most watched preschool show on TV drawing 72.9M total viewers and 11.7M preschoolers year to date. Nickelodeon is currently the number-one rated cable network among K2-5 with five of its preschool series ("Paw Patrol", "Bubble Guppies", "Dora the Explorer", "Team Umizoomi", "Peter Rabbit") ranked in the top 10 on all TV.

At NickJr.com, Nickelodeon's award-winning website, parents and preschoolers can get ready for "Dora's Ice Skating Spectacular" with print-and-play ice skating activities like Dora Ice Skating Puzzles, mazes, and make a cool iron-on Dora Ice Skating decal. Additionally, they can go to the NickJr.com Photo Booth to upload and decorate photos with Dora and her friends and play the new Dora Ice Skating Game.

Original Nickelodeon Press Release:

HILARY DUFF GUEST STARS IN BRAND-NEW DORA THE EXPLORER PRIMETIME SPECIAL, “DORA’S ICE SKATING SPECTACULAR,” PREMIERING MONDAY, NOV. 25, AT 7:00 P.M. (ET/PT)

Figure Skating Superstar Johnny Weir Appears in New Dora the Explorer Promotional Spot

NEW YORK – Nov. 19, 2013 – 'Tis the season for an icy adventure as Nickelodeon debuts the brand-new Dora the Explorer primetime special, “Dora’s Ice Skating Spectacular,” on Monday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT). The half-hour special features actress Hilary Duff as the Ice Witch who has taken everyone’s ice skates in the Snowy Forest and Dora must skate against her to get them back. Two-time Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir appears in a new “Dora’s Ice Skating Spectacular” promotional spot as Dora’s Ice Skating coach, currently airing on Nickelodeon.

Emmy Award-winning Dora the Explorer continues to be the most watched preschool show on TV drawing 72.9M total viewers and 11.7M preschoolers year to date. Nickelodeon is currently the number-one rated cable network among K2-5 with five of its preschool series (Paw Patrol, Bubble Guppies, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, Peter Rabbit) ranked in the top 10 on all TV.

“I had so much fun playing the role of the ‘Ice Witch’ on Dora the Explorer, a show that is loved by so many children around the world including my own son,” said Duff. “Dora is such a positive role-model for kids and it was an honor to be featured alongside the coolest little explorer around.”

At NickJr.com, Nickelodeon's award-winning website, parents and preschoolers can get ready for Dora's Ice Skating Spectacular with print-and-play ice skating activities like Dora Ice Skating Puzzles, mazes, and make a cool iron-on Dora Ice Skating decal. Additionally, they can go to the NickJr.com Photo Booth to upload and decorate photos with Dora and her friends and play the new Dora Ice Skating Game.

Dora the Explorer, created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner, is a play-along, animated adventure series starring Dora (Fátima Ptacek), a seven-year-old Latina heroine whose adventures take place in an imaginative, tropical world filled with jungles, beaches and rainforests. She explores her world just as preschoolers do every day, and the show is designed to actively engage its audience in an interactive quest using a variety of learning techniques.

In every episode, Dora and Boots invite the audience to participate in an exciting adventure, where each step of their journey consists of a problem or puzzle that Dora and the audience must think their way through in order to solve the next problem. Dora is proudly bilingual and uses her knowledge of English and Spanish to communicate with her friends, overcome obstacles and reach her goals. In each episode, Dora teaches Spanish words or phrases to the viewers and then asks them to use it to solve a problem and forge ahead. Ultimately, Dora and her best friend, Boots, triumph, and the story always ends with a "We Did It!" anthem.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 34th 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 almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 18 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).

Contact: Heather Brown (212) 846-6240 [...]

--Ends--

Preview - "Dora's Ice Skating Spectacular":



When Dora the Explorer and Boots the Monkey meet the Snow Princess and all their Snowy Forest friends, the Snow Princess tells Dora and Boots about a mean Ice Witch who takes everyone's ice skates.
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Nickelodeon UK Presenter Anna Williamson To Visit Orpington, South East London, On Wednesday 20th November 2013

Orpington 1st has announced on their official Twitter profile page, @Orpington1st, that Nickelodeon UK presenter Anna Williamson ("Camp Orange", "Jamie's & Anna's Big Weekend", "UPick Summer", "N-View", "Nickelodeon's Fruit Shoot Skills Awards"), who will be starring in Churchill Theatre Bromley's 2013 pantomime production of "Cinderella" as the title character, will be visiting, along with her panto co-stars Matt Lapinskas (Prince Charming) and Andrew Agnew (Buttons), will be joining Charlton Athletic footballers Bradley Pritchard and Cedric Evina in Orpington, a suburban town in South East London, on Wednesday 20th November 2013 to celebrate the towns 'White Christmas' event! Anna, Matt and Andrew will be appearing on the events main stage.



Photo from News Shopper

Whatever the weather a 'White Christmas' will come to Orpington High Street on Wednesday 20th November 2013! The festivities begin with the Christmas Lights Switch On. There'll also be a very special visit from Santa, live entertainment, a fabulous firework display, plus plenty of stalls, rides and entertainment for the whole family to enjoy and lots more, so make sure you come along and help local businesses celebrate the countdown to Christmas!

The festivities begin at 4pm when Father Christmas and three of his real reindeer friends will be stopping off on their way to the North Pole, and as darkness falls, the white Christmas lights will be switch on to illuminate Orpington High Street.

