Thursday, June 26, 2014

Nickelodeon Announces First "Road to Worldwide Day of Play" Summer Celebration to Take Place across Multiple U.S. Cities, Including San Diego, Detroit and a Third Chosen by Kids Themselves

Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids and families, has today, Thursday 26th June 2014, announced in the following press release, from Business Wire, the exciting Nick News that Nickelodeon will celebrate kids' love of play this summer with three "Road to Worldwide Day of Play" events that will visit San Diego, California (Monday 30th June to Wednesday 2nd July 2014); Detroit, Michigan (Wednesday 30th July to Friday 1st August 2014); and a third city (Wednesday 3rd to Friday 5th September 2014) chosen by kids themselves via an online contest launching Monday 30th June 2014! Nick's summer time celebration of play will culminate with Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day of Play event on Saturday 20th September 2014, when the network goes dark and its partners host grassroots activities to celebrate play.



(Download Image - Nickelodeon Worldwide Day of Play Logo (PRNewsFoto/Nickelodeon): http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130916/NY80427 )

Through Sunday 27th July 2014, kids ages 7-12 can log onto http://www.nick.com/play to tell Nickelodeon why their hometown should get a visit on the "Road to Worldwide Day of Play" tour. One grand-prize winner will be chosen from the submissions and will earn an opportunity to bring Nickelodeon-themed games, slime, and its live-action stars to local events in their hometown.

As a lead up to Worldwide Day of Play (Sept. 20), Nickelodeon is partnering with organizations in San Diego, Detroit and the third contest-winning city to bring Nick-themed activities to the local partner events that encourage kids to get up and get active. These events will feature fun-filled games, appearances by stars from Nickelodeon hit shows "Instant Mom", "The Haunted Hathaways" and "The Thundermans", costumed characters, a grant presentation to a local non-profit organization and more.

In San Diego, Nickelodeon is teaming-up with the Jackie Robinson YMCA; USA BMX; the Sports Training, Academics & Recreation/Police Athletic League (STAR/PAL); the San Diego Padres; Pro Kids | The First Tee of San Diego; the Salvation Army Kroc Center; and Youth and Leaders Living Actively (YALLA) for various events from June 30 to July 2. Stars from the Nickelodeon hit series "Instant Mom", Sydney Park and Tylen Williams, will also make appearances at select events.

Worldwide Day of Play is part of Nickelodeon's ongoing health and wellness efforts and continues the network's legacy of promoting positive messages to its viewers. In addition to hosting its flagship event, on Sept 20, Nickelodeon will once again suspend programming from 12:00pm to 3:00pm in order to encourage kids to go outside and get active. Event details regarding Detroit, the contest-winning city and the network's Sept. 20th event will be announced in the coming weeks. Kids and families can also visit http://www.nick.com/play to find photos and videos from "Road to Worldwide Day of Play" events, get tips on the best ways to play and access toolkits to help plan their own Worldwide Day of Play activities.

United States Tennis Association (USTA) is a presenting sponsor of Nickelodeon's 11th annual Worldwide Day of Play. The USTA will hold youth tennis demonstrations taking place in "Road to Worldwide Day of Play" cities, creating a "hands-on" opportunity for families to experience tennis. Kids are learning the game through USTA's youth initiative which is geared towards getting more kids to participate in tennis using equipment and courts tailored to a child's size.

Original Nickelodeon Press Release:

Nickelodeon Announces First "Road to Worldwide Day of Play" Summer Celebration to Take Place across Multiple U.S. Cities, Including San Diego, Detroit and a Third Chosen by Kids Themselves

Events will Lead Up to Nickelodeon's Annual Worldwide Day of Play
Saturday, September 20

June 26, 2014 03:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nickelodeon will celebrate kids’ love of play this summer with three “Road to Worldwide Day of Play” events that will visit San Diego, Calif. (June 30- July 2); Detroit, Mich. (July 30-Aug. 1); and a third city (Sept. 3-5) chosen by kids themselves via an online contest launching Monday, June 30. The summer time celebration of play will culminate with Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play event on Saturday, Sept. 20, when the network goes dark and its partners host grassroots activities to celebrate play.

