Nickelodeon's iCarly and Big Time Rush Top Basic Cable on Friday with Total Viewers, Kids and Tweens

NEW YORK--March 9, 2010--Nickelodeon's dynamic duo, iCarly and Big Time Rush, produced yet another night of stellar performances by grabbing basic cable's top two spots with total viewers (P2+) on Friday (March 5). iCarly's "iSpace Out" topped basic cable overall with total viewers (5.3 million), kids and tweens for the night. Big Time Rush's "Big Time Break" lodged a second-place finish among basic cable telecasts with total viewers (3.9 million), and was number-two with kids and tweens for Friday.

iCarly "iSpace Out" (March 5, 8 p.m. ET/PT) also bested all broadcast and cable programming with kids 2-11 and 6-11 for the week (3/1/10-3/8/10). The telecast posted double- and triple-digit gains with all key demos and averaged an 11.1/2.4 million K6-11 (+127%), 8.6/1.9 million T9-14 (+126%) and a 8.5/3.0 million K2-11 (+85%). iCarly, year to date's top live-action series with kids 2-11 and basic cable's top tween 9-14 program for February, also took basic cable's top spot on Friday with Adults 18-49 (1.1/1.3 million, +120%).

Big Time Rush scored its highest-rated and most-watched telecast since its premiere (Jan. 18) with kids, tweens and total viewers with "Big Time Break" (March 5, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT). The telecast posted double- and triple-digit gains over last year, averaging a 9.0/1.9 million K6-11 (+137% over last year), 6.8/1.5 million T9-14 (+152%), 6.8/2.4 million K2-11 (+74%) and delivering gains of +171% among total viewers. Nick's record-setting Big Time Rush followed iCarly as broadcast and basic cable's top live-action show with kids 2-11 in February.

Fresh from its most-watched February performance ever, Nickelodeon topped basic cable with kids 2-11, 6-11, tweens and total viewers for the week. The network averaged a 3.5/1.3 million K2-11, 2.9/631,000 K6-11, 2.0/430,000 T9-14 and 2.2 million total viewers. For the week, Nick snagged nine of the top 10 telecasts among kids 2-11 (including iCarly, SpongeBob SquarePants, Big Time Rush) and six of the top 10 telecasts with kids 6-11 on all of television, as well as nine of the top 10 kids' programs on basic cable with total viewers.

Nickelodeon, now in its 30th 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 almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 15 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).