Nickelodeon in search for agency

Nickelodeon, the children’s pay TV channel, is understood to be talking to advertising agencies.

The channel has used McCann-Erickson and Roose & Partners in the past on a project basis.

Nickelodeon poached Turner Broadcasting’s marketing chief Nicky Parkinson as managing director last December. Parkinson also worked at Grey Advertising and at Saatchi & Saatchi before moving into TV.

Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom, which also owns MTV. In February, Malcolm Moore Deakin Blazye won the centralised £8m advertising account for all MTV channels, including MTV Extra and MTV Base, and the music channel VH1.

The original pitch involved The Leith Agency, BDS Beechwood and Soul & Burkitt DDB. Cordiant-owned Equinox Communications has also been appointed to handle media planning and buying for the MTV’s UK stable of channels.

Nickelodeon joined other commercial broadcasters to present a submission to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, objecting to BBC plans to launch two digital children’s channels. One of the BBC channels will be aimed at pre-school children and will compete with Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. The DCMS has yet to approve the BBC’s plans.

Nickelodeon was unavailable for comment as Marketing Week went to press.