Corus Entertainment and MTV Networks International and social media

Canadian broadcaster Corus Entertainment and MTV Networks International (MTVNI) have inked a new deal that will see the two launch a 24-hour localized Nickelodeon channel on Monday, November 2, 2009 at 6a. Corus and MTVNI's multi-platform agreement includes exclusive TV rights in Canada to all current Nick animated programming as well as live action series and all digital rights for Nickelodeon and related brands. So, the stand alone Nickelodeon channel will offer Nick programming, including the Canadian premieres of the new animated series Fanboy and Chum Chum, and the live action series The Troop, as well as Nick's other shows (e.g. SpongeBob SquarePants, iCarly, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Dora the Explorer etc.) and special events such as Kids' Choice Awards, as well as original Canadian shows like Grossology, Max & Ruby, Storm Hawks and My Friend Rabbit. Corus already owns the kid-targeted YTV and Treehouse services in Canada, as well as the animation studio Nelvana, which worked with Nickelodeon on a range of projects over the years.


9 Story Entertainment takes on a commission from YTV (Canada) to produce the animated series Almost Naked Animals (52x11). Targeted to K6-11, the series is based on the eponymous website created by Noah Z. Jones, and is slated to bow in fall 2010. Almost Naked Animals follows the adventures of a group of underwear-clad animals that run a beach-front hotel and are always looking for fun. The top dog/hotel manager, Howie, who has the attention span of an 11-year-old gamer, leads the pack. 9 Story will feature the series next week in Cannes.

Social media users may be less likely to click on banner ads than visitors of non-social media sites. But they interact with those banners at a higher rate, and in a more meaningful way when it comes to video - particularly with regards to campaigns for products in the entertainment industry, according a new a report from social ad platform Lotame, based on data from over one hundred campaigns. The upside of Lotame's findings is that advertisers have plenty of opportunities to reach social media users if they think beyond simple click-through metrics. Lotame's recommendations include:
For higher interaction rate, focus on Expandable formats instead of click-through formats, both video and non-video, and avoid in-page ads that don't offer video
For higher interaction rate, consider focusing additionally on leaderboards (728x90) as the primary ad size for the campaign's rich media format creatives
For higher video completion rate, consider in-page video formats over expandable formats