A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM NICKELODEON

It’s Just One Reason We’ve Remained #1 for 12 Straight Years.*

*Source: NMR, NHI (2Q’95 thru 1Q’07 td-(01/01/07-02/11/07, by quarter) for K2-11, based on NAT% and imp
across all comp cable nets, total prog day. Live Feed. Qual avail upon request. © 2007 Viacom.

Cynopsis: Kids!

3/29/07

Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 29, 2007 and this is your first early morning kids briefing.

NEW PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

DreamWorks Animation has tapped Chris Sanders to direct its upcoming feature project Crood Awakening, from a screenplay penned by comedy legend John Cleese and Kirk De Micco.  Don’t know too much about the project other than it is a comedy set in the Stone Age.  Among his credits, Sanders was wrote and directed Disney animated movie Lilo & Stitch, and was a story writer on animated features including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Mulan.

Oak Films has completed post-production on The Prince and the Pauper, starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse.   The live-action movie will be released this summer, followed by a TV play and DVD release, slated for fall and holiday 2007, respectively.

MORE KIDS STUFF

Jetix UK is set to add two series to its comedy lineup.

• The live-action series Lockie Leonard (26×30′) is an Australian comedy that is slated to have its worldwide premiere on Jetix UK next month on April 14.  The show revolves around twelve and three-quarter year-old Lockie Leonard, whose life is turned upside down when his family moves from a large Australian city to a very small town in Western Australia.  Produced by Essential Viewing, the TV series is based on author Tim Winton’s Lockie Leonard books by, which are based on Winton’s real life experiences.
• From Nelvana, Grossology is a 2D animated series follows crime-fighting siblings, Ty and Abby Archer, who are experts in Grossology, and their assistant Lab Rat, use real science to investigate icky and gross crimes.  Slated to bow on Jetix UK in July 2007, the animated show is based on Sylvia Branzei’s Grossology books.

Remember your first kiss?  Well, there are going to be a bunch of them on Kiss & Tell Night on TEENick, Saturday, April 7, 8-10p.  That evening TEENick will premiere new episodes of Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Naked Brother’s Band, and Drake & Josh during which some of the characters experience their first kiss.  The evening will be hosted by J Boogie hosts the evening that will also feature wraparounds in which the TEENick actors, as well as Just Jordan’s Lil’ JJ, will all talk about their first TV kisses, and near-kisses. Nickelodeon will support the Kiss & Tell evening on its digital platforms including on TurboNick, where fans can see stars telling their first kiss stories, and at nick.com viewers can share their own first kiss stories.  On Thursday and Friday, April 5-6, “Best of” ME: TV segments will include a sneak peek of The Naked Brothers Band’s first kiss episode.

Beginning this week Nickelodeon and The N programming will be available on new channels on Amp’d TV beginning this week, under a new mobile content distribution deal between MTV Networks Kids and Family Group and Amp’d Mobile. As part of the new partnership, Nickelodeon and Amp’d Mobile will also launch a marathon programming SpongeBob SquarePants channel targeted to 18-25 year olds featuring full-length episodes of the series from 2Q 2007. Nickelodeon Mobile on Amp’d Live will offer short form clips (30 seconds to 2-minutes long) of the network’s animated series and tween live-action programs, which will be refreshed weekly. The N Mobile will feature short form series clips, behind-the-scenes content, sneak peaks and webisodes from the network’s teen-targeted series.

Discovery Kids Channel will premiere Bindi: The Jungle Girl, a new weekly series hosted by Bindi Irwin, the 8-year-old daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, on Saturday, June 9, at 5p.  The night prior, Animal Planet will debut the special, My Daddy The Croc Hunter, a personal retrospective about Steve Irwin through Bindi eyes, with help from her Mom Terri, on Friday, June 8, 9-10p.  The special includes clips of Steve teaching Bindi about wildlife, and from his TV shows and movies, as well as footage from his last adventure.  Designed to get kids interested and active in protecting wildlife, Bindi: The Jungle Girl features Bindi introducing viewers to a range of animals from her treehouse.  The show, originally to be a father and daughter effort prior to Steve Irwin’s death last year, includes appearances by Bindi’s Mom, Dad Steve (taped prior to his passing) as well as Australia Zoo director, during which they share stories about observing animals in their indigenous habitats and the importance of wildlife conservation.  Executive produced by John Stainton, both shows are produced by Best Picture Show.  The wonderful Wendy Douglas serves as executive producer for Discovery Kids and Animal Planet.

