MEN IN BLACK: THE SERIES has been picking up steam on Kids WB! The Sony

Pictures Entertainment show has increased its ratings by 110% since its

second season last year. It has earned a 4.2 rating with kids 2-11 and a

5.0 rating with kids 6-11.

Salsa Distribution has put together a deal that will create a new Jim

Henson programming block entitled MUPPET TIME in Panama. FETV will air

MUPPET TIME starting January 3, 2000 in a deal that lasts 2 years. The

block will include the MUPPET SHOW, MUPPETS TONIGHT, MUPPET BABIES,

FRAGGLE ROCK and JIM HENSON'S ANIMAL SHOW.

In a move much like a parent buying their child a toy and then receiving

money from their kids allowance for it, Warner Bros. Features has sold

THE IRON GIANT to Cartoon Network and TNT. Cartoon Network couldn't

handle the license fee of US$3 million, so sister Turner channel, TNT,

came in to help out on a six-month pre-Cartoon Network window. TNT will

get six runs of the critically acclaimed box-office disappointment

within that six month time period. Both networks plan to promote the

The Nickelodeon toon THE WILD THORNBERRYS will be coming to a town near

you beginning February 14, 2000. Starting at Toy Fair in New York City,

the Commvee recreational vehicle from the series is making its real

world debut. After Toy Fair, the Commvee will make appearances at Nick's

"All That Music and More" tour venues, "The Big Help" events, and

various "Lucky 10" markets across the U.S. So when picking up wild

berries at the local Lucky 10 don't miss out on meeting the wild

PBS' NATURE recently received a new animated logo for its opening from digital animation and effects house, SimEx Digital Studios. The opening is a montage of snippets from nature. SimEx helped bring together the show's theme in the opening by illustrating how humans relate to nature everyday. Read more about SimEx Digital Studios and their work from Creative Director Allen Yamashita in Heather Kenyon's Animation World Magazine interview.

ZDTV, a 24-hour cable television channel about computing, technology and the Internet, will have Atari founder Nolan Bushnell on BIG THINKERS. Hosted by Mark Eddo, BIG THINKERS features in-depth discussions with the most visionary and influential men and women working in the high-tech industry today. The episode with Bushnell, the creator of PONG, will air January 5, 2000 at 10:30 pm. These interviews, plus additional footage not shown on air, will be available in streaming video on the show's companion Web site.