MTVN, YOYO TV Strike Deal for Nickelodeon Shows

SINGAPORE/TOKYO, July 18:
Taiwan’s YOYO TV has secured a deal with MTV Networks International to air more
than 118 hours of Nickelodeon animated programs, including SpongeBob
SquarePants, Avatar, Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go!

YOYO TV will launch its
school holiday campaign with new episodes of these Nick series. SpongeBob, which began broadcasting Monday through Friday at
7 p.m. on July 14, will begin broadcasting Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. and
6:30 p.m. on July 19. Go, Diego, Go! will begin broadcasts on August 4 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
at 8 p.m. Avatar will launch on
August 4, airing Monday through Friday at 9:30 p.m.

Additionally, YOYO TV will
introduce another Nickelodeon flagship program, Blue’s Room. The interactive preschool series encourages
viewers to help the host, Joe, find paw-printed clues in order to figure out
what Blue wants.

The new volume deal builds
on the previous relationship between the two companies, which started in 2005
with the Taiwanese children’s channel launching a Nick-branded block.

Teresa Chan, the head of
YOYO TV, said: “We are delighted to once again partner with Nickelodeon on
these great shows and to offer them a home on YOYO TV, the cornerstone for
quality children’s content in Taiwan.”

Matthew Ashcroft, the
director of program sales for Asia Pacific at MTV Networks International,
added: “Nickelodeon remains the number one children’s network in the U.S.
whilst YOYO TV is the children’s destination of choice. Our latest deal will
ensure we connect to kids and they connect to their world—while kids play
to learn and parents learn to play.”

—By Jackie Stewart