Nickelodeon UK Still To Set A Premiere Date For The New Nickelodeon Show "Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures"

According to Nickelodeon UK on their official Twitter profile page (@NickelodeonUK), Nickelodeon UK is still planning to premiere the brand new Nickelodeon live-action sitcom "Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures" in 2012 on Nickelodeon UK and Ireland, Nickelodeon HD UK and Nick Replay UK, however, Nickelodeon UK have still got to set a launch date in the Nickelodeon UK schedules for the brand new Nickelodeon show:

Wish they'd let us know more about Bucket and Skinners!

@NickelodeonUK - The wonderful B & S!! On schedule to start this year. No set date yet but you'll b first to know

The "Nickelodeon 2012 Kids' Choice Awards" To Be The Most Global "Kids' Choice Awards" Ever

According to Nickelodeon's "Will Smith Tapped To Host Nickelodeon's Milestone 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards" "Kids' Choice Awards 2012" press release, which Nickelodeon released on Tuesday 10th January 2012, "Nickelodeon's 2012 Kids' Choice Awards" will be the most global version of the "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards" yet and will feature localised international voting like "Nickelodeon's 2011 Kids' Choice Awards":

Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards is more global than ever in 2012, seen in over 300 million households around the world. Within hours of airing live in the United States and Canada, the show will roll out in additional international markets, providing kids around the world the opportunity to tune into their local Nickelodeon channel to enjoy the show faster than ever. In many international markets, the 2012 KCAs will feature country-specific award categories and nominees, such as Nickelodeon Italia’s Favorite Star and Nickelodeon UK’s Favorite Show. Voting for the 2012 KCAs will span over six continents across 15 localized voting sites, giving kids practically everywhere the chance to decide who takes home a coveted blimp.

As part of the "2011 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards", Nickelodeon UK and Ireland viewers got the chance to vote in two UK exclusive "Kids' Choice Awards 2011" award category's, "Nick UK's Funniest Person", which was won by Nickelodeon Star Jerry Trainor, and "Nick UK's Favourite Show", which was won by the Nickelodeon series "House Of Anubis", on Nickelodeon UK and Ireland's official "2011 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards" website at KCA.Nick.co.uk.

Nickelodeon Announces Will Smith As The Host Of The "2012 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards"

From Nickelodeon's official "2012 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards Press Kit" Website:

WILL SMITH TAPPED TO HOST NICKELODEON’S MILESTONE 25TH ANNUAL KIDS’ CHOICE AWARDS LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES ON SATURDAY, MARCH 31, AT 8PM ET

1.10.12

Smith to Helm Silver Anniversary of Star-Studded, Slime-Dousing Telecast Honoring Kids’ Favorites in the Worlds of Film, Music, Sports and Television

Santa Monica, CA – Jan. 11, 2012 – World-renowned actor, producer and recording artist Will Smith (I Am Legend, The Pursuit of Happyness and the upcoming Men in Black III) will host Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, airing live on Saturday, March 31, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/tape delayed for West Coast) from the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles, California. Smith, a ten-time Blimp Award winner, will be joined by Hollywood’s biggest stars in an unforgettable, special anniversary slimefest where kids rule.

“How better to celebrate 25 years of Kids’ Choice Awards than with the biggest movie star in the world?” said Marjorie Cohn, President, Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon Group and an Executive Producer of the show. “Will has enough KCA blimps at home to fill a room, having long been one of kids’ favorites. He’s a larger than life presence who knows how to play big and we’re excited he’ll be taking the stage for the biggest, loudest, messiest spectacle in the show’s 25-year history.”

"The Kids’ Choice Awards are always the year's liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens," said Will Smith, "I'm honored they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun."

Two-time Academy-Award® nominee Smith recently finished filming Columbia Pictures’ Men in Black III, which will release on May 25, 2012. Up next, he will begin filming and producing One Thousand A.E. co-starring Jaden Smith.

