Rich Fiscus
13 Jul 2007 22:18
Nickelodeon is testing the waters of original online content with the July 22 launch of its first broadband series.
Marjorie Cohn, executive vice president original programming and development at Nickelodeon Networks, said Nick properties such as "Mr. Meaty" and "Avatar" have developed a huge following online, so introducing an original series to air exclusively on TurboNick was the next natural step.
"Just in June alone we had the highest month ever for streams, up by 535 percent from last year," Cohn said. "This is a good choice for our first online experience because of the format -- reality lends itself to content that's a little shorter."
The 15-minute, five-episode series, dubbed "Nick Cannon's Star Camp," will follow eight youngsters as they work toward success and stardom in the high-stakes world of music.
Director Debbie Allen and choreographer Fatima Robinson will join music industry legend Quincy Jones, his son Quincy Jones III, and series star Nick Cannon behind the scenes.
With TurboNick receiving triple-digit increases in viewership during the past year with a record 122 million streams in June, Cannon and the younger Jones envision the series becoming a regular viewing staple on the broadband video player, in the vein of "American Idol."
Source: Reuters