Nickandmore!

via Nickelodeon press release:

NICKELODEON CLOSES THE WEEK AS CABLE’S TOP NET IN TOTAL DAY

SpongeBob SquarePants Ranks as Top Animated Series Telecast with Kids for the Week;

Voltron Force™ Premiere Breaks Record as Nicktoons’ Highest-Rated Debut Ever

NEW YORK – June 21, 2011 – Nickelodeon closed the week (6/13/11 – 6/19/11) as cable’s number-one network in total day with total viewers (2.3 million), kids 2-11 (3.6/1.3 million) and kids 2-5 (3.7/539,000). Nick also bested its closest competitor with total viewers (+25%), kids 2-11 (+20%) and kids 2-5 (+85%).

The net’s weekly win was fueled by a solid performance from ratings hit, SpongeBob SquarePants, which ranks as the week’s top animated telecast with kids 2-11 on basic cable SB is top animated telecast for the week with K2-11. Nickelodeon was also home to the top three preschool telecasts for the week, with Dora the Explorer taking the top spot.

On June 16 (Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET) Nicktoons added the iconic franchise Voltron™ to its animated lineup with the new series, Voltron Force™. The series premiered with a 90-minute movie, “Voltron Force: New Defenders Trilogy,” which set a new record for the net as the highest-rated series premiere with all key kid, tween and boy demos. The debut also posted solid double and triple-digit increases over last year’s like time period with kids 6-11 (+53%) and boys 6-11 (+113%).

The half-hour series, which features an all-new theme song produced and recorded by Grammy Award®-winning producer and artist Swizz Beatz, follows the adventures of a new class of recruits as they join forces with the original team to fight evil by forming Voltron, the legendary super robot. The series will regularly air Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. (ET) on Nicktoons.

Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd 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).