Dora and Diego long ago conquered the small screen, where the Nick Jr. shows have been tops among preschoolers for years.
Now “Dora the Explorer” and “Go Diego Go” are heading to the big screen but in a very unusual way.
They will not be in the form of feature-length movies but as reformatted short features that will be shown in mornings at local movie theaters.
Yesterday Nickelodeon and National Amusements, the world’s biggest theater company, launched “Nick Jr. at the Movies" in 36 theaters across the country.
Aimed at kids 2-5, the program will show reformatted TV cartoons, including “Dora” and “Diego” but also “The Backyardigans” and “The Wonder Pets,” as large-screen projection movies, along with sing-along videos and other little extras.
The twice-weekly program, airing at 10 a.m., will be available in 12 states, including California, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. The cost will be more than a typical matinee, at $6 per person for kids and adults for just 50 minutes of entertainment.
It comes at a time that kids' TV is under increasing scrutiny for using characters to promote unhealthy food, the subject of a recent Federal Trade Commission report. If nothing else, the move will earn some goodwill from parents and parent watchdog groups, which have criticized kids marketing practices.
Last year Nickelodeon decided to stop licensing its characters to companies that produce junk food.
It’s an interesting idea for other reasons as well.
First, it’s a smart use of otherwise unused movie theaters. Though many across the country offer free or reduced-price daytime programs for kids in the summer, those usually end by late August. This program will run year around.
National Amusements, which like Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom, won’t earn big profits with the program, but it will earn the appreciation of parents looking for daytime and weekend activities for younger kids when their older siblings return to school.
Second, it’s another opportunity for Nickelodeon to market its properties.
There’s still a small swath of people who don’t have cable, some of whom have kids. And the theaters can advertise the program to the huge summer crowds turning out for blockbusters like “The Dark Knight,” which have pushed movie attendance up over last year.
The program will include a rotation of cartoon episodes, which will be screened regularly for the rest of the year and into 2009.
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Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending July 27:
Among teens 12-17, Fox led with a 1.2 rating and 5 share, followed by NBC and Univision at 0.9/4, ABC at 0.7/3, CW and CBS at 0.5/2, Telemundo at 0.3/1,Telefutura at 0.1/1 and Azteca at 0.0/0.
Among kids 2-11, Univision was first with a 1.1/5, followed by ABC at 1.0/4, Fox at 0.8/4, NBC at 0.6/3, CBS at 0.5/2, and CW and Telemundo at 0.4/2. (Averages for Telefutura and Azteca were unavailable.)
The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Wednesday 11:30 a.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Wednesday 11 a.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Monday 1 p.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Sunday noon); 5. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Sunday 12:30 p.m.)
The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. Disney’s “Hannah & Miley: Best of Both Worlds” (Saturday 8 p.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Friday 8:30 p.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Friday 8 p.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Monday 4 p.m.); 5. Disney’s “Camp Rock” (Thursday 7 p.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: Disney’s “Hannah & Miley: Best of Both Worlds” (Saturday 8 p.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Friday 8:30 p.m.); 3. Disney’s “Camp Rock” (Thursday 7 p.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Friday 8 p.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Monday 4 p.m.)
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TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 2-5
Week Ended July 27 |
|
|
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
SPONGEBOB-07/23/2008
|
NICK
|
5.9
|
950
|
|
2
|
SPONGEBOB-07/22/2008
|
NICK
|
5.9
|
939
|
|
3
|
SPONGEBOB-07/21/2008
|
NICK
|
5.7
|
920
|
|
4
|
SPONGEBOB-07/27/2008
|
NICK
|
5.7
|
919
|
|
5
|
SPONGEBOB-07/27/2008
|
NICK
|
5.7
|
905
|
|
6
|
SPONGEBOB-07/22/2008
|
NICK
|
5.4
|
861
|
|
7
|
SPONGEBOB-07/27/2008
|
NICK
|
5.3
|
855
|
|
8
|
SPONGEBOB-07/22/2008
|
NICK
|
5.3
|
854
|
|
9
|
SPONGEBOB-07/21/2008
|
NICK
|
5.3
|
852
|
|
10
|
SPONGEBOB-07/25/2008
|
NICK
|
5.3
|
847
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
|
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TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 6-11
Week Ended July 27 |
|
|
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
HANNAH & MILEY:BEST OF-07/26/2008
|
DSNY
|
9.1
|
2217
|
|
2
|
ICARLY-07/25/2008
|
NICK
|
8.1
|
1976
|
|
3
|
ICARLY-07/25/2008
|
NICK
|
7
|
1698
|
|
4
|
ICARLY-07/21/2008
|
NICK
|
6.8
|
1653
|
|
5
|
CAMP ROCK-07/24/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.6
|
1613
|
|
6
|
S HANNAH MONTANA-07/26/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.3
|
1529
|
|
7
|
ICARLY-07/21/2008
|
NICK
|
6
|
1468
|
|
8
|
HANNAH MONTANA-07/24/2008
|
DSNY
|
6
|
1452
|
|
9
|
SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY-07/24/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.8
|
1404
|
|
10
|
INCREDIBLES, THE-07/27/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.7
|
1382
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
|
|
TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 9-14
Week Ended July 27 |
|
|
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
HANNAH & MILEY:BEST OF-07/26/2008
|
DSNY
|
7.3
|
1791
|
|
2
|
ICARLY-07/25/2008
|
NICK
|
6.7
|
1639
|
|
3
|
CAMP ROCK-07/24/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.7
|
1403
|
|
4
|
ICARLY-07/25/2008
|
NICK
|
5.6
|
1376
|
|
5
|
ICARLY-07/21/2008
|
NICK
|
5.4
|
1311
|
|
6
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-07/21/2008
|
DSNY
|
4.9
|
1194
|
|
7
|
SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY-07/24/2008
|
DSNY
|
4.8
|
1173
|
|
8
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-07/23/2008
|
DSNY
|
4.8
|
1172
|
|
9
|
S HANNAH MONTANA-07/26/2008
|
DSNY
|
4.7
|
1151
|
|
10
|
ICARLY-07/21/2008
|
NICK
|
4.6
|
1134
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
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