"Through this year's 'Road to Worldwide Day of Play' initiative, we are putting kids' front and center by celebrating all of the ways they love to play and stay active," said Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Administration, Nickelodeon Group. "We are working in tandem with our many national and local partners to go into communities to empower kids and their families to adopt more active lifestyles."

Through July 27, kids ages 7-12 can log onto http://www.nick.com/play to tell Nickelodeon why their hometown should get a visit on the “Road to Worldwide Day of Play.” One grand-prize winner will be chosen from the submissions and will earn an opportunity to bring Nickelodeon-themed games, slime, and its live-action stars to local events in their hometown.

As a lead up to Worldwide Day of Play (Sept. 20), Nickelodeon is partnering with organizations in San Diego, Detroit and the third contest-winning city to bring Nick-themed activities to the local partner events that encourage kids to get up and get active. These events will feature fun-filled games, appearances by stars from Nickelodeon hit shows Instant Mom, The Haunted Hathaways and The Thundermans, costumed characters, a grant presentation to a local non-profit organization and more.

In San Diego, Nickelodeon is teaming-up with the Jackie Robinson YMCA; USA BMX; the Sports Training, Academics & Recreation/Police Athletic League (STAR/PAL); the San Diego Padres; Pro Kids | The First Tee of San Diego; the Salvation Army Kroc Center; and Youth and Leaders Living Actively (YALLA) for various events from June 30 to July 2. Stars from the Nickelodeon hit series Instant Mom, Sydney Park and Tylen Williams, will also make appearances at select events.

Worldwide Day of Play is part of Nickelodeon’s ongoing health and wellness efforts and continues the network’s legacy of promoting positive messages to its viewers. In addition to hosting its flagship event, on Sept 20, Nickelodeon will once again suspend programming from 12p.m. to 3p.m. in order to encourage kids to go outside and get active. Event details regarding Detroit, the contest-winning city and the network’s Sept. 20th event will be announced in the coming weeks. Kids and families can also visit http://www.nick.com/play to find photos and videos from “Road to Worldwide Day of Play” events, get tips on the best ways to play and access toolkits to help plan their own Worldwide Day of Play activities.

United States Tennis Association (USTA) is a presenting sponsor of Nickelodeon’s 11th annual Worldwide Day of Play. The USTA will hold youth tennis demonstrations taking place in “Road to Worldwide Day of Play” cities, creating a “hands-on” opportunity for families to experience tennis. Kids are learning the game through USTA’s youth initiative which is geared towards getting more kids to participate in tennis using equipment and courts tailored to a child’s size.

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).
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Nickelodeon May Be Planning To Make A "The Haunted Hathaways" And "The Thundermans" Crossover Special

Showfax, Inc., a website which provides resources for the professional acting community, is reporting the very exciting Nickelodeon News that Nickelodeon may be planning to bring the characters of the networks hit original comedy series "The Thundermans" and "The Haunted Hathaways" together for a epic crossover special of superhero proportions!


Showfax, Inc. is listing a Nickelodeon Casting Call for a actor to play the role of 'Chad' in the crossover episode, long-speculated to be titled 'Haunted Thundermans' (production code #211). The episodes' title suggests that the Hathaways/Thundermans special will be a "Haunted Hathaways" season two episode, as each episode of "The Haunted Hathaways" (except the pilot episode) has the word 'Haunted' at the beginning, such as "Haunted Sleepover" and "Haunted Voodoo".

Additionally, Showfax, Inc. is reporting that a upcoming brand-new season two episode of "The Thundermans" will be titled "Pheebs Will Rock You" (#207), and that Nick is looking for actors to audition to play characters named 'Flap Jack', 'Gideon', 'Jay Jay', 'Lars', 'Raymond', and a bouncer in the episode.
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Nickelodeon UK's Nick App Wins Broadcast Digital Awards 2014 Award

The television industry news website Broadcast has announced the very exciting Nickelodeon UK News that Nickelodeon UK's localised version of the popular Nick App has won the "Best App or Website (Channel, Strand or Genre)" award in the Broadcast Digital Awards 2014! Congratulations Nickelodeon UK!



Nickelodeon UK's "Best App or Website" Broadcast Digital Awards 2014 trophy for The Nick App. Photo from MTV UK's official Twitter profile page, Twitter.com/MTVUK.

