Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Laugh Your Pants Off With SpongeBob SquarePants - Nickelodeon UK

It's your turn to laugh along with SpongeBob! For your chance to win SpongeBob goodies, feature on Nicktoons UK & Ireland and receive a signed certificate from Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob, head to Nicktoons.co.uk/laugh now!:



Laugh Your Pants Off with brand-new SpongeBob SquarePants episodes this Easter on Nicktoons UK & Ireland, visit the SpongeBob SquarePants' Laughter Party at your nearest intu shopping centre, and send Nickelodeon UK your funniest SpongeBob laugh for the chance to appear on TV and to win some awesome SpongeBob prizes!
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17 Magical Facts About The Fairly OddParents - #FairlyOdd15

The Fairly OddParents has been around for 15 years, which means we've been seeing Cosmo and Wanda everywhere for more than a decade!


Now in its 10th season, FOP is making Timmy Turner SHARE his Fairy Godparents with his new classmate, Chloe Carmichael. Naturally, the two kids have been getting into and out of jams non-stop.

Series creator Butch Hartman is super active on social media, especially on Tumblr and YouTube, and to celebrate the Nicktoons 15th anniversary, he's been sharing lots of fun facts all month about Nickelodeon's magical Emmy Award winning animated series!

1 - The show was originally called Fairly Godparents, and Wanda was definitely not the Wanda we know and love today.

Nickelodeon Nominated For 7 Awards In The 2016 NAMIC Vision Awards

The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) has announced the fantastic news in the following press release, via PR Newswire, that Nickelodeon has been nominated for seven awards in the prestigious 22nd Annual NAMIC Vision Awards!:

22nd Annual NAMIC Vision Awards Nominations Announced

NEW YORK, March 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), has announced the nominees for the 2016 NAMIC Vision Awards presented in partnership with NAMIC - Southern California. Now in its 22nd year, the awards honor original and digital programming content that depicts the lives, spirit and contributions of people of color and best reflects the ethnic and cultural diversity of the viewing audience.


2016 NAMIC Vision Awards honoring achievements in television programming diversity. (PRNewsFoto/NAMIC)

Leading all contenders vying for this year's NAMIC Vision Awards is HBO with nine nominations. BET Networks and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network garnered eight nominations each with ESPN earning seven nods. Overall, 29 networks/distributors generated 83 nominations for NAMIC Vision Awards presented in 18 categories: Animation, Awards & Honors, Children's, Comedy, Daytime, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Lifestyle, News/Informational, Original Movie or Special, Reality, Reality - Social Issues, Sports, Variety/Talk Show, Best Performance – Comedy, Best Performance – Drama and Digital Media – Short Form. Original programs having aired from November 1, 2014 to November 30, 2015 were eligible for consideration.

"At a time when diversity is at the forefront of our consciousness such as the case with the Oscars, NAMIC remains committed to recognizing achievements in ethnically and culturally relevant programming," said Eglon E. Simons, president and CEO, NAMIC. "We applaud this year's nominees and encourage them to continue advancing diversity on screen and behind-the-scenes."

HBO's "Bessie" and Lifetime's "Devious Maids" tied for this year's top nominated programs, both earning three nominations. Queen Latifah and Michael Kenneth Williams received Best Performance – Drama nods for "Bessie." Danía Ramirez and Judy Reyes garnered Best Performance - Comedy nominations for "Devious Maids." "Bessie" received its third nomination in the Original Movie or Special category. "Devious Maids" was also recognized for Comedy.

