Nickelodeon, the popular children’s cable network, is pushing hard into the online world with Nicktropolis.com, a new Web site that will let its young users enter their own world of Internet activities.
The Web site, which is to be activated today, is aimed at children ages 6 to 14, and plays heavily to their appetite for games, the company said yesterday.
Nickelodeon was prompted to join the surging world of online activities for children in part by research that showed that 86 percent of 8- to 14-year-olds were playing games online, more than 51 percent were watching TV shows and videos online and 37 percent were sending instant messages, the company said.
On the Web site, Nickelodeon, which is part of Viacom, can take advantage of the fact that it owns much of its own programming.
“Over all, its Internet activities are its fastest-growing business,” said Richard Greenfield, who follows the media industry for Pali Research. “It owns virtually all its content and can leverage it across broadband and Internet. It is a big opportunity for the company.”
Nickelodeon has already started Nick.com, Nickjr.com and a host of other Web sites.
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