MTV Networks Kids and Family Group launches new content on Apple’s iTunes Store

This September, MTVN Kids and Family Group will launch a line-up of hit new entertainment programming on Apple’s iTunes Music Store, including six properties from Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, and The N, the nighttime network for teens. Launching today on iTunes is The N’s Degrassi: The Next Generation, a fictional, dramatic series that tackles tough issues in a realistic way, which ranked number-one in premiere ratings in its time period among teens in its most recent series of premieres last March.

During the month of September, Nickelodeon will add to iTunes hit TEENick series Drake & Josh, Unfabulous and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, as well as Nick Jr. top-rated series The Wonder Pets!, and new seasons from the TEENick favorite, Zoey 101, for purchase. The network will also roll out a free sneak peek of its new series, Mr. Meaty, prior its on-air network debut.

For $1.99 per episode, consumers can download Nickelodeon and The N series from the iTunes Music Store and view them on their iPods or computers. As shows premiere on-air, they will be added to the iTunes library. By the end of September, approximately 450 half-hour episodes from the Nickelodeon, The N and Nick at Nite programming library will be available on iTunes, with more rolling out in the coming months.

From The N:
“Degrassi”
* Season Four (20 episodes) and Season Five (18 episodes) – available Sept. 5
Degrassi introduces a new generation of kids going through the trials and tribulations of adolescence in the 21st century at the newly refurbished Degrassi Community School. The fourth season of Degrassi delves into topics including, sexuality, alcoholism, mental illness, self-esteem and school violence. Season five deals with topics that include: relationships, self image, physical disability, drugs, pregnancy and sexual identity. Season six of Degrassi premieres on The N Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

From Nickelodeon:
“The Wonder Pets!”
* Season One (10 episodes) – available Sept. 12
The Wonder Pets! is Nick Jr.’s newest original series starring three courageous classroom pets who sing opera and travel the world. Currently ranked as the number three preschool series on commercial television, every episode of The Wonder Pets! is an original mini-operetta, with music written and developed by some of Broadway’s top Tony and Grammy Award-winning talent.

“Mr. Meaty”
* Season One (20 episodes) – available mid-Sept.
Mr. Meaty is Nickelodeon’s absurd new buddy comedy/puppet series premiering on-air Sept. 22 (8:30 p.m. ET/PT). Mr. Meaty serves up super-sized laughs from the mall food court bunker tended by teen “odd couple” Josh Redgrove and Parker Dinkelman, who geek out and concoct life-changing plans to escape the monotony of minimum wage. The series developed from Nickelodeon’s TurboNick broadband platform on Nick.com — where it appeared first as a series of shorts.

Mr. Meaty’s “Buffalo Burrito” will be available on iTunes as a sneak peek before it premieres on Nickelodeon. In “Buffalo Burrito,” Josh can’t stand to be near Parker – he stinks. Oblivious, Parker thinks they’re simply ‘growing apart’ and need something to strengthen their friendship. That ‘something’ is cramming himself and Josh into a buffalo costume together to promote the latest Mr. Meaty taste sensation. But when Josh freaks out from the smell, they end up being tasered by Mr. Carney, and wake up on the wild plains a free buffalo.

TEENick Programming – available late Sept.:
“Drake & Josh”
* Season One (6 episodes)
* Season Four (20 episodes)
Drake & Josh, this year’s Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite TV Show, has been the top regularly scheduled live-action series on cable with kids 2- 11 and tweens 9-14 for two consecutive quarters in 2006. Created/executive produced by Dan Schneider, the show follows odd couple teen stepbrothers, Drake Parker and Josh Nichols in their shenanigans.

“Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide”
* Season One (13 episodes)
* Season Three (13 episodes)
Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide chronicles the wacky adventures of Ned Bigby and his best pals Moze and Cookie at James K. Polk Middle School, as “every-kid” Ned shatters the fourth wall to share tips and tricks on jumping school hurdles.

“Unfabulous”
* Season One (13 episodes) and Season Two (13 episodes)
Unfabulous follows Addie Singer, a quick-witted, self-aware 13-year-old who is just trying to get through junior high school one day at a time. She’s a typical teen with one exception: her penchant for sometimes silly, but poignant song-writing. Her home-grown music helps her make sense of the unexpected, unwelcome, uncomfortable and sometimes unexplainable events that go hand-in-hand with adolescence.

“Zoey 101”
* Season Three (13 episodes)
Zoey 101 stars Jamie Lynn Spears as 13-year-old Zoey Brooks, a winsome leader whose independent nature is put to the test at the newly co-ed Pacific Coast Academy. In the Emmy and Teen Choice Award-nominated show from Dan Schneider, Zoey and her teen pals strive to survive and thrive amid ocean breezes at PCA. In season three, Zoey and friends still strive to survive and thrive at the newly co-ed boarding school, despite boy detractors.

The all-new fall season primetime premieres of Drake & Josh, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide and Zoey 101, take place on Nickelodeon television Sunday, Sept. 24. Season passes, priced at $19.99, will be available for all three shows. As shows premiere on-air, they will be added to the iTunes season pass offering for download.

MTVN Kids and Family Group range of content offerings on iTunes includes Dora the Explorer, The N’s South of Nowhere, SpongeBob SquarePants, Nick at Nite originals Fatherhood – an animated series based on Bill Cosby’s best-selling book of the same name, and Hi-Jinks — the hit hidden-camera series in which adults play good-natured pranks on kids of all ages, and more. MTVN Kids and Family Group programming may be downloaded from iTunes’ TV section in the Nickelodeon, The N, and Nick at Nite branded areas.
MTV Networks must have the urge to actually sell some shows. wink

6 Comments

  1. I actually spent a weekend with Urge this past weekend just to get an idea of what life is like outside of the iTunes + iPod ecosystem. It totally confirmed to me all that is done right in iTunes…even things as mundane as the track information displayed at the top of the player. WMP11 + Urge doesn’t really display any information about currently playing tracks at all. In fact, there isn’t any obvious way to see any meaningful info about your library at all. No total size, total time or anything. There doesn’t even appear to be a “library” default view unless I’m totally missing it. The store itself is a mess and the video content is just not there at all. I immediately realized just how nicely organized iTMS is and how much I enjoy downloading my videos. The only think I was digging was the all-you-can-download buffet plan although I can definitely see how that could really start to annoy when you’re still paying the monthly bill a year later or if you max out your credit card one month or forget to pay and suddenly all of your songs don’t work. Not cool. Oh and I was running this on the latest RC build of Vista on my iMac, in case you are wondering.

  2. The ultimate idea- would be to bridge the gap.
    Allow consumers to purchase ANY episode of ANY show, from the BIG VAULT.

    This dream has existed in various guises for years.
    Total on-demand.

    I WANT the original 39 HONEYMOONERS episodes.
    And McHALE’S NAVY.

    Is Captain Binghampton still alive?

  3. yeah I tried Urge..don’t believe any of the good reviews about it’s user interface. it simply can’t touch iTunes.

    …and i’ve still yet to buy my first mac…probably on the 12th ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.