Smith’s extraordinary list of blockbusters includes the most recent I Am Legend and Hancock. He also thrilled audiences in such huge hits as I, Robot, Independence Day, Men in Black and Men in Black II. Smith, along with partner James Lassiter of Overbrook Entertainment, also produced Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, Karate Kid, The Secret Life of Bees, Seven Pounds, Lakeview Terrace and The Human Contract, which marked the feature directorial debut of Overbrook Entertainment Partner, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Last year, Nickelodeon's 2011 Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by actor/comedian Jack Black, ranked as basic cable’s top telecast for the week (March 28, 2011–April 3, 2011) with 7.3 million total viewers. The show also ranked as the week’s top telecast with kids and tweens on all TV, averaging a 9.8/3.5 million K2-11, 12.7/2.7 million K6-11 and 11.7/2.5 million T9-14. The star-studded telecast scored the most votes in the show’s history—a record 200 million (+70%, over 2010) votes were cast across Nick.com, Nick’s mobile site, a brand-new iPhone application and for the first time ever, an iPad-optimized site, TeenNick.com and Nick's Facebook page. Nick.com celebrated its highest trafficked day ever on April 2, earning 42 million page views (+9%) and reaching over 2.2 million visitors across its website, mobile and tablet sites (+14%). Additionally, the audience for the live simulcast of Countdown to Kids’ Choice across these digital platforms posted double-digit increases (+39%) over the previous year.

Once again, kids will pick the winners and get tons of Kids’ Choice Awards content online and across multiple devices. http://www.nick.com/KCA12 will serve as the official site for the Kids’ Choice Awards with nominee information, voting, videos, celebrity photos, news, and Orange Carpet and backstage webcasts. Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards is more global than ever in 2012, seen in over 300 million households around the world. Within hours of airing live in the United States and Canada, the show will roll out in additional international markets, providing kids around the world the opportunity to tune into their local Nickelodeon channel to enjoy the show faster than ever. In many international markets, the 2012 KCAs will feature country-specific award categories and nominees, such as Nickelodeon Italia's Favorite Star and Nickelodeon UK's Favorite Show. Voting for the 2012 KCAs will span over six continents across 15 localized voting sites, giving kids practically everywhere the chance to decide who takes home a coveted blimp.

Nickelodeon’s 25th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards is being produced by Nickelodeon Productions in association with Bob Bain Productions. Bob Bain, Marjorie Cohn and Paula Kaplan are Executive Producers. Media outlets can reference the most up-to-date information on Nickelodeon’s 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards by logging onto www.NickKCApress.com.

Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd 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 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 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, VIAB).

Also, from ATV Today:

Will Smith to host Children’s Award Show

The actor, singer and producer is to front Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards 2012. The event will take place at the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles, California.

“Will Smith is one of the world’s biggest stars and is instantly recognisable with kids and parents alike around the globe” said Tina McCann, Managing Director for Nickelodeon UK. “A mega blimp winner, Will is sure to be the life and soul of the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2012 party. ”

Two-time Academy-Award® nominee Smith recently finished filming Columbia Pictures’ Men in Black III, which will be released this spring in the UK. Up next, he will begin filming and producing One Thousand A.E. co-starring Jaden Smith.

“The Kids’ Choice Awards is always the year’s liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens,” said Will Smith. “I’m honoured they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun.”

Smith’s list of blockbusters includes the most recent I Am Legend and Hancock. He entertained a youth audience across the early 1990s with sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bellair.

The premiere of the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2011, hosted by actor and comedian Jack Black, was the highest rated Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards ever. The 2011 UK premiere received an 8.2% share, up +325% on the slot average, making Nickelodeon the #1 kids’ channel during the time slot. The performance was up +32% on the previous year, with nearly half a million viewers tuning into the show during its premiere slot.

The 2012 awards will air on Sunday April 1st. Nickelodeon is available on Sky 604, Virgin 712, through BT Vision and TalkTalk.

Also, from the official MTV UK website, MTV.co.uk:

Will Smith To Host Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards

The Men In Black star will front the 25th KCAs on 31st March...

Will Smith has been announced as the host of the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.

The Men In Black star, who has taken home ten KCA blimps over the years, claims he is "honoured" to be fronting the star-studded 25th KCAs on 31st March.

In a statement, the Switch hitmaker said: "The Kids' Choice Awards are always the year's liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens. I'm honoured they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun."

President of Original Programming and Development Marjorie Cohn said of Smith's involvement: "How better to celebrate 25 years of Kids' Choice Awards than with the biggest movie star in the world?

