NOGGIN and Nick Jr. to Merge Creative and Management Teams Under Nickelodeon Preschool Umbrella

NOGGIN and Nick Jr. to Merge Creative and Management Teams Under Nickelodeon Preschool Umbrella

Brown Johnson Named EVP, Executive Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool and General Manager of NOGGIN

Teri Weiss Upped to SVP, Development and Production, Nickelodeon Preschool; Angela Leaney Named SVP, Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool

NEW YORK, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Tom Ascheim, Executive Vice President/General Manager of Nickelodeon Television, today announced that Nick Jr. and NOGGIN will blend their creative and management teams to live as one unified group -- Nickelodeon Preschool, the largest preschool and parent's destination in the world -- with 109 hours of preschool television a week representing 56% of all preschool programming on television.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061205/NYTU126 )

The new preschool team will be led by Brown Johnson who has been named Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool and General Manager of NOGGIN. Additionally, it was announced that Teri Weiss has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nickelodeon Preschool and Angela Leaney has been named Senior Vice President, Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool.

Johnson, a 19-year veteran of Nickelodeon, has been the driving force behind Nick Jr. and its groundbreaking preschool properties including Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, The Wonder Pets!, The Backyardigans, among many others. Her creative leadership and brand strategy have made Nick Jr. the number-one brand for preschoolers, spawning multiple businesses for Nickelodeon including an extensive consumer products line, Nick Jr. Family Magazine and nickjr.com.

In her new role, Johnson will oversee development and production for all preschool programming across Nickelodeon networks, including Nick Jr., Nickelodeon's programming block dedicated to preschoolers seen in 92 million homes, and NOGGIN, Nickelodeon's commercial-free digital educational network for preschoolers now seen in 54 million homes. NOGGIN original series currently include, Oobi, Jack's Big Music Show, The Upside Down Show, Pinky Dinky Doo, Miffy and Friends, and 64 Zoo Lane.

"Brown has pioneered genuinely interactive TV and created a place where parents and kids will find the most diverse, unique programs and characters around," said Ascheim. "Under her leadership, Nickelodeon Preschool will continue these traditions and invent new ways for the audience to play along, new ways for parents to feel great about our brands."

Johnson joined Nickelodeon in 1988 as Executive in Charge of Production and in 1989 was promoted to Vice President, Production for Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, where she oversaw all Nickelodeon production, production management, talent and Nickelodeon Studios' production staff in Florida. Under her auspices, series such as Clarissa Explains It All, Hey Dude, and Double Dare were produced and contributed to Nickelodeon's standing as one of the world's leading producers of kids' programming. At this time, Johnson assembled a Nick Jr. advisory board of child development experts, with whom Nickelodeon has been working to develop Nick Jr. programming and ancillary businesses. In 1993, she became Vice President/Executive Producer of Nick Jr. Production and Development. She was promoted to Executive Vice President, Nick Jr. in 2001. In 2004, Johnson developed and produced Baby Nick Jr.'s Curious Buddies, a line of baby videos that inspire babies' natural curiosity through playful entertainment.

Teri Weiss has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nickelodeon Preschool. Weiss will report to Johnson and expands her role to develop and produce the next generation of hit series. Weiss' unique combination of kid-centric creative and leadership skills have helped turn Nick Jr. shows into mega-hits. Most recently, Weiss was Vice President, Development and Production, and is responsible for many of Nick Jr.'s current preschool hits including Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, and The Wonder Pets. She also led Nick Jr. into the baby home video market with nine Curious Buddies titles.

Weiss joined Nickelodeon in 1999, as the Executive in Charge of Production for Dora the Explorer. Weiss began her career in television at Comedy Central, working on shows such as Rich Hall's Onion World. Later she worked on several children's series, including Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Square One TV. Before joining Nick Jr. she was a Producer at Sesame Street, receiving two Emmy Awards(R) and three Parent's Choice Awards. Her series at Nickelodeon have garnered a Peabody Award and eleven Emmy nominations.

Angela Leaney has been named Senior Vice President, Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool. In her new role, Leaney will report to Johnson and will bring her unique branding experience and creative eye to Nick Jr. and NOGGIN. In addition, Leaney will partner with Nickelodeon Marketing and Nickelodeon Digital to continue to build both brands. Most recently, Leaney was Senior Vice President, Brand Communications where she was responsible for the strategic branding, on-air and on-line promotion, and marketing of NOGGIN and The N, the nighttime network for teens. Leaney led the branding and marketing campaign for NOGGIN, crafting the mission of, "it's like preschool on TV" and was instrumental in bringing the brand promise to life across all on-air and off-air platforms. She was also instrumental in launching the network's first pro-social initiative, "NOGGIN's Get Ready To Read."

Leaney relocated to the US from England in 1999 to fill the new role of head of planning and research at Ogilvy & Mather, Los Angeles where she worked on developing communications strategies and advertising in the toy, e-commerce and retail fields. Leaney joined NOGGIN in 2000 as Vice President, Marketing.

Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely dedicated to preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.'s Emmy, Peabody and Parents' Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial free. At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.

NOGGIN, the commercial-free, educational preschool network from Nickelodeon, currently reaches 54 million households via cable, digital cable and satellite TV. NOGGIN, which airs from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (ET), is like preschool on TV, with educational programming both on-air and online at www.noggin.com. NOGGIN and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

Nickelodeon, in its 27th 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 almost 92 million households and has been the number-one- rated basic cable network for more than eleven consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061205/NYTU126
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN14
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Jodi Davis, +1-212-846-5981, Jodi.davis@nick.com, or Sharyn
Traub, +1-212-846-6381, Sharyn.traub@nick.com, both of Nickelodeon

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

NOTE TO EDITORS: Please contact Nickelodeon for photos of Teri Weiss and Angela Leaney.

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