The hugely successful Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants is scheduled to launch in China by late December, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The silly comedy about a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea will reach 120 million households on CCTV (China Central Television) Children’s Channel, which features nearly two hours of Nick programming daily.
One of the most widely distributed shows in history, SpongeBob is syndicated in 170 markets in 24 languages, and has generated approximately $4 billion at retail worldwide. The show is the latest Nickelodeon property to be introduced to young Chinese viewers. Previous exports include CatDog and The Wild Thornberrys.
Nickelodeon’s parent company, Viacom, and Shanghai Media Group recently launched a co-venture with more than 30 cable channels carrying locally produced, Chinese-language, live-action series and game shows, in addition to the daily hour and a half of Nick animation. The partnership follows the breakthrough launch of MTV as the first 24-hour channel in China, and is part of a raft of deals struck between Viacom’s MTV Networks Int’l and Chinese broadcast entities.
In December of 2003, the Chinese government loosened regulations to allow foreign companies to acquire minority stakes in Chinese production ventures and Viacom was the first Western entity to take advantage of the situation and bring its brands to the potential audience of 386 million TV-viewing households.
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