Nickelodeon Networks Continues Multi-Platform Leadership with Launch of its Most Popular Programming on iTunes January 26

Nickelodeon Networks Continues Multi-Platform Leadership with Launch of its Most Popular Programming on iTunes January 26

Dora the Explorer to be First-Ever Preschool Property Launched on iTunes; Season 1 of SpongeBob SquarePants, Seasons 1 & 2 of Zoey 101 and Season 1 of The N's South of Nowhere also Available

Zoey 101 Episode to Premiere on iTunes along with a First Look at The N Season Finale of New Hit Series South of Nowhere on Feb. 2

NEW YORK, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon Networks launches a line-up of hit entertainment programming on iTunes(R) Music Store (www.itunes.com), beginning today, Jan. 26, 2006, with three of Nickelodeon's leading franchises, as well as the newest hit series from The N, the nighttime network for teens. TV's number-one show with kids 2-5, Dora the Explorer marks iTunes' first-ever preschool offering. The entire first season of pop culture phenomenon and number-one kids' show SpongeBob SquarePants as well as seasons one and two of television's top tween (K9-14) series, Zoey 101, also will be accessible, as well as the first season of The N's teen hit, South of Nowhere.

In addition, a paid download of the new episode of Zoey 101 "Girls Will Be Boys" will be available today, in advance of its Jan. 29 network debut. Also on tap is a first look at the season finale of The N's hit series South of Nowhere on Feb. 2, one day in advance of air. Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and Zoey 101 may be downloaded from iTunes' TV section in the Nickelodeon branded area.

"We're thrilled to bring the world's most beloved kids content to a new platform on iTunes, and to have Dora the Explorer launch as iTunes' first preschool property," said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon. "Our audiences today look to connect with our characters and programming in many different ways, and on whatever platform they choose, we want Nickelodeon to be their home base for the best content."

Pop culture phenomenon and unparalleled kid hit SpongeBob SquarePants, which debuted in July 1999, has held rank as the most watched animated series for kids on broadcast and cable television for the past five years. The Emmy nominated series created and executive produced by Stephen Hillenburg chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimistic and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends. It premiered with "Reef Blower" and "Help Wanted" episodes, and season one debuted the now-classic "Ripped Pants," all of which will be accessible via iTunes.

iTunes will offer episodes from the entire first season of top-rated Dora the Explorer as the first preschool content available. Dora the Explorer is a play-along, animated adventure series starring proudly bilingual Dora, a seven-year-old Latina heroine whose adventures take place in an imaginative, tropical world filled with jungles, beaches and rainforests. Dora explores her world just as preschoolers do everyday, and the show is designed to actively engage its audience in an interactive quest using a variety of learning techniques. In every episode, Dora and Boots invite the audience to participate in an exciting adventure, where each step of their journey consists of a problem or puzzle that Dora and the audience must think their way through in order to solve the next problem. Dora uses her knowledge of English and Spanish to communicate with her friends, overcome obstacles and reach her goals.

Zoey 101, TV's number-one show with tweens, spotlights Jamie Lynn Spears as 13-year-old Zoey Brooks, a winsome leader whose independent nature is put to the test at the newly co-ed Pacific Coast Academy. In the Emmy and Teen Choice Award-nominated show from Dan Schneider (All That, The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh), Zoey and her teen pals strive to survive and thrive amid ocean breezes at PCA. The series, which airs on Sunday nights in TEENick, debuted in January 2005 to the network's highest-rated premiere among tweens in almost eight years. iTunes not only will treat viewers to two full seasons of episodes, but also to a first look at "Girls Will Be Boys" before it hits air. In this episode, Zoey and friends decide to prove that guys can still act like guys around girls and disguise Lola as a boy to blend in as "just one of the guys."

The N's critically acclaimed bold new series South of Nowhere from Tom Lynch chronicles the Carlin clan's life-changing journey to self-discovery as they transition from small town to big city life. In addition to the full first season's offerings, iTunes users will get a first look at the much-anticipated season finale. Tempestt Bledsoe (Vanessa Huxtable on The Cosby Show) guest-stars as Clay's estranged birth mother, as the teenager hits some obstacles in his search for her and begins to feel as though he has no "real" family or connection with his African-American heritage.

For $1.99 per episode, consumers can download Nickelodeon and The N series from the iTunes Music Store and view them on their iPods or computers. On the Jan. 26 launch, iTunes users will have access to 74 half-hour episodes from the following Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and The N programming library, with more rolling out in the next few weeks, including:

(At launch Jan. 26)
"Dora the Explorer"
* Season One (26 episodes)
"SpongeBob SquarePants"
* Season One (20 episodes)
"Zoey 101"
* Season One (13 episodes)
* Season Two (7 episodes) - Plus "Girls Will Be Boys" which will premiere
on iTunes three days prior to its Jan. 29 TEENick debut.
"South of Nowhere"
* Season One (8 episodes)

(Post Launch)
* Six additional episodes of "Zoey 101" from Season Two.
* Two more episodes of "South of Nowhere," including the Season Finale
which premieres on iTunes on Feb. 2, prior to its Feb. 3 on-air debut.

Nickelodeon, in its 26th 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, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 89 million households and has been the number- one-rated basic cable network for more than ten consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

Source: Nickelodeon Networks

CONTACT: Joanna Roses, +1-212-846-7326, Jodi Davis, +1-212-846-5981, or
Jennifer Musselman, +1-310-752-8205, all for Nickelodeon Networks

Web site: http://www.nick.com/
http://www.itunes.com/

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