SPONGEBOB CAMPAIGNS TO SAVE JELLYFISH FIELDS IN “SPONGEBOB’S LAST STAND” PREMIERING EARTH DAY, APRIL 22, ON NICKELODEON

Half-Hour SpongeBob SquarePants Anchors Day of Green-Themed Programming

Festivities Kick Off April 18 with Premiere of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Your Thirsty World

NEW YORK, New York April 5, 2010 – Nickelodeon celebrates Earth Day with the premiere of an environmentally conscious SpongeBob SquarePants’ special, “SpongeBob’s Last Stand,” on Thursday, April 22, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. The half-hour special is part of a green-themed day of programming, beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET/PT, which includes new episodes of preschool series Team Umizoomi, The Fresh Beat Band, Go, Diego, Go!, Ni Hao Kai-lan and The Backyardigans, encores of iCarly, True Jackson, VP and SpongeBob SquarePants, as well as family favorites on Nick at Nite. The network’s ode to Mother Earth begins with Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Your Thirsty World, a special about kids who are taking action to fight for everyone’s right to free and clean water, on Sunday, April 18 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.

In “SpongeBob’s Last Stand,” SpongeBob and Patrick learn the “Shelly Super Highway” is coming to Bikini Bottom – right through Jellyfish Fields! Devastated by the news, they launch a campaign to stop the construction, but everyone else in Bikini Bottom seems to love the idea of a new superhighway. They must find a way to galvanize their neighbors, or it could be the end for Jellyfish Fields forever. The special, which will be preceded by a two-hour marathon of nature-themed SpongeBob SquarePants episodes, features two musical numbers: “The Jellyfish Song” and “Give Jellyfish Fields a Chance,” a nod to the protest songs of the 1960s. “SpongeBob’s Last Stand” is currently available on DVD from Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.

Since its launch in July 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has emerged as a pop culture phenomenon drawing more than 100,000,000 total viewers every quarter across all Nickelodeon networks, and has been the number-one animated program with Kids 2-11 for more than eight consecutive years on Nickelodeon. The show is seen in 171 markets in 26 languages and is the most widely distributed property in MTV Networks’ history.

Source: Nickelodeon Press Release