Nickelodeon and Rainbow S.p.A. Announce Global Partnership for Winx Club Animated Series

Nick and Rainbow S.p.A. to Co-Develop and Co-Produce Seasons Five and Six of Winx Club

NEW YORK, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon has acquired the Winx Club TV rights for the U.S. and the pay-TV rights for Latin America, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Benelux. Winx Club features the adventures of six magical fairies who are hugely popular with young girls around the world. The new partnership gives Nickelodeon, the number-one global brand for kids, access to the existing Winx Club TV series and two theatrical films. The agreement also includes the co-development and co-production of seasons five and six of the series.

"It is very exciting for us to be partnering with Iginio Straffi and Rainbow, who have had such tremendous success with this property internationally," said Cyma Zarghami, President of Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. "The Winx Club franchise is a big hit with young girls and we think there is great opportunity for it domestically as a property that allows us to fill a gap for girls in the six-to-eight-year-old range."

"We are very proud to start this collaboration with the most prestigious network in the world," declared Iginio Straffi, Founder and President of Rainbow S.p.A. "This is a new challenge for our fairies who, I'm sure, will find a place in the hearts of American and British children."

"We are confident that Nickelodeon's global brand strength and scale combined with Rainbow's strong consumer products base will perfectly position us to take Winx Club to the next level for audiences and partners in multiple markets around the world," said Bob Bakish, President, MTV Networks International.

Nickelodeon will partner with Rainbow to co-develop and co-produce seasons five and six of Winx Club. Seasons five and six will consist of 26 episodes each and will launch on Nickelodeon domestically and internationally (with the exception of Italy) in 2012. Prior to launching the new seasons of Winx Club, Nickelodeon will introduce the series on the network in 2011 by airing four hour-long animated specials based on seasons one and two, as well as the episodes from seasons three and four.

Winx Club is an animated action and fantasy series set in the mystical dimension of Magix where three schools educate modern fairies, witches and supernatural warriors from all over the universe. Bloom, a young fairy in training from Earth, and five of her schoolmates form the Winx Club to combat their arch enemies. Winx Club first debuted in Italy six years ago and quickly became a hit that has generated an international franchise of toys, books, clothing, and DVDs, as well as a CG feature film.

In addition to the series, Nickelodeon has acquired all merchandising rights to Winx Club within the U.S., Latin America, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Benelux.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 31st 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 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. (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA. .

About Rainbow S.p.A.

Founded in 1995, Rainbow SpA is a content company which develops animated and multimedia properties. Today it is one of the largest and most internationally renowned animation studios in the world. It is the only production company in Italy able to complete all stages of animation internally, including 3D animation. It currently has 200 full-time employees, as well as a network of animation freelancers and professionals who work with the company on a regular basis. The companies within the Rainbow group holding include: Rainbow Distribution BV in the Netherlands and Rainbow Spain (local offices which manage TV and licensing interests in association with the head office in Loreto); Rainbow CGI in Rome (film production, special effects and 3D animation); Rainbow Entertainment in Rome (fiction and live action); Rainbow Media in Singapore (videogames, internet, and on-line games); Tridimensional in Loreto (publishing and DVDs sold in kiosks); and Witty Toys in Amsterdam and Hong Kong (toy manufacturing).

Rainbow SpA creates and distributes original properties Winx Club, Huntik, PopPixie, Monster Allergy, Tommy & Oscar, and Maya Fox. For more information visit www.rbw.it

Voice Actors in the News reports that the voice cast has completed recording on the final episode of Chowder.

Tara Strong (voice of Truffles) supplied a photo for the article and encourages fans to "send letters to Cartoon Network" in effort to help get the show renewed.

The marketing muscle behind the most famous mouse in the world is gearing up to put the squeeze on SpongeBob. That's right, it's goodbye Bikini Bottom, hello Phineas and Ferb, a couple of charming, clever and most importantly, funny, cartoon dudes who battle boredom in elaborate backyard adventures that have kids, teens and college students tuning in to watch.

In fact, Nielsen ratings show Disney's pointy-headed darlings beat out Bikini Bottom's best to become the number-one television animated series among kids ages 6 to 11 in 2009.

Dawn Chmielsewski of LATimes.com reported that as a result of the show's success, Disney has plans to "rev up the franchise machine," roll out character-themed merchandise and go Hollywood.

By mid-July, Phineas- and Ferb-branded product lines featuring everything from boxer shorts to skateboards will begin to appear in greater number on shelves in Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Kohl's and JC Penney; costumed characters will mingle with fans at Disneyland, and a Disney Channel movie, Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension, will premiere next summer. The duo will also debut their own branded macaroni and cheese in 2011.