There'll be children's fairground rides and Christmas market stalls selling craft and gift ideas, with many shops keeping their doors open late and lots of bars and restaurants offering festive fayre.

As a special treat, the beautiful Drayhorse Shires, Jimmy and Guinness, that appeared in the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony will be offering rides in their Christmas Coach, and there'll be an opportunity to join in and sing along to traditional Christmas music with local school children and choirs, followed by a performance from Orpington's 60-strong Rock Choir.

And to make sure Orpington kicks Christmas off to an exciting start, this fantastic event will finish around 7pm with a 10 minute 'White Christmas' themed firework display from the roof of the Walnuts Shopping Centre.

You can find more information about Orpington's "White Christmas" event here on orpington1st.co.uk!

Tickets to attend Churchill Theatre Bromley's 2013 pantomime production of "Cinderella" are available online at atgtickets.com/bromley, by calling 0844 8717620 or by visiting the box office and cost between £15 and £26.50, or £32 for a premium ticket.
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Viacom International Media Networks UK & Ireland To Launch Dedicated Christmas Music Channel Called MTV Xmas; Sky Go Adds Comedy Central

The entertainment news website Digital Spy is reporting that Viacom International Media Networks UK & Ireland (VIMN) have announced the exciting festive news that MTV UK and Ireland will launch a brand new channel in the run-up to Christmas!

MTV Xmas, which will be devoted to playing Christmas-themed music, will take the EPG (electronic program guide) slot of MTV Classics on Saturday 23rd November 2013 up until Christmas Day on Wednesday 25th December 2013.

A special countdown show presented by Slade's Noddy Holder called "It's Christmaaas" will air during the afternoon of the channel's launch.

On Monday 25th November 2013, "X Factor" winners Little Mix will front a similar show entitled "Merry Little Mixmas".



Little Mix's Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall standing next to the SpongeBob SquarePants statue at Nickelodeon UK's offices at Hawley Crescent at Camden Lock in London / Photo from and Copyright (C) @NickelodeonUK.

Stars such as Olly Murs, Tony Christie and Carol Vorderman have also been announced by VIMN as hosts of their own specials, which will showcase their favourite festive hits.

As well as brand new Top 50 countdowns, MTV Xmas will be playing classic Christmas videos including Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' and Wizzard's 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday'.

MTV Xmas will air on Channel 356 on Sky and Channel 321 on Virgin Media.

Additionally, the television industry news website Broadcast is reporting that the UK and Irish satellite television provider Sky has today, Tuesday 19th November 2013, added 14 new channels including Comedy Central, Dave and Discovery to its multiplatform TV service Sky Go.

The service, which is available across a range of devices, now features 57 channels after MTV, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, TLC, Animal Planet, History, UKTV's Gold, Alibi, Good Food and Eden were among the latest to sign up. The latest channels join a portfolio which already included Channel 4, E4, Nickelodeon, six Sky Sports channels and 11 Sky Movies channels.

Sky Go Extra, the £5 per month upgrade whihc allows users to view shows offline across four separate devices, has been adopted by 219,000 users in the last three months. Sky's brand director of TV products Luke Bradley-Jones said Sky Go attracted 3m unique users every quarter.
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Nickelodeon UK Wishes Viewers A Very Appy Christmas With The Launch Of The Nick App, New iPad Competition And Festive Specials

'Tis the season to be a finger! Nickelodeon UK and Ireland, the number one commercial kids TV network in the UK, has announced in their brand new trailer the very exciting Nick UK News that Nickelodeon UK will be launching a local version of the popular Nick App in the UK and Ireland on Thursday 28th November 2013!

To celebrate Christmas and the launch of the brand new free Nick App in the UK and Ireland, Nickelodeon will be hosting a exclusive 'Watch and Win' competition called "Appy Christmas", where Nick will be giving British and Irish NickHeads the chance to win a iPad Mini everyday from Sunday 1st to Tuesday 24th December 2013, making it a very Appy Christmas!! Simply finger skate over to the contests official website nick.co.uk/appy (coming soon!) and answer a daily question for your chance to win a top prize!

Plus, British and Irish NickHeads can exercise their digits by grabbing their remotes and tuning into Nick, where two of the most festive fingers around, Father Christmas and Rudolph, will be waiting with a sack load of Christmas specials of their favourite Nickelodeon shows, including the brand new "Life With Boys" episode "Naughty and Nice with Boys" and Gravity 5 teaches us "How to Rock Christmas" in the all-new festive episode of "How to Rock", and classics such as Nickelodeon's first full-length stop-motion animated special "It's A SpongeBob Christmas!"!

Nickelodeon UK's localised version of the Nick App is expected to be based on Nick USA's version which was released in February 2013, which will expand Nickelodeon UK's second screen and TV Everywhere offerings and give kids instant and on-demand access to exclusive short and long-form Nickelodeon-themed content, including comic clips, cast interviews, videos and HTML5 games, giving kids a new immersive, interactive experience, whilst allowing them to take Nickelodeon wherever they go!

Stay tuned to NickALive! for news of the official release date for Nick App UK!

Nickelodeon UK has also revealed in their all-new "Appy Christmas" promo that Nick UK's Christmas 2013 on-air presentation, including Christmas-themed Nickelodeon idents (station ID's), promo endboards, on-screen graphics (BUGs/DOGs) and channel bumpers, will be based on Nickelodeon USA's 2012 Holiday design.


Merry NickMas!


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