NICKELODEON'S SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS BREAKS NEW GROUND WITH EXCLUSIVE MADE-FOR-TWITTER ADVENTURE, JULY 12-15

SpongeBob Social Media Event, The Ice Race Cometh: A Twitter-Tale, Culminates with Brand-New Primetime Episode, "Frozen Face Off," Airing Friday, July 15, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

NEW YORK - July 7, 2011 - Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants will flood the Twitter-verse with the first-time-ever debut of an original story created exclusively for the social networking site. The Ice Race Cometh: A Twitter-Tale, was conceived and developed for Twitter by the SpongeBob SquarePants writing team and will run from Tuesday, July 12, to Friday, July 15. The story will be told via multiple tweets and images throughout each day to set scenes and advance the action involving SpongeBob and his friends as they prepare for The Bikini Bottom Great Sleigh Race. The Ice Race Cometh serves as a prequel to "Frozen Face Off," the brand-new, prime-time SpongeBob television episode, premiering Friday, July 15, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.

"SpongeBob's fan base is so broad that about a third of its audience is adults, so we wanted to extend the show's magic to new places like Twitter so those fans can experience it," said Roland Poindexter, Senior Vice President of animation and current series, Nickelodeon. "SpongeBob is already a big deal in the social media space, with 25 million Facebook fans, and we hope his Twitter debut will drum up some extra excitement for all the people who love him and the show."

As the Bikini Bottom gang debuts their original Twitter tale - a first for the social media site and SpongeBob - fans will be able to watch the story unfold and track the characters via a Twitter List or a custom tab on the SpongeBob Facebook page.

The Ice Race Cometh: A Twitter-Tale begins with a tweet from Bikini Bottom Action News: an anonymous "wealthy entrepreneur" offers a cool million clams to the winner of The Bikini Bottom Great Sleigh Race. Several competitors chime in, including SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, Mr. Krabs, Plankton and even Gary, about their preparations for the race. The messages fly back and forth, with contestants 'trash talking' one another right up to the moment when the race is about to begin.

SpongeBob is no stranger to social media. In January, Nickelodeon broke new ground with the Facebook premiere of an original animated program, "Trenchbillies," in advance of its TV debut. Nickelodeon currently has more than 84 million fans on Facebook across all of its pages, and SpongeBob himself has amassed 25 million, more than The Beatles and President Obama.

In the July 15 primetime TV special, "Frozen Face Off," Bikini Bottom is buzzing with excitement as the town prepares for a sleigh race sponsored by an anonymous donor. But the gang's dreams of winning the $1 million prize come to a screeching halt when they discover Plankton's scheme to steal the Krabby Patty formula during the race. SpongeBob and his friends must work together to navigate through the icy tundra and past a menacing snow mollusk before Plankton gets his hands on Mr. Krabs' secret formula.

Since its launch in July 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has emerged as a pop culture phenomenon. The series has been the number-one animated program with kids 2-11 for more than 10 consecutive years and over the past several years, it has averaged more than 100,000,000 total viewers every quarter across all Nickelodeon networks. Syndicated in 171 markets in 36 languages, it's the most widely distributed property in MTV Networks' history.

Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd 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 more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA - News, VIA.B - News).