Nick UK's version of The Nick App beat off stiff competition against CBeebies Playtime, itv.com/news, E4.com, and www.horseandcountry.tv.

The "Best App or Website (Channel, Strand or Genre)" category of the Broadcast Digital Awards recognises and rewards outstanding second screen content that resulted in viewers becoming more engaged with a show or channel. Nominees of the category can have elements of synchronicity, immersive rich content, or integrate with social media in an innovative way.


Available for free and featuring over 200 pieces of exclusive Nickelodeon-themed content, the Nick App UK, the first international version of the Nick App since launching in the USA in February 2013, is available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch - exclusively on the App Store! The UK launch of the Nick App in November 2013 marked the first availability of the Nick App outside of the US where it launched in February 2013 and amassed five million downloads. The Nick App has also received the prestigious Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media - User Experience And Visual Design at the 65th Emmy® Awards and has been nominated for the 'Best Streaming Video Platform' award in the 2013 iKids Awards.


Featuring a immersive branded experience, the Nick App allows NickHeads in the UK and Ireland to explore a laughter and slime-filled world that showcases content from hit Nickelodeon and Nicktoons shows such as "Sam & Cat", "The Haunted Hathaways", "SpongeBob SquarePants", "The Thundermans", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Rabbids Invasion", "Monsters Vs Aliens", "House of Anubis" and "Sanjay and Craig". Kids are able to interact with the Nick brand through a moveable tile layout that can be swiped in any direction, promoting discovery and exploration and offering fans instant and on-demand access to exclusive Nickelodeon content. The app is a destination for short-form videos, behind-the-scenes clips and comedic sketches. Photos from Nick stars and animated characters are also available as are specially created polls, blogs, games and voting for the Nickelodeon "Kids' Choice Awards" as well as full-length Nickelodeon episodes. The Nick App also features a intuitive "Do Not Touch" button, which unleashes a series of surprises if pressed. New content is added to the Nick App every day. More information on the Nick App can be found at nick.co.uk/app.

Nickelodeon UK supported the launch of the Nick App in November 2013 on Nickelodeon's online and social media channels as well as on-air through the 'Appy Christmas competition, where kids had the chance to win a iPad Mini everyday, making it a very Appy Christmas! Special promotional spots to introduce the app and its content was also be broadcast on air.

The Nick App is available free from the UK App Store on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch or here.

Nickelodeon Latin America also recently launched a localised version of The Nick App in May 2014.

2014 saw a record number of entries for the Broadcast Digital Awards, all of which were of an incredibly high standard. Following some lively debate and careful evaluation, Broadcast's judging panel decided which entries went through to the shortlist. Judges felt the shortlist demonstrated creativity and what is currently at the cutting edge of digital broadcasting and multiplatform content.

Renowned within the industry, the Broadcast Digital Awards have been recognising digital innovation and content creativity in broadcasting for the past 10 years. The Awards celebrate outstanding content from channels that achieve scale, volume and noise, no matter what their budget or position on the EPG. There has been a lot of change in the digital space over the past 10 years, with innovation and creativity no longer restricted to the TV screen. The Broadcast Digital Awards now include categories for TV, online and gaming. Whether it's large-scale multiplatform projects, user-friendly apps or highly targeted social media campaigns, there is a wealth of entertaining, and effective, content that deserves to be recognised.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the Awards, Broadcast had a new venue for 2014. The Brewery, London, played host to more than 600 of the industry's finest on Wednesday 25th June 2014.

You can find a full list of winners and finalists of the 2014 Broadcast Digital Awards, wonderfully presented by Adam Buxton, here on the awards official website, broadcastdigitalawards.co.uk.
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Wednesday, June 25, 2014

MTV USA To Revive "Total Request Live" For One-Off Ariana Grande Special, "Total Ariana Live"

The Associated Press is reporting the exciting Nickelodeon Star News in the following article, from CBS News that Nickelodeon USA's sister network, MTV USA, will reprise its popular former "Total Request Live" countdown show for a one-off special with Nickelodeon Star and breakthrough pop singer Ariana Grande ("Sam & Cat", "Victorious") called "Total Ariana Live"!

