Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Nickelodeon Names David Katz Senior Vice President, Content Relations

Original Nickelodeon Press Release via NickPress.com:


NICKELODEON NAMES DAVID KATZ SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT RELATIONS

NEW YORK – Dec. 8, 2014 – Nickelodeon has named David Katz Senior Vice President of Content Relations for Nickelodeon Group. The announcement was made today by Russell Hicks, President of Content, to whom Katz will report.

From the network's Animation Studio in Burbank, Calif., Katz will spearhead a wide range of key initiatives and strategic priorities that will help drive Nickelodeon's creative excellence initiatives, as well as serve as a critical player on special projects. He will also provide strategic oversight of the Talent Outreach team of leaders responsible for retaining, attracting and developing Nickelodeon's creative talent.

"For almost nine years, David has demonstrated a tremendous ability for conceptualizing and executing against Viacom's strategic initiatives," said Hicks. "In that time, he has managed critical internal and external relationships with key stakeholders and developed programs that speak to the heart of our company's objectives."

Katz previously served as Vice President of Global Corporate Responsibility at Viacom where he led Viacommunity, the company's umbrella of key philanthropic investments, strategic partnerships and corporate responsibility efforts, while also serving as liaison to the Board of Directors, special projects and other corporate initiatives. In that capacity, he influenced several large-scale projects, including a multi-year partnership with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch the "Get Schooled" Foundation; the "Dream Concert" at Radio City Music Hall to benefit the MLK Memorial Foundation; Viacom's "9/11 I Will" tribute campaign and the recent partnership with Mariska Hargitay to support the NO MORE movement against domestic violence and sexual assault, among others. Katz also launched Viacommunity Brand Solutions, which serves as an impact accelerator for brand partners and organizations.

Katz began his career at Viacom as a Nickelodeon summer associate in the Talent & Casting group, followed by several roles in talent management, including Blue's Clues at Nick Jr. and later in the MTV On-Air Talent Group. Prior to his time at Viacom, he worked at Clear Channel Entertainment in Creative Development and as Chief of Staff for Barry Diller, Chairman at IAC/InterActiveCorp.

Katz is a graduate of New York University and Emerson College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Management and Communications.

Nickelodeon, now in its 35th 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 more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 19 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).

###
Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for all the latest Nickelodeon News and Highlights!

Nickelodeon Africa Launches "Slime A Celeb" Charity Initiative

Nickelodeon Africa has launched a brand-new charity initiative called "Slime A Celeb", in which, for the first time, Nickelodeon is planning to slime some of South Africa's favourite celebrities at the Eastgate Shopping Centre, all in the name of charity!


Slime may not traditionally be associated with Christmas, but it does have a long association with Nickelodeon; the tradition of sliming celebrities first started at the first-ever Nickelodeon "Kids' Choice Awards" in 1988, and since then, celebrities from all walks of life have enjoyed the honour of being slimed - Will Smith, Halle Berry, Katy Perry, Tom Cruise, Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Jack Black and many others are among the many good sports who have featured in the slime "hall of fame"!

As part of "Slime A Celeb", members of the public are encouraged to visit Eastgate Shopping Centre located at Strelitzia Court during December 2014 to make their donations, and for every thousand rand raised, popular celebrities, including Arye Kellman, will be given the ultimate Nickelodeon honour of being slimed by being dunked in a big vat of sticky green slime! Each sliming will be filmed, and the clips placed on social media. Once a celebrity has been SLIMED, they will be able to nominate three other celebs to come down to Eastgate Shopping Centre to be slimed!

The challenge is an integral part of a charity fund-raising drive for Child Welfare, a non-profit organization providing homes for abandoned, abused and vulnerable children in South Africa, including those who are HIV positive.

The slimings will take place as part of Nickelodeon's Nickmas activity's at Eastgate Mall between Thursday 11th and Monday 15th December 2014, and Nickelodeon are hoping to attract large crowds to generate a meaningful sum of money for Child Welfare projects. You can find full information about "Slime A Celeb" here on Nick Africa's official website, nickelodeonafrica.com, plus follow the latest news on social media by using the hashtag #SlimeChallenge!
Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for all the latest Nickelodeon Africa News and Highlights!

