Nickelodeon's Gym Teacher: The Movie Vaults to TV'S Number-One Rated Spot With Kids; Premiere Scores Total Viewer Tally of Almost Three Million

Nickelodeon's Gym Teacher: The Movie Vaults to TV'S Number-One Rated Spot With Kids; Premiere Scores Total Viewer Tally of Almost Three Million

Laugh-Packed Original TV Movie Starring Christopher Meloni, Amy Sedaris and Nathan Kress Soars With Double-Digit Increases Across Key Kid, Tween and Adult Demos

NEW YORK, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon's Gym Teacher: The Movie made the grade, vaulting its way into broadcast and cable television's highest-rated spot for the night with kids 2-11, and drawing 2.8 million viewers in its Friday, Sept. 12, 8 p.m. (ET/PT) premiere. The two-hour original family TV movie also scored double-digit gains over last year's like time period among kids, tweens and adults.

Ratings highlights include:

-- Gym Teacher was the number-one telecast on broadcast and basic cable television for the night (Sept. 12, 8 to 11 p.m.) with kids 2-11, earning a 4.5/1.5 million, up +52% over last year.

-- Gym Teacher: The Movie drew 2.8 million total viewers, a +66% increase over last year's like time period.

-- Gym Teacher garnered double-digit increases with all core kid, tween and adult demos, averaging a 4.5/1.5 million kids 2-11 (up +52%); a 5.4/1.1 million kids 6-11 (up +64%); a 4.5/972,000 (up +66%) tweens 9-14; and a .6/679,000 Adults 18-49 (+114%).

-- A new Gym Teacher-themed Game of the Week -- "Gym Teacher: Intense Training" -- rolled out on http://www.nick.com/ on Sept. 11 and scored as the most played game of the week, second only to "SpongeBob's Spit Wad," with 376,000 game plays since launch (source: Omniture SiteCatalyst 9/8/08-9/14/08).

The Nickelodeon original TV comedy stars Christopher Meloni as underdog Dave Stewie, a humiliated former gymnastics gold medal contender-turned gym teacher who gets a shot at redemption as he vies for the coveted Gym Teacher of the Year Award. But with klutzy Roland Waffle (Nathan Kress of Nickelodeon's iCarly) new to his team, Stewie's no shoo-in, and the coach and the gym-averse kid get mutual makeovers in their bid to be winners. Amy Sedaris also stars as the slightly bonkers principal of Hamm Lake Middle School, and David Alan Grier co-stars as the prep school coach who is dedicated to proving Stewie a failure. Former Olympian Bruce Jenner also makes a cameo appearance.

Nickelodeon, now in its 29th 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 14 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B)

Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Joanna Roses, +1-212-846-7326, or Thamar Romero,
+1-212-846-7491, both for Nickelodeon

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

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