Miami Metrozoo Announces First Long-Term Strategic Alliance With Nickelodeon

NEW YORK and MIAMI, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Miami Metrozoo, one of the top ten zoos in the nation, the Zoological Society of Florida (ZSF) and Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, have entered into a five-year strategic alliance where Nick Jr.'s Go, Diego, Go! will be featured in the Zoo's newest and largest exhibit, Amazon & Beyond.

The partnership involves having Diego, one of the top preschool shows on commercial television, at the Zoo's Amazon & Beyond exhibit, when it opens in late 2008. While the 27-acre tropical exhibit is under continued construction, until then, beginning spring 2007, Diego will make a temporary home at the Commercebank Children's Zoo inside Miami Metrozoo, with special Nick Jr. programming and appearances.

"This is a truly unique and extremely fitting partnership of which we are thrilled to be a part," said Pam Kaufman, Executive Vice President Marketing and Worldwide Partnerships for Nickelodeon. "Diego is the perfect match for the Amazon & Beyond exhibit since his home on television is in the rainforest. This exhibit brings to life Diego's sense of adventure and love of animals and science, and provides a tangible experience which kids can learn from, which is wonderful."

This exhibit of tropical American flora and fauna will be the largest of any Zoo in the U.S. It will include more than 1,000 animals including harpy eagles, giant river otters (only the third Zoo in the U.S. to house them), anacondas, and Orinoco crocodiles in different settings representing the flooded forest, Amazon forest, and clouded forest, among others.

"This high-profile partnership with Nickelodeon and one of the top preschool properties brings us closer to our goal of creating the best Zoo in the country. Children will be elated to see Diego everyday at the Zoo and we are making Amazon & Beyond one of the world's most varied and comprehensive tropical exhibits," said Glenn Ekey, ZSF President & CEO. "Amazon & Beyond is a demonstration of the fundraising efforts of the ZSF as we partner with Miami Dade County to stretch the public's commitment to the Zoo."

The Go, Diego, Go! presence within the Amazon and Beyond exhibit will include a regularly scheduled stage show, featuring Diego, a host, and various animals with handlers; Diego branded stamping stations at the animal exhibits; field journals that will be distributed to kids to customize as they learn about the animals; and integration of Diego into Zoo marketing collateral and educational materials that are distributed to schools. In addition, some of the animals within the Amazon & Beyond exhibit will be those that are featured in Go, Diego, Go!.

Amazon & Beyond's promise to be impressive is backed by the Zoo's design firm Jones & Jones Architecture of Seattle who has designed many of the sections of the San Diego Zoo. The exhibit is funded by a combination of

public and private donors, including the Building Better Communities general obligation bond and The Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond.

Comcast in Miami will be lending support to the Amazon & Beyond exhibit by creating more awareness locally on various Comcast cable networks such as Nickelodeon with spots featuring Diego at the zoo. These will run in April and run through the exhibit opening in 2008.

"Comcast has been a supporter of the Zoological Society of Florida and we're so grateful to participate in the Amazon & Beyond exhibit and the partnership with Nickelodeon at Miami Metrozoo," said Jeanie Hernandez, Area Director, Government & Community Affairs of Miami-Dade & Florida Keys of Comcast.

Go, Diego, Go! recently took to the stage with the all new live tour Go, Diego, Go Live! The Great Jaguar Rescue presented by State Farm Insurance(R). The tour will travel to approximately 50 markets in 2007, and will come to the Florida area beginning June 19 through early July. Additional tour stops are listed on http://www.nickjr.com/, along with information on how to buy tickets.

Since its debut on Nick Jr.'s regular weekday line-up on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005, Go, Diego, Go! quickly became the top preschool series on commercial television. The series was the number-one program with preschoolers for five consecutive quarters, and currently ranks among the top preschool programs with Hispanic kids 2-5 on all of commercial television. On average, Go, Diego, Go! draws approximately 5.7 million kids 2-5, almost 20 million total viewers (persons 2+), and 4.0 million adults 18+ each month.

One of the world's great zoos, Miami Metrozoo is rated among the top ten zoos in the U.S. by Travel & Leisure magazine, voted #1 for family fun in Miami by the Best of Citysearch and consistently voted by the readers of South Florida Parenting Magazine as Miami's best attraction. Metrozoo houses more than 1,200 wild animals in a cageless setting that closely approximates the animals' natural habitats and gives the visitor the feeling of embarking on an international safari. Large, open-air exhibits allow visitors to enjoy beautiful and endangered wildlife at a safe yet remarkably close range. With nearly 300 developed acres on a 740-acre parcel of land, Metrozoo is the only zoo in the continental United States located in a subtropical climate. Miami Metrozoo is located at 12400 SW 152 street; Miami, FL 33177. General Zoo Admission is: $11.50 per Adult, $6.75 per Child (3-12), $10.50 per Senior (65 and older). Children under two, ZSF members and parking are free. Metrozoo's hours are 9:30 am -- 5:30 pm; ticket booths close at 4 pm. For more information, please call 305-251-0400 or visit http://www.miamimetrozoo.com/.

Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9 a.m. -- 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely dedicated to preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.'s Emmy, Peabody and Parents' Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial free. At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.

Nickelodeon, now in its 27th 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, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 92 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for almost 12 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) .