"Will has enough KCA blimps at home to fill a room, having long been one of kids' favourites. He's a larger than life presence who knows how to play big and we're excited he'll be taking the stage for the biggest, loudest, messiest spectacle in the show's 25-year history."

Watch MTV News on the hour every hour on MTV - Sky Channel 126 and Virgin Channel 311

Also, from Digital Spy:

Will Smith to host Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2012

Will Smith has been named as the host of this year's Kids' Choice Awards.

The Men in Black III star will headline Nickelodeon's 25th KCAs ceremony on March 31 at 8pm ET.

"The Kids' Choice Awards are always the year's liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens," he said. "I'm honoured they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun."

Will has earned ten awards at the annual show over the past few years.

"How better to celebrate 25 years of Kids' Choice Awards than with the biggest movie star in the world?" said President of Original Programming and Development Marjorie Cohn. "Will has enough KCA blimps at home to fill a room, having long been one of kids' favourites.

"He's a larger than life presence who knows how to play big and we're excited he'll be taking the stage for the biggest, loudest, messiest spectacle in the show's 25-year history."

The actor recently reunited with his former Fresh Prince of Bel Air castmates at a charity luncheon.

He is married to Jada Pinkett Smith, and is the father of Karate Kid actor Jaden Smith and 'Whip My Hair' singer Willow Smith.

Will Smith can next be seen in the third instalment of the Men in Black franchise, which opens in cinemas on May 25.

Viacom International Talks About Their Asian Plans

From C21Media:

Asia specific

The Asian pay-TV market is fast coming of age, and local adaptations of unscripted formats look set to play a key role. Andrew McDonald reports.

Improvements in technology and infrastructure and a growing middle class have seen the pay-TV market rise rapidly across Asia in recent years. In October, regional pay-TV body Casbaa said multi-channel TV distribution had grown 12% in the past year, and that there are now more than 420 million non-terrestrial TV connections in the Asia-Pacific region. This is more than in the rest of the world combined, according to researcher SNL Kagan.

This boom has produced growth in channel numbers and new opportunities for content owners – both locally and further afield. But with a glut of Western channels already filling Asian EPGs, how important is local content in attracting subscribers in the region? And what role will international formats play in feeding that demand for local content?

The rise of pay-TV platforms across Asia has both changed viewing habits and arguably increased viewers’ expectations. The largest pay-TV market in the world is now China, and Sony Pictures Television’s (SPT) general manager of Asian networks Ricky Ow estimates that across the entire region, pay-TV penetration has reached 50%.

Furthermore, Hong Kong-based industry analyst Media Partners Asia expects pay-TV penetration in Asia-Pacific to grow to 57% of TV homes (486 million subscribers) by 2015 and to 62% of TV homes (570 million) by 2020.

“The consumer has gone from the stage of questioning why they should pay for pay-TV to seeing it as part of their daily diet and the subscription as part of their household expenses. Asian consumers have become more affluent over the years,” says Ow, noting that in high-penetration markets like China, Korea and India, uptake is more than 75%.

ABI Research’s senior analyst Sam Rosen adds that the growth of the middle classes and their ability to afford content is the most prevalent feature of the growing market. “In China, the cable subscriptions are US$3 to US$5 a month. In India, they’re starting to get a little bit higher but are still below US$10. You have more and more consumers who are able to afford that.”

This has opened up a market where there is a thirst for content like never before. James Ross is CEO and co-founder of Lightning International, a Hong Kong firm set up to help non-Asian broadcasters break into the region. He earned his stripes at Bloomberg, where he launched its Asia-Pacific channel in 1996, and later moved to UK broadcaster ITV, where he helped launch formats into China, Korea and India.

“The infrastructure here, in terms of cable, IPTV, DTH satellite and so on, has been way behind Europe or the US but now is really getting up to speed,” he says. “Consumers are really demanding the choice of channels and programming that Europe has become used to over the past 10 or 15 years.”

This has already led to the emergence of aspirational lifestyle channel brands, particularly female-skewing networks, with local home-grown channels like Malaysia-based lifestyle net Li TV competing in the same space as Western rivals such as AMC Networks-backed WE TV and Scripps’ Food Network Asia.