Additional nominations for Best Performance - Drama went to Naturi Naughton and Omari Hardwick for the Starz original series "Power," and David Oyelowo for "Nightingale". In addition to "Bessie," programs nominated for Original Movie or Special category include: Nickelodeon's "Halo Awards," BET Networks "The Book of Negroes," National Geographic Channel's "Saints & Strangers" and Lifetime's "With This Ring." The nominees joining Ramirez and Reyes in the Best Performance - Comedy category are: Frankie J. Alvarez and Raúl Castillo for HBO's "Looking" and Mindy Kaling for Universal Television's "The Mindy Project." Original series nominated for Comedy in addition to Lifetime's "Devious Maids" include ABC's "black-ish," BET Networks "Real Husbands of Hollywood," and Universal Television's "Master of None" and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."

ABC dominated the Drama category with nominations for its primetime series, "How To Get Away with Murder," "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy." Original series BET Network's "Being Mary Jane" and Cinemax's "The Knick" also garnered nominations.

The NAMIC Vision Awards competition extends eligibility to national broadcast and cable networks; local affiliates; local origination programs from cable operators; and VOD content produced for digital platforms. Entries were judged by a distinguished panel of entertainment industry executives. Judging is focused on overall imagery (creative merit, originality, and presentation quality), sensitivity (the consideration given to cultural nuances), writing (the depiction of issues relevant to people of color) and the quality of acting in the performance categories.

A complete list of 2016 NAMIC Vision Awards nominees follows. For more information, visit www.namic.com or contact Sandra Girado, vice president, Events and Partner Relations, at NAMIC National, 212-594-5985.

2016 NAMIC Vision Awards Nominees

Animation
Doc McStuffins - Disney Junior
Miles From Tomorrowland - Disney Junior
NINA'S WORLD - Sprout
Sanjay & Craig - Nickelodeon
The Legend of Korra - Nickelodeon

Awards & Honors
46th NAACP Image Awards - TV One
BET Honors - BET Networks
Black Girls Rock - BET Networks
Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
Oprah Winfrey Presents: Legends Who Paved The Way - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

Best Performance - Comedy
Danía Ramirez, Devious Maids - Lifetime
Frankie J. Alvarez, Looking - HBO
Raúl Castillo, Looking - HBO
Judy Reyes, Devious Maids - Lifetime
Mindy Kaling, The Mindy Project - Universal Television

Best Performance - Drama
Omari Hardwick, Power - Starz
Queen Latifah, Bessie - HBO
Naturi Naughton, Power - Starz
David Oyelowo, Nightingale - HBO
Michael Kenneth Williams, Bessie - HBO

Children's
Dora and Friends - Nickelodeon
Game Shakers - Nickelodeon
Nick News with Linda Ellerbee - Nickelodeon
Talia in the Kitchen - Nickelodeon

Comedy
black-ish - ABC
Devious Maids - ABC Studios
Master of None - Universal Television
Real Husbands of Hollywood - BET Networks
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Universal Television

Daytime
Oprah Winfrey Network - SuperSoul Sunday - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
The Talk - CBS

Digital Media - Short Form
#BLX - BET Networks
Ángel o Demonio - ESPN
HelloBeautiful InterludesLIVE! - Interactive One
The Doll Life - Myx TV
Wise Words with DJ Khaled - Music Choice

Documentary
"AFROPUNK Presents The Triptych" from AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange - WGBH, Boston
Breakthrough "Water Apocalypse" - National Geographic Channel
Emmett Till - Al Jazeera America
Fault Lines: Baltimore Rising - Al Jazeera America
Fresh Dressed - CNN

Drama
Being Mary Jane - BET Networks
Grey's Anatomy - ABC
How to Get Away with Murder - ABC
Scandal - ABC
The Knick - Cinemax

Foreign Language
Mexicánicos - Discovery Networks Latin America
Viernes Futbolero Tiempo Extra - Kaza Azteca America, Inc.

