Nickelodeon UK Buys Rights To Beyblade: Metal Fusion For NickToons

From C21 Media:

Nelvana carves out Beyblade deal

Children's network Nickelodeon UK has secured television broadcast rights to 51 episodes of Nelvana Enterprises' animated series Beyblade: Metal Fusion.

The series is set to launch on NickToons in the UK in September 2010, and will join other titles in its boys' action block. Coproduced by Nelvana and D-rights, the series offers a fresh take on the original Beyblade series, with new characters.

Nelvana Enterprises' VP of worldwide sales and distribution Lynn Chadwick said: "NickToons is a great broadcast platform to drive awareness of the latest iteration of the series, bringing it to the attention of a brand new audience, many experiencing it for the first time."

Adam Benzine
3 Feb 2010
© C21 Media 2010

Nickelodeon UK Revamps Pre-School Mini-Sites

From Digital Spy:

Nickelodeon revamps pre-school mini-sites

Nickelodeon UK has revamped its flagship pre-school mini-sites under the Nick Jr's brand to offer better structure and navigation.

Dora The Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! web services have already been re-launched on the main Nick Jr's site as a result of a collaboration between Nickelodeon UK and interactive production firm Complete Control.

The rebrands are part of Nickelodeon UK's strategy to offer "immersive and playful" content for children by creating user-friendly online worlds around its key brands.

Under the partnership, Complete Control also redeveloped three sub-subsections on the main Nick Jr's site - Shows, Fun & Games and Make & Do - to introduce more effective user interfaces.

Due to the large amount of visually-led content on the site, Complete Control further created a 'super footer' text-based navigation solution to ensure optimum performance in search engines. The system has helped increase traffic to the Dora The Explorer mini-site by 457% since its relaunch.

Over February, Nickelodeon UK will introduce similar revamps for the Angelina Ballerina and Peppa Pig mini-sites, along with other properties.

Nickelodeon digital director Roy Edmonds said: "Creating content that truly engages children is no easy task but Complete Control has consistently delivered great creative treatments on all the projects Nickelodeon has commissioned, whilst keeping our needs as a commercial media company very much front-of-mind."

Complete Control creative director Glynn Hayward added: "We needed to ensure that the refreshed content we were producing for these great brands was not just only fun and engaging for children, but also boosted the SEO and page ranking of the sites."

Last month, traffic to the entire Nick Jr's website increase by 2.5% to 1,055,067 hits, with the Dora The Explorer mini-site accounting for 25% of that traffic with around 7m page views.

Howard Litton Leaves Nickelodeon UK

From C21 Media:

Litton leaves Nickelodeon UK

Howard Litton, MD and senior VP of Nickelodeon UK, is stepping down after 15 years with the company.

Litton played a key role in transforming Nickelodeon's UK business from a single channel operation to its present network of six. He also championed kids series such as Fifi and the Flowertots, Peppa Pig and Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom.

He is leaving to pursue "personal projects and new opportunities in international media" and will be replaced in the interim by Steve Grieder, executive VP of Nickelodeon International and programme sales for MTV Networks (MTVN) International, till a permanent MD is found.

"I've had an amazing time at Nickelodeon UK, but after 15 years of fun and hard work at the best kids' entertainment brand in the UK, it's time for a change and for new challenges," said Litton in a statement.

He added that he had some exciting projects in the pipeline but would be spending several months with his wife and children first.

"I'm deeply grateful to Howard for his immeasurable contributions to Nickelodeon and to MTVN," said David Lynn, executive VP and MD of MTVN UK, Ireland and Australia. "The impact of Howard's passion, creativity and commitment will be seen for years to come."

Litton joined Nickelodeon as acquisitions manager in 1995 and was promoted to director of programmes two years later. He became MD of Nickelodeon UK in April 2007. The business is a joint venture between MTVN and BSkyB.

Jonathan Webdale
7 Jan 2010
© C21 Media 2010

Also, from TBI - Television Business International:

Nickelodeon’s Litton weighs production moves, kids books

Departing Nickelodeon UK boss Howard Litton is eyeing a move into the production side of the business following his exit from the kids broadcaster.