Li TV’s general manager Anne Chan says her network aims for a “cosmopolitan audience” that understands both Eastern and Western content. The high-definition net’s English-language programming is mixed with a handful of original productions – such as cooking show The Maverick Chef – and Chan claims to have “many creative concepts in the pipeline.”

Since launching in 2009, Li TV has been set up in five territories, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, and has more channel launches planned for markets including China, Vietnam, Korea and the Philippines. But while Li TV illustrates the rising ambitions of Asia’s pay-TV players, the type of pan-regional content that it airs will arguably always struggle to compete with mainstream local-language entertainment.

AMC/Sundance Channel Global’s senior VP and general manager Harold Gronenthal admits that although his firm’s female-focused 24/7 lifestyle network WE TV is “very exportable,” it operates in a particular Asian “niche.”

Airing in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, WE TV carries the same English-language shows that are popular on its US counterpart. These include wedding programmes Bridezillas and Platinum Weddings and reality series Braxton Family Values, which made its Asian debut in November. “You have to be realistic and accept that Asia’s no different to any other part of the world. Home-grown content – films, entertainment shows or whatever – will undoubtedly always dominate,” says Gronenthal.

IHS Screen Digest analysis shows that in the Indian market, local-language channels such as Star TV’s Hindi stations fare better than their international equivalents. At the end of 2010, entertainment channel Star One reached some 22.3 million households, compared with BBC Entertainment’s 3.4 million reach and FX’s 3.6 million.

“An interesting indicator to how TV channels are perceived locally is that the international channels are largely found within the higher tier packages, while the local channels will be in the base packages,” says senior IHS analyst Richard Broughton. “This is normally a good sign of how important the channel is – the more exclusive the package, the less essential the channel. If you consider UK packaging from the likes of Virgin, you’ll get all the essential channels in the basic package and all the ‘nice-to-have’ but non-essential channels in the additional packages.”

However, with News Corp in charge of Star and the Star World channel a core part of its Asian content strategy across territories such as Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, the line between ‘local’ and ‘Western’ companies is increasingly blurring. Part of the issue is that while home-grown Asian pay-TV networks are succeeding on a local basis, few players are carving out a solid presence across the entire region without the input of a major Western media conglomerate.

Lightning’s Ross claims that while companies such as Malaysian satellite TV firm Astro, Singapore-based broadcaster MediaCorp and Hong Kong-based commercial station TVB are all “starting to have regional aspirations,” none are yet at the point of securing widespread, multi-territory channel footprints. “One of the advantages that Western producers still have is they generally produce in English, which is still probably the common language of Asia. The Chinese don’t speak Korean, the Japanese don’t speak Chinese, but they all have some understanding of English,” says Ross.

Although ‘localising’ Western content has long been an established idea for Western firms trying to enter Asian markets, some of the biggest Hollywood studios are now starting to take a more innovative approach and adapting their output to local tastes.

Viacom already has a firm foothold in Asia. It airs its MTV and Nickelodeon channels across South-East Asia and Korea, and also runs MTV in Japan and China. Earlier this year it also launched MTV Live HD and Nick Jr and plans to expand these throughout South-East Asia later this year and early next.

Although shows like MTV’s US hit Jersey Shore don’t pass the censors in Malaysia, the Asian versions of the music channel still air around 70% music, tailored to popular regional music styles like Korea’s K-Pop, according to Viacom International Media Networks Asia’s executive VP and MD Indra Suharjono. The network also airs a number of local events, such as World Stage Live in Malaysia and the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.

Nickelodeon has also started experimenting with Chinese-produced content in Asia, finding success with shows such as Pleasant Goat and Big Bad Wolf. “We created a block called China Toon a year and a half ago. We acquired shows from China and put them on and they did really well. That was our first test in acquiring local content,” says Suharjono.

With Viacom’s international strategy now focused on adult rather than child or teen-focused channels, the firm aims to step up its local production strategy. “We’re planning to launch Comedy Central in South-East Asia sometime in April next year, and the channel will be programmed with 70% Comedy Central US content and about 30% local content,” explains Suharjono.

