Cheddar's Kristen Scholer sits down with Pam Kaufman, Chief Marketing Officer at Nickelodeon, at the Ad Council's Annual Public Service Award dinner to discuss the network's strategy for its digital content. Kaufman talks about being equally focused on traditional TV and digital, as well as product. Nickelodeon is also targeting live content, and making it a huge priority in 2018.
Future Nickelodeon projects are also getting a warm reception from parent company Viacom after a year-long road of leadership changes. Nickelodeon just launched a 5-star family hotel in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in hopes of catering to what Kaufman calls "velcro" families. Velcro families are families who like to spend a lot of time together as a group.
Kaufman also talks about the '90s nostalgia boom, and how Nickelodeon is capitalizing on the trend. She reveals the network will start teasing a reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in fall of 2018. Spongebob Square Pants is also making a comeback: the curtain goes up on a live Broadway production of the cartoon hit this December 4th.
Bob Iger will remain as CEO of The Walt Disney Co. through the end of 2026, agreeing to a two-year contract extension that will give the entertainment and theme park company some breathing room to find his successor.
Farmers Insurance became the latest property insurance company to pull out of Florida on Tuesday despite repeated efforts by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature have made to try to calm the volatile market that is making homeownership less affordable.