Nickelodeon USA To Premiere "ReactToThat" On Monday 15th December 2014

The TV news website Zap2it.com is reporting the exciting Nickelodeon News in their TV listings area that Nickelodeon USA will start to premiere and show the brand-new series "ReactToThat" on Monday 15th December 2014 at 7:30pm (ET/PT)! Following the series premiere, Nick USA will continue to debut all-new episodes of "ReactToThat" Monday to Friday at 6:00pm (ET/PT) through New Years Day, Thursday 1st January 2015!

Update (12/11): Updated TX time; added Nickelodeon's official press release announcing the news, below.

The premiere episode will feature YouTube stars Bethany Mota, Lia Marie Johnson (of "AwesomenessTV") and Paris Smith ("Every Which Way"), plus the stars of Nickelodeon's "Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn", Mace Coronel and Aidan Gallagher.


"ReactToThat" is a brand-new half-hour comedy series based on the the the hit web-based series "React" by brotherly YouTube duo Benny and Rafi Fine, a.k.a. The Fine Bros. Each episode will feature celebrities and kids reacting to web videos and also participating in showdowns where they take on a challenge based on a video they just watched (like making a basketball trick shot or trying to set the world record for fastest clapping).

Below is a list of currently announced episodes and their premiere dates:

Monday 15th December 2014: Season 1, Episode 1: Pizza Slap and Nugget in a Biscuit
Tuesday 16th December 2014: Season 1, Episode 2: T-Shirt War and Girl Burps the Alphabet
Wednesday 17th December 2014: Season 1, Episode 3: Snail Attack and Hallway Swimming
Thursday 18th December 2014: Season 1, Episode 4: Skydive Out Front Door and Guitar Impossible

The Fine Bros., who are affiliated with YouTube multichannel network Fullscreen, run one the biggest channels on the video sharing website, with 8.1 million subscribers and 1.58 billion video views to date.

"ReactToThat" is executive produced by Nick Cannon, Michael Goldman, Benny and Rafi Fine, and Max Benator, who is the Fine Bros.'s manager, through Nick Cannon's Ncredible Entertainment production company. The Fine Bros. are repped by WME.

Nickelodeon ordered 13 episodes of "ReactToThat" from The Fine Bros. in April 2014 following a successful pilot episode in February 2014.

Sources: ToonZone Forums member rockorockorocko, Variety.

Original Nickelodeon Press Release via NickPress.com:

NICKELODEON TO LAUNCH BRAND-NEW SERIES REACTTOTHAT ON MONDAY, DEC. 15 AT 6 P.M. (ET/PT)

YouTube Sensation Bethany Mota and Stars of Nickelodeon's Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn Featured in Series Premiere

SANTA MONICA, CA - Dec. 11, 2014 – Nickelodeon will debut ReactToThat, a brand-new half-hour series from popular YouTube personalities The Fine Bros., on Monday, Dec. 15, at 6:00 p.m. (ET/PT). In partnership with Nick Cannon and his production shop NCredible Entertainment, Benny and Rafi Fine have taken their hit online show React to the next level with a new TV series featuring celebrities and kids reacting to the web's best viral videos. The premiere episode features YouTube sensations Bethany Mota, Lia Marie Johnson (Awesomeness TV) and Paris Smith (Every Which Way), plus the stars of Nickelodeon's Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn--Mace Coronel and Aidan Gallagher. ReactToThat will regularly air Monday through Friday at 6:00 p.m. (ET/PT) through Jan. 1, 2015 on Nickelodeon.

In the new series, the kids and celebrity reactors not only watch and respond to viral videos, but participate in epic showdowns where they take on a challenge based on a video they just watched. Whether it's a basketball trick shot or the world record for fastest clapping, the challenges bring a physical element to the show that's never been seen in the online version.

In its three years since launching online, the React franchise has garnered over 1 billion video views and over 10 million subscribers. The success of Kids React has yielded spinoffs Teens React, Elders React and YouTubers React.

ReactToThat is executive produced by Nick Cannon, Michael Goldman, Benny Fine, Rafi Fine, Scott Tomlinson, and Max Benator.

Nickelodeon, now in its 35th 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 19 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).

###
Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for all the latest Nickelodeon and ReactToThat News and Highlights!