Over time, she adds, the content division may move to 50/50, with the potential to split the channel into local feeds catering for the different senses of humour in each of these markets. Coproductions with local free-to-air stations could also be a possibility, with windowing options allowing content to appear on both the pay and free channels.

"Genie in the House" Choreographer Danny Bayne To Reprise His Role of 'Danny Zuko' For The 2011/2012 UK Tour Of "Grease"

From Crawley Observer:

Robin Cousins joins Grease cast

Skating legend Robin Cousins will swap the ice rink for the stage to guest star as ‘Teen Angel’ in the smash hit musical Grease for its limited 1 week season in Crawley.

The former Olympic champion and Dancing on Ice judge will leave audiences hopelessly devoted to his charms when Grease rocks into The Hawth Theatre from 26- 31 March 2012.

Following its electrifyin’ 4 year London run, and for the first time in over 5 years, the hit West End show began a new tour last spring. Back by popular demand, Grease premiered at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 6 May 2011 and has since played venues throughout the UK and Ireland. Grease will continue to rock ‘n’ roll around the UK in 2012 with confirmed venues in Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, Bristol, Nottingham, Northampton, Stoke, Sheffield and many more.

Danny Bayne stars as ‘Danny’ with Carina Gillespie as his sweetheart ‘Sandy’, as the couple follow in the footsteps of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John who famously played the roles in the hit 1978 movie. The cast also includes: Ricky Rojas (‘Kenickie’), Kate Somerset How (‘Rizzo’), Laura Wilson (‘Jan’), Richard Vincent (‘Doody’), Lauren Stroud (‘Frenchy’), Josh Dever (‘Sonny’), Lois Urwin (‘Marty’), Darren John (‘Eugene’), Sammy Kelly (‘Patty’), Nancy Hill ‘(Miss Lynch’), Sophie Zucchini (‘Cha Cha’) and Stuart Reid (‘Vince Fontaine’), with other parts played by the ensemble.

Robin Cousins is one of Britain’s most famous and best loved individual ice skaters. He retired from the ice rink in 2000, after 30 years on the ice and 20 years of professional skating. During his highly successful career, Robin won the World Free Skating Championship Gold medal three times (‘78, ‘79, ‘80) and rose to the top in 1980, winning World Championship Silver and capping his amateur career with the European Championship and Olympic Gold medals. He was awarded the M.B.E. that year for his services to sport and skating, and more recently was made an Official Team GB Ambassador for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Robin is also a member of the host committee for the European Figure Skating Championships being held at the Sheffield Arena from 22- 28 January 2012.

As a professional skater, Robin made several appearances as a guest star with Holiday on Ice and Ice Capades (USA) and as a director and choreographer, he has worked extensively on shows for the ice spectacular Holiday on Ice including Tropicana- The Passion Tour (UK tour, 13 Jan- 19 Feb 2012). Robin’s extensive choreographic credits also include ice interpretations of The Wizard of Oz, Starlight Express and Disney’s Toy Story and many shows for his own ice company such as Electric Ice. Away from the ice, Robin has forged a successful career in theatre including starring roles Cats, The Rocky Horror Show (West End) and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Robin will reside as head judge on the ice panel of ITV1’s hit show Dancing on Ice for the new series, which starts in January 2012, before gliding back into Grease on 6 March 2011.

Danny Bayne won ITV’s Grease is the Word (2007) and went on to make his West End debut as ‘Danny’ in Grease playing the role for over 2 years at the Piccadilly Theatre to sell-out audiences. His other theatre credits include: Top Cat the Musical, Snow White, On Show at the Royal Albert Hall and Popcorn. More recently he co-starred with Julian Clary in Cinderella at the Hawth Theatre Crawley and appeared as ‘Corny Collins’ in the tour of the hit musical Hairspray. Danny also has a passion for both dance and choreography. Formerly a major world competitor, his dance credits include: British Champion in Freestyle, Hip Hop and ‘Rock ’n’ Roll’ and 3rd place in Latin American at the Italian World Championships. His choreographic credits include: Genie in the House (for Nickelodeon), West End Eurovision (Piccadilly Theatre) and several Hip Hop shows, carnivals and events. Danny reprises the iconic role of ‘Danny Zuko’ for the 2011/12 tour of Grease.