MUMBAI: Nickelodeon has launched TurboNick - a broadband video platform available on Nick.com that for the first time, allows kids to watch full length shows online at any time. The announcement was made by Nickelodeon Online senior vice president and general manager Mike Skagerlind.
TurboNick officially launches with a full advertising and promotional campaign on 17 July. In the platform's soft launch phase which began 1 July, it has already proved successful garnering more than 1.25 million streams.
The launch of TurboNick is the latest multi-platform experience created to allow kids to access Nickelodeon, joining its existing Video on Demand offerings on cable, as well as ring tones and video clips that are available via wireless providers.
As the first kid's network to provide full length video programming online, combined with the recent acquisition of Neopets, a global online entertainment network with over 25 million members worldwide that generates more than five billion page views per month, Nickelodeon now offers more multi-platform experiences than any other kid's entertainment company.
"The TurboNick platform compliments our on-air programming by giving kids and parents Nickelodeon video content any time they want it. Whether it's all-new long-form programming, exclusive video, classic shows or current programming favorites, we will be able to utilise TurboNick as a vehicle to deliver what kids want, when they want it, using up-to-the minute technology," Skagerlind said.
TurboNick features up to 20 hours of new programming every week, allowing kids to watch programming clips and full length episodes ranging from 30 seconds to 22 minutes in length, including occasional world premieres of new series beginning with the animated program Catscratch. TurboNick is organised by six separate areas, each containing up to five different series with two or more episodes to choose form. The themed areas include:
* Nicktoons is the animation home on TurboNick which features hit shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Avatar and more.
* TEENick features live-action programming and music from Nickelodeon's TEENick block. Included will be Zoey 101, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Unfabulous and exclusive interviews with today's teen stars.
* Ha! Ha! Nick is dedicated to comedy, and featuring exclusive shorts and bloopers, as well as new and previous live-action and animated Nickelodeon comedy hits like Ren & Stimpy, Pete and Pete, Drake and Josh, and more.
* In Nick Rewind, users will recognise familiar faces from favorite, classic network shows such as Kenan & Kel, Double Dare and Clarissa Explains It All.
* Nicksclusives is a backstage pass to the entertainment world. Here users can find movie trailers, music videos, celebrity interviews and other entertainment-based video such as game demonstrations.
* Nick Now! is the TurboNick home base. U-Pick Live's PickBoy is the Nick Now! Host. The area features selections from throughout the TurboNick site.
Other exclusive TurboNick content available at launch and beyond will include exclusive interviews from the 2005 Kids Choice Awards; animated short-form programming from Nick Australia; new short form programming content including Mr. Meaty and Making Fiends; and exclusive short form programming from Klasky Csupo (Rugrats) called Schmutz. All programming is available full screen. Kids can customise the look of their TurboNick players, and soon will be able to create and save their own playlists, send videos to friends, rate their favorite videos and download content.
In addition to TurboNick, the network is rolling out two more broadband video initiatives: Nick Jr. Parents TV and Nick Jr. Video. Built exclusively for the parent audience and intended to bring Nick Jr.'s parenting content to life through video, Nick Jr. Parents TV features playful "how-to" parent-child do-together activities, such as how to make The Backyardigans finger puppets or create musical instruments, as well as a backstage look at the world of Nick Jr. through exclusive "Insider" videos and interviews with talent like Kathleen Herles, the voice behind Dora the Explorer. New videos will premiere each week.
A new version of Nick Jr. Video, designed for preschoolers, will launch with upgraded video quality on 10 August. Nick Jr. Video will feature more than 100 video clips from preschoolers' favorite shows and interstitials (both in short and long-form) including: Nick Jr. music videos, never-before-seen shorts and a selection of full Nick Jr. show episodes; the addition of playlists; and the option to view video in full screen format. It will also feature various Nick Jr. series, such as the upcoming Go Diego Go! spin-off of Dora the Explorer.
Advertisers that are initially featured on TurboNick include Topps, General Mills, Kellogg's, Activision, and film studio Sony Pictures. Nick Jr. Parents TV, a contextual environment for Nickelodeon's parent-targeting advertisers, and Nick Jr. Video will feature marketers such as Honda and General Motors' Chevrolet. Advertisements will run on TurboNick, Nick Jr. Parents TV and Nick Jr. Video in a similar manner as they are broadcasted on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.'s air.
In addition to running the thirty-second non-skipable spots, the various TurboNick screens provide a "leave behind," which is a static display ad from the same brand that runs with the TurboNick ad.