Lifestyle
BBQ Blitz - Food Network
Home Away from Home - GMA Pinoy TV
Rev Run's Sunday Suppers - Cooking Channel
Tia Mowry at Home - Cooking Channel
Taco Trip - Cooking Channel

News/Informational
Katrina: 10 Years After the Storm with Robin Roberts - ABC News and Rock'n Robin Productions
Katrina 10 Years Later: Through Hell and High Water - BET Networks
Muhammad Ali: The People's Champ - BET Networks
Oprah's Master Class - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
Shining a Light: Conversations on Race in America - A&E

Original Movie or Special
Bessie - HBO
Book of Negroes - BET Networks
HALO Awards - Nickelodeon
Saints & Strangers - National Geographic Channel
With This Ring - Lifetime

Reality
Raising Whitley - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
Welcome to Sweetie Pie's - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
Project Runway - Lifetime
SC Featured: Life on the Streets - ESPN
SC Featured: No Excuses - ESPN

Reality - Social Issues
LHH: "Out In Hip Hop" - VH1
SC Featured: Her Voice - ESPN
This is Life with Lisa Ling - CNN
Vice Special Report: Fixing the System - HBO
Women of Honor - Lifetime

Sports
Countdown to the Special Olympics World Games with Robin Roberts - ESPN and Rock'n Robin Productions
E:60 Love Is Stronger - ESPN
E:60 Silent Night Lights - ESPN
Mayweather/Pacquiao: At Last - HBO
The Offseason: Kevin Durant - HBO

Variety/Talk Show
Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America - A&E
Oprah Prime - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
OWN at the Apollo - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
Talk to Al Jazeera Misty Copeland Interviewed by Richelle Carey - Al Jazeera America
Talk to Al Jazeera Spike Lee Interviewed by Sarah Hoye - Al Jazeera America

2016 NAMIC Vision Awards by Network/Distributor
A&E - 2
ABC - 5
ABC Studios - 1
Al Jazeera America - 4
BET Networks - 8
CBS - 1
Cinemax - 1
CNN - 2
Cooking Channel - 3
Discovery Networks Latin America - 1
Disney Junior - 2
ESPN - 7
Food Network - 1
GMA Pinoy TV - 1
HBO - 9
Interactive One - 1
Kaza Azteca America, Inc. - 1
Lifetime - 5
Music Choice - 1
Myx TV - 1
National Geographic Channel - 2
Nickelodeon - 7
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network - 8
Sprout - 1
Starz - 2
TV One - 1
Universal Television - 3
VH1 - 1
WGBH, Boston - 1

ABOUT NAMIC

NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) is the premier organization focusing on multi-ethnic diversity in the communications industry. Founded in 1980 as a non-profit trade association, today NAMIC comprises 2,700 professionals belonging to a network of 16 chapters nationwide. Through initiatives that focus on education, advocacy and empowerment, NAMIC champions equity and inclusion in the workforce, with special attention given to ensuring that the leadership cadres of our nation's communications industry giants reflect the multi-ethnic richness of the populations they serve. Comcast | NBCUniversal, Time Warner Cable and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. are NAMIC's Platinum Annual Corporate Sponsors. For more information, please visit www.namic.com and stay connected to NAMIC on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Charmaine Chapman
BTB Communications
Ph: 310-256-7470
[...]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160330/349447LOGO

SOURCE NAMIC

Related Links

http://www.namic.com

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Congratulations and good luck to Nickelodeon and everyone nominated in the 2016 NAMIC Vision Awards!
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Sky Launches Brand New App Packed Full of Amazing Content Just For Kids

Official Sky Press Release via RegularCapital.com:

SKY LAUNCHES BRAND NEW APP PACKED FULL OF AMAZING CONTENT JUST FOR KIDS

Sky is launching a brand new app tomorrow just for kids and at no extra cost to millions of Sky families. The Sky Kids app will offer a fun and safe way for preschoolers to nine year olds to enjoy the widest range of the most popular kids TV programmes including Nick Jr.'s Paw Patrol, Boomerang's Scooby Doo, CBeebies' Octonauts and Cartoon Network's Adventure Time. And they will soon be joined by children’s TV legend Morph, who is set to make his debut on the Sky Kids app later this year in brand new exclusive episodes.