However, he told TBIvision that he has no immediate plans and expects to start looking at new projects from the summer.

Litton, who has worked at Nickelodeon for 15 years, announced yesterday that he was leaving the channel, which a joint venture between MTV Networks and satellite pay TV operator BSkyB.

"I wondered if I had the nerve to go out at the top. We had a record-breaking year last year so it was the right time to go. It is a scary time to leave Nickelodeon but I need to try a few projects. I'm probably looking to get back to the creative root. It's more likely that I'll do a bunch of projects for a bunch of different people," he told TBIvision.

He also ruled out a move to one of Nickelodeon's rivals including Disney or Cartoon Network. "I didn't want to leave this job and move straight into another corporate job. You won't see me working at Cartoon Network or Disney any time soon," he said.

Litton, who has two little kids, plans to spend time at home and is also hoping to move into the world of publishing. "I've always wanted to try my hand at writing kids books," he added.

The broadcaster has had a successful few years with its preschool net Nick Jr winning the BAFTA for Children's Channel of the Year last year. Litton pointed to shows including Peppa Pig and Roary The Racing Car and factual strand Nick News as his proudest achievements at the company.

Nickelodeon UK To Premiere New Nickelodeon Show 'The Troop' In February 2010

According to Nickelodeon UK's promotion which is currently airing for the upcoming brand new Nickelodeon show "The Troop", Nickelodeon UK will premiere "The Troop" in February 2010.

Below is a description of the brand new Nickelodeon show "The Troop" from Nickelodeon USA's official "The Troop" website:

They're normal high school kids... with a huge secret.

ABOUT THE SHOW

Everyone in school thinks Jake, Hayley, and Felix are normal, but that’s not really the case. The truth: they’re part of a secret global society known as The Troop. Their mission: to keep the world's monster population under control. Can these three high school kids keep the town safe -- and keep everyone else from finding out?

It is unknown whether Nickelodeon UK will also launch a UK version of The Troop Grid (TroopGrid.com).

Nickelodeon Adapts SpongeBob SquarePants For Bollywood Short 'Bollywood Bob'

From Indiantelevision.com's Kidology:

SpongeBob Adapted for Bollywood Short

MUMBAI: To celebrate the tenth anniversary of its SpongeBob SquarePants property, Nickelodeon UK has produced a live-action Bollywood-style two-minute film, Bollywood Bob that is choreographed by Slumdog Millionaire's Longinus Fernandes.

The film, also developed in a shorter 30-second advertisement format, has started airing across Nickelodeon UK network starting 14 November, with back-to-back episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants all weekend.

Bollywood Bob will then be shown across the global Nickelodeon network. The 30-second version is scheduled to run in Vue and Cineworld cinemas nationwide from 13 November to January 1 next year around seasonal releases such as A Christmas Carol, Planet 51, Where the Wild Things Are, Alvin and the Chipmunks II and St Trinians 2.

Bollywood Bob, produced by Nickelodeon UK in collaboration with Nickelodeon International and Nickelodeon India creative teams tells the story of Rohan, who tentatively enters a magnificent palace in the heart of Bollywood territory (just outside Mumbai) to present a King with a golden sponge.

As he accepts the sponge a spectacular dance, involving his entire court, ensues.

The film also includes a Bangra-style SpongeBob theme song arranged by Akbar Sami and Firoze Patel.

Said Nickelodeon UK's VP creative director Peter Drake, "Bollywood Bob is the genuine global culmination of 'Year of the Sponge.' It is the most spectacular expression of regional cultures' celebration and love of SpongeBob, and furthers his credibility as a lifestyle icon."

"This unique work pushes the boundaries and challenges the norm, extending SpongeBob appeal way beyond the core Nickelodeon audience. He is one of the few animation characters that can do this so effectively," he added.

You can watch a video of the full version of Nickelodeon's Bollywood Bob short on the official Nickelodeon UK website.