Disney Channel UK has picked up the first season of the short-form TV series As the Bell Rings (25×5′), according to Digital Spay.  Slated to bow on the channel beginning Monday, April 2, at 10:25a, the live-action comedy interstitials follows the stories of a group of tweens take place during that oh so important free time at school between classes.  Produced by Talkback Thames, FremantleMedia’s UK production unit, As the Bell Rings is slated to debut later this year on Disney Channel Australia and New Zealand.

RED, AOL’s teen-targeted site, will host its third annual virtual Prom Fashion Show with American Idol stylist Miles Siggins. The interactive video special, seen at http://teens.aol.com/style/prom-2007 , showcases 18 personalities (guys & gals) wearing ensembles from leading designers in three categories: edgy, classic an glam.  At any point during the show, teens can access further details about the outfits and later of the opportunity to buy some of the items.

Canada’s YTV will premiere new episodes of Nickelodeon’s animated series, SpongeBob SquarePants Wednesdays at 5:30p, four weeks straight beginning April 11, 2007.  Additionally, each Wednesday clips of that evening’s new SpongeBob episode will be featured on YTV.com.

MARKETING/LICENSING

The US book cover for J.K. Rowling’s seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was unveiled yesterday morning by Scholastic on the Today Show.  Like the six previous US book jackets, illustrator Mary GrandPre created the cover art for the new book.  What is different with the Deathly Hallows cover is that it is a wrap-around.  The front shows Harry with an outstretched arm, with seeming destruction surrounding him and outlines of other people.  On the back cover there is a hand reach out towards Harry.  When the cover is full opened, you can see the full image of HE-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc also unveiled the cover images for the editions of Deathly Hallow’s that will be distributed in Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries around the world.  Most of the Harry Potter fan sights have images of the covers if you are looking for them.

Big Tent Entertainment has named Play Along as the master toy licensee in North America for the Japanese animated character Domo.  Under the long-term deal Play Along will develop a range of Domo toy products including plush, playsets and figures.  Play Along first Domo plush and plastic figures will have an initial rollout in specialty stores in fall 2007, which coincides with the US launch of the stop-motion short-form Domo (26×2′) TV series on Nicktoons Network and worldwide on Nickelodeon International channels.  Big Tent licensing program for Domo includes a mobile content deal with uclick, as well as deals with Andrews McMeel (greeting cards, calendars) and Changes (apparel).  The Domo property is based on Japanese broadcaster NHK’s well-known mascot Domo-kun.

IGN Entertainment’s digital retail store Direct2Drive has launched a download-to-own comic book store.  Comic book fans will, for the first time, be able to download and own full-length comic books in high-resolution, full-color documents via Adobe’s PDF system.  Additionally, IGN has teamed with publisher Top Cow Productions to offer its comic book titles for download.  Under the terms of the agreement, Direct2Drive will serve as the exclusive worldwide digital distributor of Top Cow Productions’ library of comics.  Top Cow titles available at launch on Direct2Drive will include Witchblade, The Darkness, Tomb Raider, and Rising Stars, with more added each week.  Direct2Drive expects to add content from other comic and manga publishers in addition to Top Cow over the next year.  IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media

STONE SOUP

The Kaiser Family Foundation has released, Food for Thought: Television Food Advertising to Children in the United States, the largest study ever conducted of TV food advertising to kids.  The report looks at TV ads combined with data about kid’s viewing habits in order to calculate the number and type of ads seen by kids of various ages.  The study found that Tweens 8-12 see the most food ads on TV, an average of 21 ads a day, or 7,600+ a year.  Teens see slightly fewer ads, at 17 a day, for a total of 6,000+ a year.  For various reasons — because they watch less TV overall, and more of their viewing is on networks that have limited or no advertising, Kids 2-7 see the least number of food ads, at 12 food ads a day, or 4,400 a year.  32% of all ads seen by Kids 2-7 were for food, while 25% of ads seen by Tweens 8-12 and 22% of ads seen by Teens 13-17 were for food. Of all genres on TV, shows specifically designed for kids under 12 have the highest proportion of food advertising (50% of all ad time).

