Will Smith to Host Nickelodeon's Milestone 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards in LA

Smith to Helm Silver Anniversary of Star-Studded, Slime-Dousing Telecast Honouring Kids' Favourites in the Worlds of Film, Music, Sports and Television

Nickelodeon today announced that world-renowned actor, producer and recording artist Will Smith (I Am Legend, The Pursuit of Happyness and the upcoming Men in Black III) will host Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards (KCAs) from the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles, with the event to be fast-tracked to Australian audiences on Sunday April 1 at 6.30pm on Nickelodeon. Smith, a ten-time Blimp Award winner, will be joined by Hollywood's biggest stars in an unforgettable, special anniversary slimefest where kids rule.

"How better to celebrate 25 years of Kids' Choice Awards than with the biggest movie star in the world?" said Marjorie Cohn, President, Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon Group and an Executive Producer of the show. "Will has enough KCA blimps at home to fill a room, having long been one of kids' favourites. He's a larger than life presence who knows how to play big and we're excited he’ll be taking the stage for the biggest, loudest, messiest spectacle in the show's 25-year history."

"The Kids' Choice Awards are always the year's liveliest, slimiest and most outrageous party for kids and teens," said Will Smith, "I'm honoured they wanted me to host this year so I can have a front row seat to take part in the fun."

Smith's extraordinary list of blockbusters includes the most recent I Am Legend and Hancock. He also thrilled audiences in such huge hits as I, Robot, Independence Day, Men in Black and Men in Black II. Smith, along with partner James Lassiter of Overbrook Entertainment, also produced Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, Karate Kid, The Secret Life of Bees, Seven Pounds, Lakeview Terrace and The Human Contract, which marked the feature directorial debut of Overbrook Entertainment Partner, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Last year, Nickelodeon's 2011 Kids’ Choice Awards, hosted by actor/comedian Jack Black, ranked in the United States as basic cable's top telecast for the week (March 28, 2011–April 3, 2011) with 7.3 million total viewers. The show also ranked as the week's top telecast with kids and tweens on all TV, averaging a 9.8/3.5 million K2-11, 12.7/2.7 million K6-11 and 11.7/2.5 million T9-14. The star-studded telecast scored the most votes in the show's history—a record 200 million (+70%, over 2010) votes were cast across Nick.com, Nick's mobile site, a brand-new iPhone application and for the first time ever, an iPad-optimized site, TeenNick.com and Nick's Facebook page. Nick.com celebrated its highest trafficked day ever on April 2, earning 42 million page views (+9%) and reaching over 2.2 million visitors across its website, mobile and tablet sites (+14%). Additionally, the audience for the live simulcast of Countdown to Kids' Choice across these digital platforms posted double-digit increases (+39%) over the previous year. In Australia, kids also switched on all over the country, with last year's show ranking as Nick Australia's no.1 rated program across the day and the highest rated U.S. KCAs ever!

Nickelodeon's Kids’'Choice Awards is more global than ever in 2012, seen in over 300 million households around the world. Once again, kids will pick the winners and get tons of Kids' Choice Awards content online and across multiple devices. Voting for the 2012 KCAs will span over six continents across 15 localized voting sites, giving kids practically everywhere the chance to decide who takes home a coveted blimp. Nick.com/KCA2012 will serve as the official site for the Kids' Choice Awards with nominee information, voting, videos, celebrity photos, news, and Orange Carpet and backstage webcasts. In international markets, audiences will enjoy the 2012 KCAs as a fast-tracked telecast, with many featuring country-specific award categories and nominees, such as Nickelodeon Italia’s Favourite Star and Nickelodeon UK’s Favourite Show.

For the first time, Nick Australia will also produce its own local award category for the U.S. show: Favourite Aussie Superstar. The Australian nominees will be revealed in the coming weeks along with all nominees for the 2012 KCAs.