The Sky Kids app features thousands of episodes of kids shows, including 16 of the 20 highest-rated shows, available to watch whenever and wherever they need to be entertained.

To create the best possible experience, hundreds of children and their parents have been involved in the development of the Sky Kids app. The result is an app that kids will love, supported by safety features that parents need. At launch, the Sky Kids app allows multiple age-appropriate profiles to be created and personalised using one of the playful Sky Buddy avatars. Future features available later this year include a sleep mode setting that gives parents the ability to limit viewing time.


In another step in the exciting growth of Sky's kids offer, Sky will commission its own exclusive original kids content. To start with later this year, in partnership with Oscar-winning Aardman Animation, Sky will premiere new episodes of the legendary Morph alongside brand new short features that encourage kids to create their own characters and films at home. Discussions are already underway with other producers about future projects and there are also plans to produce kids' versions of some favourite Sky shows.

Lucy Murphy, Head of Kids Content, Sky commented: "We have worked really closely with lots of children and their parents to design the new Sky Kids app. It means they can watch all their favourite shows in a really engaging way designed just for them. Safety is of fundamental importance so parents will be able to filter what their child watches according to their age.


"Having lots of great shows for kids has always really mattered to us. Around a quarter of Sky households have children so we know how important it is we give them the very best kids entertainment. That is why we are investing in exclusive new programming starting with family favourite Morph as well as developing future enhancements for the app including even more safety features, live channels and offline viewing."

Alix Wiseman, Head of Sales and Acquisitions & Executive Producer, Aardman commented: "Aardman and the creators of Morph are truly excited about partnering with Sky on this original content for their new app. Morph is very dear to our hearts and we hope that he and his mate Chas will entertain a brand new generation of viewers on this platform, as they have their loyal fan-base over the past four decades."

The app has been created by Sky's inhouse team together with ustwo, the digital product studio behind hit mobile game Monument Valley – winner of Apple's 2014 Design Award, iPad game of the year and two BAFTAs.


The app will ensure Sky remains the best entertainment choice for children and their parents. Sky TV families can already watch over 4,000 episodes of the most watched kids shows on demand through a dedicated Sky Kids tile on the home page as well as the widest range of live children's channels including Disney Jr, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.


The launch of the Sky Kids app comes as new research shows that growing numbers of children are watching TV on mobile devices with 80% having access to a tablet at home. Sky's own research also shows that although 70% of parents think that TV in moderation is entertaining and educational, almost 60% of parents with children aged 3 to 12 are worried about the types of programmes they are watching [1]. This has meant that building features such as age-appropriate filtering has been a key priority during the development process.

Notes to Editors:

* Sky Kids is available to download from both Google Play and Apple's App Store from Thursday 31 March 2016. The app will work on 3G/4G and WiFi and is available for customers with the Sky Family or Variety bundle or Sky Q.

* Sky announced the development of the app with ustwo in June 2015 as it aimed to build on its position as the best entertainment service for children and their parents. Sky's commitment saw the expansion of the kids' shows available in Sky's on demand library from 700 to 4,000 episodes making Sky home to more episodes of the most-watched kids' shows than any other provider in the UK and Ireland.

Following the on demand investment, a dedicated kids tile was added to the Sky homepage which opens up a one-stop-shop of all the kids shows and movies available on demand, all kids TV recordings, plus a quick view of what's on now on linear channels like CBeebies and Nick Jr. Since the kids tile was added in Summer 2015, on demand views have increased five times.

Sky's Kids service is now being overseen by Sky's first dedicated Head of Kids Content, Lucy Murphy, who joined Sky in November 2015.

For further information, please contact:

Sky
Amy Holland
[...]
020 7032 1498

Fever PR
Shannon Bailey
[...]
020 7792 4486

ustwo
Steve Bittan
[...]

