Nickelodeon going to ballparks this summer

Nickelodeon has struck a marketing partnership with Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball, accelerating the youth programmer’s reach into sports.

In the deal, Nickelodeon this summer will host two themed nights in MLB ballparks and 10 more in minor league stadiums using its licensed characters. The first will be Friday with the Miami Marlins, featuring SpongeBob SquarePants.

The Miami Marlins will be up first, with help from Bikini Bottom’s biggest stars.

The ballpark theme nights will incorporate several of Nickelodeon’s key properties, including SpongeBob, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,

The Norfolk Tides will wear SpongeBob jerseys.

“We think this is a powerful combination,” said Keith Dawkins, senior vice president and general manager of Nicktoons, TeenNick and Nick Jr., and lead executive for NickSports. “They’re trying to find new ways to reach youth, and for us, sports is a big idea from both a fan level and a participatory level.”

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the partnership is designed to extend well beyond the 2015 season and the initial activations this summer.

Aligning with MLB and MiLB extends a rising interest in sports by Viacom-owned Nickelodeon. The network last month was the title sponsor for the SpongeBob SquarePants NASCAR Sprint Cup event in Kansas. It will stage its second annual Kids’ Choice Sports Awards event July 16 in Los Angeles.

Nickelodeon holds partnerships with several other leagues, some of which are more media-driven than the baseball deal, which focuses more on in-park events. They include a partnership with the NFL to create the animated series “NFL Rush Zone” and deals with the NBA, NHL, MLS and NASCAR. Nickelodeon also recently partnered with New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony to create a “Turtles by Melo” consumer products line inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

MLB previously collaborated with Nickelodeon through former video game partner Take-Two Interactive to make the “Nicktoons MLB” video game in 2011.

The latest MLB deal arrives as new league Commissioner Rob Manfred has made youth engagement a priority of his early tenure, marked in part by the formal announcement last week of the Play Ball campaign to promote casual and youth play.

“There have been a wide range of initiatives in the youth area ramped up over the last three to six months, particularly since Rob became commissioner,” said Chris Marinak, senior vice president of league economics and strategy.

The leaguewide alignment also builds in part upon several years of smaller activations between Nickelodeon and the Marlins. Marketing for this year’s collaboration promotes getting “slimed” at Marlins Park, a reference to popular 1980s and 1990s Nickelodeon game show “Double Dare.”