Nickelodeon has bought gocitykids.com, an online site that provides a directory and information on family-oriented events in select U.S. cities including San Francisco, New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The site already plans to expand form 14 to 20 cities by first-quarter 2006.
“The earliest group of Nick kids are becoming parents, and they know and trust us,” said Jeff Dunn, president of Nickelodeon Film and Enterprises. “With the acquisition of GoCityKids, we can provide parents with a hubon the web," he said in a statement.
That hub will be under the direction of Kyra Reppen, VP and general manager of NickJr.com. GoCityKids President/Founder Clare Ellis will be editorial director, managing the content from San Francisco.
Michael Dolan, CFO of Nickelodeon parent Viacom, told investors earlier this week to look for more online buys like the company's purchase of NeoPets [an online "virtual pet" playground], which he called "the poster child of the kind of acquisition we are looking for in the digital space."