"I do believe that within the next 18 months, this will be one of the biggest properties that we've ever had," Gary Marsh, president of Disney Channel Entertainment, told Chmielsewski. That's big with a capital "B," as in billions. Take that, Mr. Krabs.

Flesh and blood celebrities are lending their cool factor and getting into the geek chic act with "voice" appearances by Ben Stiller, Tina Fey, Clay Aiken and Chaka Khan. Should SpongeBob be shaking in his bulbous, black boots?

Tara Schlosser, spokeswoman for Target, told WalletPop that the fate of the Sponge is up to shoppers. "Replenishment is based on sell-through," said Schlosser. Ultimately, we will vote with our pocketbooks, in a sort of real-life retail Survivor.

As for the new kids on the licensing block, Schlosser said Phineas and Ferb is, "a good fit for Target" and reported that the retailer currently stocks action figures, stickers, hats and t-shirts bearing the funny faces of the unassuming heroes.

"The Phineas and Ferb merchandise is cute, fun, and captures the quirkiness of the show that kids love," said Julia Fitzgerald, Chief Marketing Officer of Toys for Kmart in an interview with WalletPop, "We are sure it will be a hit. Besides, who can resist a secret agent Platypus?" Indeed.

But don't count SpongeBob out just yet. "Our customers still love SpongeBob, and we will still carry toys and other merchandise in store and online," said Fitzgerald.

It remains to be seen who will get the last laugh. Stay tuned.

Who teaches your children which foods to choose? You? Or Dora?

It probably won’t surprise you that the cartoon characters have more sway than you do. But it may surprise you to know just how much.

A new study says that 50 percent of children say that food products with animated characters on the packaging tastes better than the same exact food without the characters. And when allowed to choose, the vast majority of the children choose the package with the cartoons.

This might not be such a bad thing if the beloved characters’ images were only affixed to carrots, tomatoes and pears. But in many cases, they’re represented on food with little or no nutritional value.

Shrek is selling your kids junk food.

Characters are nothing new in the grocery aisles. Cereal boxes have been adorned with them for decades. But Captain Crunch doesn’t also have a Saturday morning cartoon series. The Lucky Charms dude doesn’t have a feature film. And Snap, Crackle and Pop limit their fundraising efforts to Rice Krispies – they don’t have toys or a clothing line that they’re also trying to pitch.

From CNN:
"Parents may not set out to buy unhealthy products," says the lead author of the study, Christina Roberto, M.S., a doctoral student at Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, in New Haven, Connecticut. "But kids can be really, really persuasive. They see them and they want them, and it gets difficult to have that battle in the grocery store."

The use of TV and movie characters on food packaging is "designed to access certain feelings, memories, and associations," says Dr. Thomas Robinson, M.D., a professor of child health at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. "If you associate certain products with things that are otherwise considered fun, it's going to make those products seem more desirable."

From ABC News:
Forty children from the New Haven, Conn., area were asked to do a taste test of gummy fruit snacks, graham crackers and baby carrots.

One bite came from food in a plain package with a simple label, and one bite came from a similar package that also had a Dora the Explorer, Shrek or a Scooby Doo sticker on the front.

Both packages had the same brand of snack, but the children consistently said that the food from packages with cartoons tasted better, according to the study published today in the journal Pediatrics.

Children in the study were aged 4-6, and most of them could name the cartoon characters used in the study. Ninety percent of the children recognized Dora the Explorer, 77 percent recognized Scooby Doo and 60 percent of them recognized Shrek.

"The food industry spends $1.6 billion on youth-targeted marketing and, of that, 13 percent is dedicated to character licensing and cross-promoting," said Roberto, a post-graduate student at Yale University and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. "For the most part, these foods are of poor nutritional quality."

From a TIME Magazine blog:
The mixed messages may be confusing to kids and warrant further study, the authors suggest. For now, however, the authors argue that the use of cartoon characters on junk food packaging should be restricted: "Overall, our results provide evidence that licensed characters can influence children's eating habits negatively by increasing positive taste perceptions and preferences for junk foods. ... More than advocating the use of licensed characters for healthy foods, our findings point to the need to regulate and curtail the use of this marketing approach for high-energy, low-nutrient products."

