China TV Audiences Soak Up SpongeBob SquarePants To #1

China TV Audiences Soak Up SpongeBob SquarePants To #1

NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Since debuting in China on CCTV kids channel 14 on January 29th, SpongeBob SquarePants has catapulted to the #1 position in China across all cartoon programs in just 4 weeks. 35% of SpongeBob's audience ranges from ages 4-9 years old, with 24-34 year old viewers following not far behind at 25%. Measuring 11 cities across the country, the top cities tuning into the porous one are Chongqing with an average 11.4 rating, Tianjin with an average rating of 11.4, Chengdu with an average rating of 4.3, Hangzhou with an average rating of 4.7 and Beijing with an average rating of 4.4. (Data source: AGB Nielsen Media Research - Jan 29- Mar 3, 2006)

SpongeBob SquarePants chronicles the nautical adventures of SpongeBob, a square yellow sea sponge and his undersea friends. An incurably optimistic and earnest sponge, SpongeBob looks at life in an unconventional way, instead of taking the logical approach to everyday challenges. SpongeBob SquarePants launched in 1999 on Nickelodeon in the US and has become an international phenomenon and pop culture icon attracting viewers and fans across all demographics. SpongeBob is the most successful property in Nickelodeon's 26 year history with nearly 53.7 million viewers tuning into the show each month in the US, making it the most watched show on Nickelodeon among total viewers.

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 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

CONTACT: Nicole Parker, Director of Nickelodeon, +1-818-736-3613, or
nicole.parker@nick.com, or Joanna Roses, Director of Nickelodeon Corporate
Communications, +1-212-846-7326, or joanna.roses@nick.com

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

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