• Types of Food Advertised. Of all food ads in the study that target kids or teens, 34% are for candy and snacks, 28% are for cereal, and 10% are for fast foods. Four percent are for dairy products and 1% for fruit juices. Of the 8,854 ads reviewed in the study, there were none for fruits or vegetables targeting children or teens.
• Appeals Employed to Advertise Food. One in five (20%) food ads targeting children or teens include a push to a website, and a similar proportion (19%) include the offer of a premium, such as a game or toy. About one in ten (11%) have a tie-in to a kid’s TV or movie character.
• Physical Activity Portrayed. 15% of all food ads targeting kids or teens include depictions of a physically active lifestyle, such as showing kids skateboarding, snowboarding, or playing basketball.
• Public Service Advertising. The study also measured kid’s exposure to public service messages on fitness or nutrition. Kids 2-7 and tweens 8-12 see an average of one such message every 2-3 days (164 a year Kids 2-7 and 158 a year for Tweens 8-12). Teens 13-17 see just one such message per week, for an average of 47 per year.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

BBC Worldwide has appointed Steve Macallister as Managing Director Global TV Sales.  He will oversee sales of 40,000+ hours of programming.  Macallister will also manage the BBC Showcase, the annual BBC Worldwide sales event.  Reporting to BBC Worldwide’s CEO, John Smith, Macallister will sit on the Board at the BBC’s commercial division.  Most recently, Macallister was with Buena Vista International Television, Asia Pacific; Disney’s international TV distribution division.

Jetix UK has appointed four new members to its programming team, who will report to Dominic Gardiner, Director/Programming.

• Emma Clark has been named UK Program Manager.  In her new role, Clark will head Jetix UK’s program planning and scheduling.  Previously, Clark toiled for Discovery as Program Planner, and as a Sr. Scheduler at Nickelodeon.
• Gullu Durak joins the company as UK Channel Scheduler, and will assist Clark.  Most recently, Durak was with Sit-Up TV.
• Jonny Potter has been named UK Creative Manger. He will be responsible for production and direction of Jetix UK’s on-air promotions group.  Potter had been with Cartoon Network.
• Phil Knock joins the company as UK Producer.  Knock we previously a Producer with Cartoon Network.

RATINGS

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Tuesday, March 27, 2007, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 1012; K6-11 510; TWEENS 9-14 398
DISNEY CHANNEL:     K2-11   683; K6-11 413; TWEENS 9-14 342
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   589; K6-11 355; TWEENS 9-14 250
TOON DISNEY:           K2-11   114; K6-11   63; TWEENS 9-14   31
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

Answer to Yesterday’s trivia question: The Digital Bean is a local coffee shop in what television series? LIZZIE MCGUIRE   Kudos to: Kimberly Keeley-Safety4Kids/Stamford; Melissa Baumgart-HBO/NY; Rosemary Cunningham-MMT/Chicago; Kurtis Humfeld-KMSP FOX 9/Eden Prairie; Justin Meadows-Disney/ABC Cable Networks Group/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question:  What does Ren often call Stimpy?  ( click here with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: Only the second four correct answers from each time zone will be mentioned; and once you’ve been mentioned in any of the Cynopsis editions, you can’t be mentioned again that calendar week.)
 
Later — Gwen
Gwen Billings for Cynopsis: Kids!
03.29.07

Cynopsis Ad Sales:  Mark Bohn- 203- 583-1224 / [email protected]
Classifieds – Trish Pihonak- 203-926-9878 / [email protected]

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JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT DIRECTOR (Western)/SCREENVISION: Dev/sell integrated media prgrms to clients/agencies. Plain, coord  sell. BA req’d. 6 + yrs media sales exp. Based in Santa Monica. [email protected] (4/4)

JOB OPENING: MGR OFFICE SVCS /A&E TV, NY:  Mng office svc areas staff/outsourced svcs/projects/equipment/facilities/purchasing/communications.  BA + 5 yrs facility & office svc mgmt.  Res w/salary:  www.aetn.com/careers.html  (4/4)

JOB OPENING: DIR, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT/Scripps Networks NYC: Identify/develop new international licensing clients/grow existing program distribution business, 3yrs international prgm sales exp.Apply: www.scrippsnetworks.com (4/4)

