Nickelodeon Names Keith Dawkins Senior Vice President, General Manager of Nicktoons and TeenNick
via Nickelodeon press release:
NICKELODEON NAMES KEITH DAWKINS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL MANAGER OF NICKTOONS & TEENNICK
NEW YORK–Aug. 2, 2010–Nickelodeon has named Keith Dawkins Senior Vice President, General Manager of Nicktoons and TeenNick. In his newly expanded role, Dawkins will add oversight of TeenNick, Nickelodeon’s 24-hour network for teens, to his current role as GM of Nicktoons. Dawkins will run the day-to-day operations for the teen network, including the on-air programming, scheduling and marketing, and will work with MTV Networks’ Affiliate Sales organization on the channel’s distribution rollout. The announcement was made today by Sarah Levy, Chief Operating Officer, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group, to whom he will continue to report.
“Keith’s done amazing things at Nicktoons, bringing new action-packed content to the channel” said Nick Cannon, Chairman of TeenNick. “I look forward to working with him at TeenNick to build on the channel’s momentum.”
“Over the past seven years, Keith has built Nicktoons into the fastest growing kids’ network with a relentless focus on boys,” said Levy. “We are confident that Keith will bring this same passion to the teen audience in this expanded role.”
As the first General Manager of Nicktoons, Dawkins manages the daily operations of the network and has spearheaded several key partnerships, including a deal with Marvel Animation that brought three new series to the network. Two of those series, Wolverine and the X-men and Iron Man: Armored Adventures, helped Nicktoons score its highest-rated and most-watched year ever in 2009, with boys 6-11, kids 6-11 and total viewers. Most recently, Dawkins closed a co-production deal with the NFL for Rush Zone: Guardians of the Core, a series of 22 shorts that will air on the network from September 2010 to February 2011, featuring New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton and New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning, among other NFL players and coaches.
Dawkins previously served as a supervising producer for VH1 News, where he oversaw numerous long-form programs and spearheaded the channel’s short-form news coverage. Prior to joining VH1, Dawkins was a producer at Fox News Channel where he was part of the network’s original launch team, producing a variety of daily and live event coverage such as Super Bowl XXXI and the Clinton impeachment proceedings.
During his time with MTV Networks, Dawkins has served on numerous advisory boards that foster diversity and inclusion, currently he serves on the MTVN Office of Global Inclusion Advisory Committee. He also sits on the board of “Reach out and Read of Greater New York,” a national children’s literacy organization, and is a graduate of the NAMIC Executive Leadership Development Program at UCLA’s Anderson Business School and the CTAM Executive Management Program at Harvard Business School. Dawkins holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from Ramapo College.
Nickelodeon, now in its 31st year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).