NEW YORK - June 29, 2010 - Nickelodeon closes the quarter with its biggest second quarter performance ever with total viewers (P2+) in the network's history and its 61st straight quarter as the top basic cable network with kids 2-11 and total viewers - the longest run of its kind. Nick also claims basic cable's top spot in total day with kids 2-11 and persons 2+ for 2Q10. According to Nielsen Media Research (3/29/10-6/27/10), Nickelodeon averaged 2.2 million total viewers; a 3.4/1.2 million K2-11; a 3.0/649,000 K6-11; and 2.3/491,000 T9-14 for the quarter.

Nick's 2Q10 was fueled by performances of hit series iCarly, which scored basic cable's top entertainment telecast ("iPsycho", Friday, June 4, 8 p.m. ET/PT) with total viewers (8.3 million) for the quarter. iCarly's "iPsycho" also stands as broadcast and basic cable's top telecast with kids 2-11, kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14 for the quarter.

As summer officially kicked in, Nick punctuated the quarter with a strong weekend performance (June 25-June 26) from its hit live-action roster of iCarly, Big Time Rush and Victorious. A heat wave-themed evening of programming on Saturday night (June 26, 8-10 p.m. ET/PT) won the net the time period with kids 2-11, kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14 on all TV, posting double-digit increases over last year. Quarter to date Nickelodeon's live-action hits top basic cable on Saturday nights with kids 6-11 (7.2/1.6 million, +80%) and tweens 9-14 (6.6/1.4 million, +100%).

iCarly "iBeat the Heat" (June 26, 8 p.m.) scored basic cable's top spot with total viewers (4.2 million) and was the top kids 2-11 (5.8/2.1 million, +21%), kids 6-11 (7.6/1.6 million, +29%) and tweens 9-14 (7.1/1.5 million, +42%) telecast on all TV in its time period. Big Time Rush "Big Time Fever" (8:30 p.m.), drew 3.6 million total viewers (+77%) and scored the top spot in its time period with kids 2-11 (5.2/1.9 million, +53%), kids 6-11 (7.2/1.6 million, +71%) and tweens 9-14 (6.4/1.4 million, +100%). Victorious "Stuck in an RV" (9 p.m.) was basic cable's top show with total viewers (3.8 million) in its time period and ranked as the number-one telecast on all TV with kids 2-11 (5.7/2.0 million, +111%), kids 6-11 (8.0/1.7 million, +129%) and tweens 9-14 ( 7.3/1.6 million, +161%).

With kids 2-11 for the quarter, Nickelodeon boasts six of the top 10 programs on broadcast and basic cable, including top-ranked SpongeBob SquarePants, The Penguins of Madagascar and iCarly.

SpongeBob SquarePants and The Penguins of Madagascar also helped net Nick its quarterly win. SpongeBob SquarePants - which year to date ranks as the number-one series with kids 2-11 and the top animated series with kids 6-11 on all television - is the number-one series this quarter with kids 2-11 and the top animated series with kids 6-11 on all TV, and is basic cable's top animated series with total viewers. The Penguins of Madagascar closes the quarter as the number-two animated series with kids 2-11 on all TV and is basic cable's number-two animated series with total viewers, behind only SpongeBob SquarePants.

Nick at Nite drew its most-watched second quarter ever with total viewers (1.7 million P2+) and finished 2Q10 as the top cable network among W18-49 (0.7/409,000). Nickelodeon's digital networks TeenNick and Nick Jr. closed the quarter with their best second quarter performances among total viewers and their core demos, while Nicktoons had its best quarter ever with its core kid, boy and tween demos.

TeenNick posted its most-watched quarter ever with total viewers, averaging 191,000 viewers P2+ (up +14% over last year) and its core demographic of teens 12-17 (0.4/62,000 +9% in delivery). Nick Jr. also netted its highest-rated and most-watched quarter ever with its preschool audience (2.8/297,000, +12%) and total viewers (543,000, +15%).

Nicktoons continues gaining momentum in second quarter, netting its highest-rated and most-watched quarter performance ever with kids 6-11 (+25%), boys 6-11 (+17%), tweens 9-14 (+33%), and boys 9-14 (+40%). Nicktoons record performance was fueled by the addition of Dragon Ball Z Kai to its hit animation roster. The series premiere (May 24, 8 p.m. ET) set a new record as the highest-rated series debut in the network's history with total viewers, tweens 9-14 and boys 9-14. Premiere to date (May 24-June 27), Dragon Ball Z Kai is posting high double- and triple-digit increases over last year's like time period with it key demos, kids 6-11 (+96%); boys 6-11 (+135%); tweens 9-14 (+177%); boys 9-14 (+204%) and total viewers (+155%).