New Executive VP Named for Nick Recreation

NEW YORK, March
11: Howard Smith has been promoted to executive VP of Nickelodeon Recreation,
the global division that operates the company’s live tours, theme parks, hotels
and cruises.

Smith most
recently served as senior VP of the division, and has been integral in building
its recreation business from scratch to an estimated $200 million annual
business at retail, and entertaining 30 million guests each year.

Most recently,
Smith secured a partnership between Nickelodeon and the Mall of America to
create a Nickelodeon theme park—Nickelodeon Universe—that is
scheduled to open on March 15. It is the largest indoor amusement park in the
U.S. Smith has also snagged a deal with Royal Caribbean International to launch
a Nickelodeon cruise in August 2008.

"Over the
past few years, Howard has been the architect behind a series of major
partnerships that have introduced Nick-branded recreational experiences to the
world," said Sarah Kirshbaum Levy, the COO of Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and
Family Group, to whom Smith reports. "Thanks to Howard's innovative
leadership, this year will mark a number of exciting firsts for Nickelodeon:
our theme park at Mall of America; the ground-breaking for our first
Nickelodeon Resort by Marriott in San Diego; and the launch of the Nickelodeon
Family Cruise with Royal Caribbean this summer."

—By Ned
Berke