The network announced today, Wednesday 25th June 2014, that MTV will bring back the series on Wednesday 2nd July 2014. Grande has the No. 2 song in the USA with the saxophone-laced "Problem".

The 20-year-old will perform her latest hit on "Total Ariana Live", debut her follow-up single, "Break Free", and discuss her upcoming second studio album.

The half-hour "Total Ariana Live" will air next Wednesday at 7:00pm ET/PT on MTV USA.

Ariana Grande will also perform at "Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular" Independence Day celebrations celebrating the birth of the USA on Friday 4th July 2014 (8-10pm ET/PT) on NBC:
MTV will revive "Total Request Live" for a day



Ariana Grande performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards held at The Shrine Auditorium on May 1, 2014, in Los Angeles. KEVIN WINTER/ GETTY IMAGES

MTV will reprise its former "Total Request Live" countdown show for a day with breakthrough pop singer Ariana Grande.

The network announced Wednesday it will bring back the series on July 2. Grande has the No. 2 song in the country with the saxophone-laced "Problem."

The 20-year-old will perform her latest hit on "Total Ariana Live," debut her follow-up single and discuss her upcoming sophomore album.

"TRL" ended its run in 2008 after 10 years. The show was MTV's most influential franchise, but the network pulled the plug after declining ratings.

Grande was the star of the Nickelodeon sitcoms "Victorious" and "Sam & Cat." She released her debut album last year, which featured the hit "The Way."

The half-hour "Total Ariana Live" will air next Wednesday at 7 p.m. E.

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Platinum Games Announces "The Legend of Korra" Video Game

The entertainment news website IGN UK is reporting the very exciting Nickelodeon News in the following article that Platinum Games is developing a brand-new video game based on Nickelodeon's popular original fantasy steampunk-themed animated series (Nicktoon) "The Legend of Korra"!

The "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance" and "Bayonetta 2" studio and Activision will launch "The Legend of Korra", a downloadable third-person combat game, during Fall/Autumn 2014 on PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 3.

You can watch Platinum Games and Activision's trailer for their upcoming "The Legend of Korra" video game in the online streaming video clip below.

"Legend of Korra" writer Tim Hedrick is writing the story, which takes place between "The Legend of Korra"'s second and third seasons (Book Two: Spirits and Book Three: Change). As the series' leading lady, players will use the Avatar's fire, earth, air, and water elements in combat to fight familiar enemies such as Mecha Tanks and Chi Blockers, as well as other Benders in the 3-on-3 Pro-Bending arena.

A Webfoot Technologies-developed turn-based strategy version of "The Legend of Korra" will also be released on Nintendo 3DS this year. Where Platinum's action game is all about fast-paced martial-art combat, the 3DS game will "focus on tactically maneuvering Korra and her allies on the battlefield."

Further news and information about Platinum's "The Legend of Korra" game is expected to be released later this week, along with IGN's hands-on review of the game.

"The Legend of Korra: Book Three" debuts on Nick USA on Friday 27th June 2014 at 7:00pm (ET/PT). TLoK fans can catch up on what happened in Book One and Book Two here on Nick.com.

From uk.ign.com:
PLATINUM GAMES' THE LEGEND OF KORRA COMING IN 2014

A turn-based 3DS game is also coming, but from another studio.

Platinum Games is developing The Legend of Korra, a third-person combat game based on the Nickelodeon TV show.

The Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Bayonetta 2 studio and Activision will launch its downloadable Legend of Korra game this fall on PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 3.

Korra scribe Tim Hedrick is writing the story, which takes place between The Legend of Korra’s second and third seasons. As the series' leading lady, players will use the Avatar's fire, earth, air, and water elements in combat to fight familiar enemies such as Mecha Tanks and Chi Blockers, as well as other Benders in the 3-on-3 Pro-Bending arena.

A Webfoot Technologies-developed turn-based strategy version of The Legend of Korra will also hit Nintendo 3DS this year. Where Platinum's action game is all about fast-paced martial-art combat, the 3DS game will "focus on tactically maneuvering Korra and her allies on the battlefield."

Look for more on Platinum's The Legend of Korra game, including our hands-on impressions, later this week.

The Legend of Korra: Book Three debuts this Friday. Catch up on what happened in Book Two, and stay tuned for episodic reviews on IGN.


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