JOB OPENING: BROADCAST SUPERVISOR /NYC: 5-7yrs exp, strategic planning & execution of TV campaigns, extensive client contact, supervise TV dept. See full posting & apply at: www.kdande.com  (4/4)

JOB OPENING: WRITER/PRODUCER/Current TV SF CA: 2-3 yrs. promos exp. in TV promos, w/ shooting exp., FCP, & cpywrtng skills.  To write, direct, produce, & edit original promos. [email protected]    EOE. www.current.tv (4/4)

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JOB OPENING:  MANAGER OF DEVELOPMENT/ LA-based production company:  Must have experience in non-scripted, reality & formats.Strong writing ability essential.Fax resumes to: ATTN: HUMAN RESOURCES 818-760-1509 (4/4)

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JOB OPENING:  STUDIO MGR/ PROJ. MGR/LIFETIME NY: Responsible for the general management of a graphic design studio. Apply at: http://www.lifetimetv.com/about/jobs.html (4/4)

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JOB OPENING: SENIOR PRODUCER ONLINE/Logo/NYC:  6+yrs Digital Producer exp, Strg Visio/wireframing skills, HTML/XML , Strg interpersnl/org skills, Knwldg of Databased Content Mgmt Sys EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (4/3)

JOB OPENING:  MGR, LICENSING/AMERICAN GREETINGS PROPERTIES/NYC:Licensing OUT sales of both new and existing AG properties; manage and grow existing licensees; 5+ yrs licensing industry exp. Resumes: [email protected] (4/3)

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JOB OPENING: PROMO SCHEDULER/NY: Ensure accurate inventory; mgmt of all promo elements in the ProTrack database system. Exp w/ interstitial scheduling systems; fluent in Spanish & English desired. Res:  [email protected]  (4/3)

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JOB OPENING: POST-PROD MGR at Voom HD/NYC: schedule post-production staff & facilities for HDTV channels. Must have 3-5 yrs exp. w/ videotape post-production process in a broadcast environment. [email protected] (4/3)

JOB OPENING: DIR/VP SALES/NYC: Top 5 network media co. Lead sales team in youth segment for multi-platform sales. 3-8 yrs exp in media sales. Resumes: [email protected]    (4/3)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/ LA: Track ratings & provide analyses of kids’ ntwrks/blocks/radio competitive prgrmng.Degree, 1 yr synd/brdcast/cable exp; TV, Nielsen, Star Trak, ratings exp pref. Apply at: www.disneycareers.com (4/3)

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JOB OPENING: ACCT MGR AFFILIATE SALES/Oxygen Media/NY: Strong background in sales/mktng; min 3yrs exp in media sales & multi-media mrktng. Travel req’d. Please contact:  [email protected] (3/31)

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JOB OPENING: NEW MEDIA SPECIALIST/A&E TV NETS/NY: Asst in day-to-day ops of VOD & other new media initiatives. 3yrs exp in proj mngnt within brcst or cable industry. Strong database mngnt. Apply: www.aetn.com Click careers tab (3/30)

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SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: SPRING INTERNSHIPS with Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor for NBC and AOL:  Assist with research for tv/radio/online news segments.  Both LA and New York office. [email protected] (4/4)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  PRODUCTION INTERNS/Red Moxie/NYC: Reality Show. Assist with research, logging, screening, working shoots, etc. Word & Excel. Ability to shoot mini DV a plus. Send resume and cover letter to [email protected] (4/4)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  Bunim Murray Productions, creators of “The Real World” (MTV), has INTERNSHIP opportunities (unpaid) for junior/senior college students. www.bunim-murray.com    Lisa, Internship Coordinator, 818-756-5167  (3/31)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  NYC documentary company seeks PRODUCTION INTERN. Help to organize shoots, develop new projects.  Also help run errands.  Internship is unpaid, but credit available.  Please send resume to [email protected] (3/30)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  Safety 4 Kids, Stamford, CT: MKTG INTERN: Assist w/Mktg. initiatives, research, and gen. office for children’s TV show. Knowledge of PowerPoint, Excel, Word required. Resume: [email protected] Subject: Intern (3/30)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Broadband Network www.black20.com is seeking interns for the following departments: GENERAL/POST PRODUCTION, MARKETING AND PR. For more info, or if interested in applying, email us at [email protected] (3/30)

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