New York -- Nickelodeon has licensed five of its most
popular animated children's series to Telemundo, marking the kids' cable
network's entrée into Spanish-language television in the United States.
Under the multiyear pact, the Spanish-language network will
begin carrying the Nick cartoons as a daily two-hour morning block -- dubbed
"Nickelodeon en Telemundo" -- Nov. 7, the companies announced last week.
The series included are AAAHH!!!Real Monsters
(airing at 6:30 a.m. weekdays); Rocko's Modern Life (7 a.m. Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays); Hey Arnold! (7 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays); Rugrats
(7:30 a.m. daily) and Blue's Clues (8 a.m. daily).
Nick also is creating and producing "original
packaging" for the block -- meaning interstitials, a Nick spokesman said.
For Telemundo, the agreement is designed to address a void.
"Historically, Latino children have been underserved by Spanish-language television
in the United States," said Nely Galan, president of entertainment for Telemundo, in
a prepared statement.
The addition of Spanish-language TV also helps Nickelodeon
to reach a burgeoning U.S. market. In the joint announcement, Herb Scannell, president of
Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite/TV Land, pointed out that the fast-growing Hispanic
population in the United States, which is now about 30.5 million, is projected to jump to
42 million by 2010.
Telemundo is paying Nickelodeon a licensing fee for the
series.
Asked if the cable network might also get a percentage of
the ad sales that Telemundo's TV affiliates in 63 markets will generate, a Nick
spokesman declined to comment.
The spokesman said no other shows will be added to the
block until the agreement comes up for renewal.
