Category: Television

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of the series, Nickelodeon will be broadcasting a special viewer's all-time 10 favorites RUGRATS marathon on Saturday, April 21, from 4:30 pm - 8 pm ET/PT. During the months of January through March, the network aired every episode of the series every produced. Viewers were invited to rate each episode on Nick.com. Voter tallies will determine the top 10 episodes. The top 10 will air in order, with the all-time favorite episode airing immediately preceeding the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

Cartoon Network scored the highest first-quarter prime time ratings and delivery performance of its history, landing in fourth place among all ad-supported cable networks, with a 1.7 prime household rating. The January-March '01 quarter also saw the largest net gain (177,000) in total day delivery among all ad-supported cable networks. Additionally, the network charted double-digit increases among households and all key demographics for total day rating and delivery, earning fourth place for the quarter, with a 1.1 total day rating.

DIRECTV Latin America announced on Friday, April 6, 2001 the official debut of the Disney Channel to all DIRECTV subscribers in Brazil. The Disney Channel is a new, 24-hour Portuguese television network with entertainment for kids and families created specially for the Brazilian market. The Disney programming block includes exclusive and original productions, a two-hour live, daily show, movies, animated and live-action series, concerts and special events.

IMagicTV, a provider of software products that allow telephone companies and other service providers to deliver multi-channel television and interactive media services, announced on Tuesday, April 3, 2001, that it has entered into a syndication agreement with AtomShockwave Corp. Under this agreement, AtomShockwave's film and animation brand, AtomFilms, will license and manage short film content for iMagicTV, providing customers with new short film titles each month, each with a 60-day licensing window.

Fox Kids Network announced on March 28 their lineup of new and returning series to their Saturday morning and weekday afternoon programming schedule.

Emmy Award winning cartoon series THE POWERPUFF GIRLS is now brought to life for deaf and hard of hearing viewers of Cartoon Network U.K. thanks to acclaimed deaf signer, Nikki Stratton. On Monday, March 26, the network announced that THE POWERPUFF GIRLS with deaf signing will be shown on Sundays at 9:30 am and everyday at 12:30 am. The signed version of ED EDD N EDDY is shown everyday at 12:00 am and on Sundays at 8:30 am and is the country's first regular, signed cartoon service. The success of that effort paved the way for this latest effort with THE POWERPUFF GIRLS.

Nickelodeon, one of the leading entertainment brands for kids worldwide, is expanding its reach into China as of May 1, 2001. After visiting Beijing for four days and meeting with China's president Jiang Zemin and other industry officials, Bill Roedy, president MTV Networks International, and Frank Brown, president MTV Networks Asia, made the announcement.

LEGO Media International(LMI), the new TV and film division of the world-renowned children'stoy brand, premiered its first ever program, LITTLE ROBOTS, at MIP TV2001. LITTLE ROBOTS is a new pre-school animated series based on thechildren's book by Mike Brownlow. The pilot was produced for LMI bythe U.K.'s Cosgrove Hall Films utilizing an unusual technique, whichcombines model animation with CGI backgrounds and effects. Theprogram also boasts top U.K. writing and voice (Lenny Henry, Su

Showtime Networks Inc., and AtomShockwave Corp., announced Tuesday, April 3, the signing of a new licensing deal to bring up to 100 short films to the recently launched multiplex channel SHOWTIME NEXT. The short films, part of the catalogue of AtomShockwave's film and animation brand, AtomFilms, will debut on SHOWTIME NEXT, later appearing on other Showtime Networks Inc. channels and services. "Our agreement with AtomFilms is an ideal match for SHOWTIME NEXT," said Vice President of Acquisitions Gary Garfinkel.

Since Fox didn't air their usual Sunday animation block of THE SIMPSONS, KING OF THE HILL and FUTURAMA, there were only three shows that made their way to primetime this week. Tied with five other shows for 104th, WBs THE PJS scored a 1.4 rating/2 share. Tied with four other shows for 110th, UPN's GARY & MIKE scored a 1.3 rating/2 share. Tied with four other shows for 115th, UPN's CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH scored a 1.2 rating/2 share. These ratings and shares represent primetime TV in the U.S. on broadcast networks for the week starting Monday, March 18 through Sunday, March 25, 2001.