Nick Jr. Celebrates the Chinese New Year and Introduces Preschoolers to Chinese Language and Culture on Ni Hao, Kai-lan, a Groundbreaking New Animated Series Premiering Thursday, Feb. 7, At 11:00 A.M. (ET/PT)

Nick Jr. Celebrates the Chinese New Year and Introduces Preschoolers to Chinese Language and Culture on Ni Hao, Kai-lan, a Groundbreaking New Animated Series Premiering Thursday, Feb. 7, At 11:00 A.M. (ET/PT)

Nick Jr.'s New 20-Episode Half-Hour Interactive Series to Teach Preschoolers Mandarin Language for the First Time on Television

Ni Hao, Kai-lan Premiere to 'Sneak Peek' on Multiple Platforms including Video On Demand, iTunes(R), Wireless Carriers and Nick Jr. Video

NEW YORK, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- This February, millions of preschoolers will learn that "Ni Hao" means "Hello" in Mandarin Chinese, as Nickelodeon Preschool introduces them to Chinese culture and language on Nick Jr.'s groundbreaking new animated series Ni Hao, Kai-lan. The original, half-hour 20-episode series will teach 2-5 year olds Mandarin words and phrases for the first time on television. The premiere episode of Ni Hao, Kai-lan, titled "Dragon Boat Festival," will debut on Nick Jr. on Thursday, Feb. 7 (11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., ET/PT), the first day of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Rat). Additionally, Nick Jr. will roll out six new Ni Hao, Kai-lan episodes, weekdays from Friday, Feb. 8 - Friday, Feb. 15, (11:00 a.m., ET/PT) and the series will air regularly weekdays at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nick Jr.

(Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/NYTU053 )

Ni Hao, Kai-lan is Nick Jr.'s first play-along, think-along series to feature an intergenerational family. Through the eyes of a five-year-old Chinese-American girl named Kai-lan, the series explores the colorful aspects of her upbringing and background, her relationships with her family and friends and the world around her. Ni Hao, Kai-lan will also help preschoolers to identify their emotions and learn coping mechanisms to deal with their feelings.

"Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego Go! have clearly demonstrated how much kids love to interact with beloved characters, as well as embrace new languages and cultures," said Brown Johnson, Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool. "Preschoolers will immerse themselves in Kai-lan's rich Chinese-American heritage, while they learn the Mandarin language and relevant social-emotional skills. We can't wait for kids to see this incredibly vibrant and playful world come to life."

On Monday, Jan. 28, the series will begin to "sneak peek" across the following Nickelodeon preschool platforms:

-- Video On Demand will feature the full premiere episode, "Dragon Boat
Festival," in addition to a music video and other Ni Hao Kai-lan
clips, on Comcast, Charter, Cablevision, Verizon FiOS and Cox.
-- Nick Jr. will "sneak peek" "Dragon Boat Festival" on iTunes(R) Music
Store (www.itunes.com).
-- Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.'s broadband video service available on
Nickjr.com, will stream "Dragon Boat Festival," in addition to a music
video and other clips from the series.
-- Various wireless carriers will "sneak peek" clips from "Dragon Boat
Festival," in addition to a music video and other clips from the
series.

Ni Hao, Kai-lan stars Kai-lan Chow, a playful, adventurous bi-lingual preschooler with a big heart, who speaks both English and Mandarin. Kai-lan's world is infused with Chinese culture, from the dumplings she eats and the lanterns that adorn her house to the huge Chinese New Year celebration she has with her family and friends. The series centers on Kai-lan and her relationships with her grandfather Yeye and her animal friends. Yeye plays a major role in her life as he gently and playfully guides her to her own discoveries. Kai-lan is a natural leader who is thoughtful and caring and has a gift for helping her friends when they really need her. Her best friends are Rintoo, a rambunctious five-year-old tiger who loves to play; Tolee, a five- year-old koala who always puts his friends first; Hoho, a three-year-old monkey full of boundless energy; and Lulu, a happy six-year-old pink rhino.

The series focuses on issues common to preschoolers such as taking turns, disappointment and jealousy, and supports an emotional intelligence curriculum highlighting cause and effect thinking in the social/emotional world. Ni Hao, Kai-lan provides simple coping strategies, set to song, that teach valuable lessons. Kai-lan strives to understand how things are linked together and she always wants to find out the reason why. Every episode follows the adventures of Kai-lan and her friends as they learn to identify their emotions and stop to consider the feelings of others. Kai-lan leads them as they tackle such issues as what caused Rintoo to get mad, or how patience and practice help Tolee get better at rhyming.

Beginning Friday, Jan. 11, Nick Jr.'s award-winning website (www.nickjr.com) will feature four, brand-new online games to complement the launch of Ni Hao, Kai-lan. In the "Ni Hao, Kai-lan Paper Lanterns" game, users can design their own paper lanterns to print, and in "Rintoo's Dragon Boat Rowing Race," users play as Rintoo and row in rhythm on their dragon boat in order to reach the finish line before the other challengers. In "Tolee's Bamboo Bounce" users play as Tolee and travel on the bamboos to catch panda items without falling and in "Kai-lan's Puddle Hop" users play as Kai-lan and jump in puddles to gain points. Additionally, NickJr.com will feature Ni Hao, Kai-lan themed printables, crafts and more.

On the premiere episode, "Dragon Boat Festival," the Dragon Boat Festival is finally here and Kai-lan and her friends are excited to race dragon boats on the river. Kai-lan rows a boat with her best friend, Rintoo the tiger, and she cannot wait to meet a real dragon at the end of the races. But when they lose the first race, Rintoo gets so mad that he whacks their boat and it lands on top of a pagoda. It's up to Kai-lan and the viewers at home to figure out how to help Rintoo calm down so they can finish the race and meet the friendly dragon.

Ni Hao, Kai-lan is created by Karen Chau and Executive Produced by Mary Harrington. Animation production for Ni Hao, Kai-lan is being done in conjunction with Wang Films and the Wang Studio in Greater China.

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.

Nickelodeon, in its 28th 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 96 million households and has been the number- one-rated basic cable network for 13 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B).

* DVD screeners and art available upon request

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FCMN Contact:

Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/NYTU053
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN6
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Sharyn Traub of Nickelodeon, +1-212-846-6381,
Sharyn.traub@nick.com, or Heather Brown, +1-212-846-6240,
Heather.brown@nick.com, both of Nickelodeon

Web site:

http://www.nick.com/
http://www.nickjr.com/
http://www.itunes.com/

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