Paramount and Goldbach Austria celebrate 25 years of SpongeBob SquarePants with Nickelodeon Austria, Comedy Central Austria and Pluto TV

The world's most famous sponge is celebrating his 25th birthday: since its official premiere in the USA on Nickelodeon on July 17, 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has been putting a smile on the faces of young and old alike - be it with his unimpeachable optimism, his infectious cheerfulness or his fast-paced action. Together with his best friend Patrick Star and his grumpy neighbor Thaddeus Tentacle, the iconic sponge experiences the most exciting adventures in Bikini Bottom.

The 25th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants will be celebrated in Austria with new episodes on Nickelodeon Austria, major series marathons on Nickelodeon Austria and Comedy Central Austria as well as new SpongeBob channels on Pluto TV.

SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star will also mark a highlight as hosts of the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2024, which will premiere on Nickelodeon Austria on July 17 at 4:30 pm. The Slime-filled, immersive show will be the first time animated characters will host a full-length awards ceremony. Presented in an animated environment with graphic effects and modern augmented reality, the Kids' Choice Awards 2024 will honor kids' favorites in film, television, music, sports and more. Nominees and celebrity guests will be announced shortly.

Nickelodeon Austria will celebrate the birthday on July 14 with a birthday marathon, showing the best party episodes from 25 years of SpongeBob SquarePants from 12:00 to 15:00. In addition, new episodes from the 14th season will celebrate their Austrian free TV premiere on Nickelodeon Austria from Monday to Thursday at 4:00 pm from July 22.

The party continues on July 19 on Comedy Central Austria with a 24-hour marathon of SpongeBob SquarePants. The funniest episodes will be curated along the themes of "Eat like a sponge", "Fight like a sponge", "Relax like a sponge", "Party like a sponge", "Make jokes like a sponge" and "Play like a sponge".

Pluto TV will also be celebrating SpongeBob from July 17, with a new pop-up channel focusing on the most popular characters from SpongeBob SquarePants.

We are delighted and proud to have been marketing Nickelodeon Austria for 18 years now. The continued popularity of the TV channel is also reflected in the latest market share development, which is up on the previous year, as well as peak daily figures of over 25%. Thanks to new distribution channels such as Pluto TV, we are also reaching more and more children and fans of the channel. SpongeBob SquarePants is naturally a pioneer here - the shows about the stars from Bikini Bottom regularly achieve top ratings, especially among kids 3-13. We are therefore convinced that we will be able to continue this success story together with Paramount in the future and provide our customers with the best and coolest advertising space on the big screen.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Josef Almer, Managing Director at marketer Goldbach Austria

"Just as SpongeBob and Patrick have been experiencing their adventures together for 25 years, our partnership with Goldbach Austria also has a long and successful history. We are delighted that we are celebrating this milestone together in Austria and that Goldbach will continue to be responsible for marketing Nickelodeon Austria as an independent channel on Austrian free TV. Together with our comedy channel Comedy Central Austria and the local marketing of our leading FAST offer Pluto-TV, we offer Austrian advertisers access to young target groups via multiple touchpoints," says Maciej Walczybok, Vice President Ad Sales in Northern, Central & Eastern Europe at Paramount.

Since its launch on July 17, 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has been one of the world's most popular animated series and has spawned a universe of beloved characters, pop culture catchphrases and memes, movies, products, a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and a worldwide fan base. SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the most widely distributed series in Paramount's history, appearing in more than 180 markets, translated into more than 30 languages and averaging more than 90 million viewers per quarter. Created by Stephen Hillenburg and produced by Nickelodeon in Burbank, California, SpongeBob SquarePants is an animated series about the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incorrigible optimist and earnest sea sponge, and his underwater friends.

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