Aardman
Anna Lewis
[...]
0117 3071318

About Sky
Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company, serving 21 million customers across five countries: UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.

Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of £4.9 billion. The group employs 30,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

For more information visit www.sky.com/corporate

About ustwo
ustwo is a global and proudly independent digital product studio, founded in 2004. It builds award‐winning digital services and businesses for the world's biggest, smartest brands including Google, Sky, Ford, Adidas and DeepMind.

With 300 people spread across four studios around the world – in London, New York, Malmö and Sydney – ustwo brings creative design and product thinking to a range of projects, from apps and interfaces to service design. ustwo also develops its own products and joint ventures, incubating and investing in the most promising to create standalone businesses.

About Aardman
Aardman, based in Bristol (UK) co‐founded and run by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, is a world leader in animation. It produces feature films, series, advertising and digital entertainment for both the domestic and international market. Their multi‐award winning productions are novel, entertaining, brilliantly characterised and full of charm that reflects the unique talent, energy and personal commitment of the very special people who make up the Aardman team. The studio's work is often imitated and yet the company continues to lead the field producing a rare brand of visually stunning and amusing independent and commercials productions. www.aardman.com

Aardman Rights and Brand Development are renowned for developing and building enduring character brands across all media. They specialise in marketing and realising the commercial potential of their properties in a way that celebrates and respects their intrinsic creative values. Classic brands in the portfolio include Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Timmy Time and Morph, while Aardman Rights has recently acquired third party representation for a number of top children's brands.

About Morph
Morph is the animated clay character who made his TV debut in 1977 in the children's BBC programme Take Hart. He was created and produced for the BBC by Aardman Animations.

Morph lived in a wooden pencil box on the desk of the artist and show host, Tony Hart, and appeared mainly in one minute "shorts" interspersed throughout the show. These were connected to the main show by having Hart deliver a line or two to Morph who would reply in gobbledygook but with meaningful gestures. Later on, Morph was joined by cream-coloured Chas, who was much more badly behaved. Morph was a regular fixture on children's television throughout the 70s and 80s, and received his own Blue Peter badge on 9th March 1981, when Blue Peter presenter Sarah Greene visited the Aardman studios.

In March 2009, shortly after Hart's death, a flashmob of Morph models gathered in London outside the Tate Modern art gallery.

Almost 40 years after his TV debut, Morph made a comeback following a hugely successful campaign on the Kickstarter crowdfunding website. The episodes launched on Morph's dedicated YouTube channel for a whole new generation of fans to enjoy.

[1] Sky research conducted with 2,000 parents of children aged 3-12 by Mortar Research February 2016

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Huge thanks to RegularCapital.com for the news!

Additional source: Sky Corporate.
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Melissa Joan Hart In Talks To Reboot "Clarissa Explains It All" And/Or "Sabrina the Teenage Witch"

'90s lovers have had a lot to celebrate in recent years. The (best ever) era's resurgence includes shows such as Nickelodeon's Legends of the Hidden Temple and Hey Arnold!, giving new life to iconic shows.


Now, two more '90s shows are being considered for a reboot: Clarissa Explains It All and/or Sabrina the Teenage Witch might be returning to the small screen.

During an appearance on FABLife on Tuesday 29th March 2016, quintessential '90s girl Melissa Joan Hart (former star of both of the shows, now 39) broke the news that she was on her way to a meeting that very day to discuss the future of both Clarissa and Sabrina, their rights, and reboot potential!:

"Umm, I am going to a meeting after this," she bashfully spilled, "They're throwing around Clarissa and Sabrina ideas, but it depends on who's gonna give up rights, who's gonna do it, how is it gonna be done, it's a lot of politics."

Hart was sure to include that the shows were nowhere near solidified, so fans can't be 100 percent sure that either of them will be making a comeback. On the bright side, a meeting is a meeting - if there were no interest, there probably wouldn't be a meeting at all.

Melissa also posted an Instagram response: