NEW YORK, Oct 15, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- 'WhoBob WhatPants?' Special is Number-One Entertainment Show with Total Viewers; Tops with Kids and Tweens

Nickelodeon's precocious porous pal soaked up nearly 8 million total viewers with the premiere of the SpongeBob SquarePants' "WhoBob What Pants?" (Monday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m. [ET/PT]) television special. Ranking as the top entertainment show with total viewers (P2+) and the number-one program on broadcast and cable television for the night with all kids and tweens, the half-hour TV event earned the network triple-digit gains over last year's like time period among all demos.

Ratings highlights for SpongeBob SquarePants' "WhoBob WhatPants?" include:

    --  The half-hour SpongeBob special drew 7.7 million total viewers, a +225%
        increase over last year's like time period.
    --  "WhoBob WhatPants?" was the number-one entertainment show with
        total viewers (P2+) and the number-one telecast on all of broadcast and
        ad-supported cable television for the night (Oct. 13, 8 p.m.) with kid
        and tween demos.
    --  The special episode garnered triple-digit increases with all core kid
        and tween demos, averaging a 11.8/4.1 million kids 2-11 (up +189%); a
        12.7/2.7 million kids 6-11 (up +152%), and a 10.8/2.3 million (up +168%)
        tweens 9-14.
    --  A new SpongeBob-themed Game of the Week, "WhoBob WhatPants?,"
        on http://www.nick.com generated 2.6 million game plays, ranking as the
        number-one game on the site since launch and the number-two Game of the
        Week for the entire year (Source: Omniture SiteCatalyst
        10/2/08-10/12/08).
    --  TurboNick, Nickelodeon's broadband video player, also featured a
        special playlist of dedicated SpongeBob content, including a
        "WhoBob WhatPants?" video that generated 2.2 million streams
        since its Oct. 12 launch on Nick.com. (Source: Omniture SiteCatalyst
        10/2/08-10/12/08)
    --  Leading up to the "WhoBob WhatPants?" premiere, the SpongeBob
        message board ranked as number-one for the week of Oct. 6, with 46,000
        unique visitors.

SpongeBob SquarePants has emerged as a pop-culture phenomenon and one of the most popular series in kids' television history. It has been the number-one animated program with kids 2-11 for more than six consecutive years and its Saturday morning airing ranks as the top-rated program on television among kids 2-11. Adult 18-34 viewers also continue to tune in and have increased by +121% since the premiere of the show in July 1999 (Source: NMR September 2008 vs. July 1999, all SpongeBob telecasts combined). Nearly 70 million viewers watch SpongeBob SquarePants monthly (Source: NMR, May 2008). SpongeBob SquarePants is syndicated in 171 markets in 25 languages and is among the top rated kids' shows across broadcast and cable in every major television market around the world.

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, VIA.B).

SOURCE Nickelodeon

http://www.nick.com

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