Nickelodeon's Emmy-Nominated Hit iCarly Features Ultimate Battle Between Teen Stars Miranda Cosgrove and Victoria Justice in All-New One-Hour Movie Event Premiering Friday, Aug. 7, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT

Jul 21, 2009
By ViacomCBS Staff

--Nick.com Launches Special New "iFight Shelby Marx" Mini Site Featuring Exclusive Movie Poster

TV's top-rated kids' show iCarly gives fans the teen queen match of the year as star Miranda Cosgrove battles Victoria Justice in a special one-hour iCarly TV movie event -- iFight Shelby Marx, premiering FRIDAY, AUG. 7, (8:00 p.m. ET/PT). Justice (Spectacular, Zoey 101) guest stars as Shelby Marx, a female championship fighter who challenges Carly to meet her in the ring. Leading up to the big premiere, Nickelodeon will get viewers ready to rumble with back-to-back competition-themed episodes of iCarly airing Monday, Aug. 3 - Friday, Aug, 7, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. ET/PT. The Emmy and Teen Choice-nominated iCarly, quarter to date ranks as number-one kids' program on all of broadcast and basic cable with Tweens 9-14, and is the number-one program with kids and the top-kid targeted program with total viewers (P2+) year to date.

"We are excited to bring this main event to television which will feature two of our viewers' favorite teen actresses as they have fun facing off in and out of the ring," said Marjorie Cohn, Executive Vice President, Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon.

iCarly finished Q2 as the number-one program on all of broadcast and cable with Tweens 9-14 and as the number-one live-action program with Kids 2-11. Year-to-date, iCarly is television's top-rated show for Tweens 9-14, Kids 2-11, Kids 6-11 and total viewers on cable television on Saturday nights. Nearly 26 million total viewers tune in to watch the hit series each week, including 6.6 million adults.

It's the battle of teen sensations when reigning online queen Carly Shay squares off against teen fighting champion Shelby Marx in the iCarly special, entitled "iFight Shelby Marx." After Carly jokingly challenges the champ to a fight during an iCarly webcast, Shelby thinks it would be a promotional win-win for both girls to participate in a mixed-martial arts exhibition, plus the money raised would go to charity. However, when Carly accidentally pushes Shelby's grandmother at a press conference, Shelby is ready to throw off the gloves and knock out her opponent for real. As Carly tries to find a way to soothe Shelby's anger so as not to be pummeled by her golden gloves, the gang's nemesis Nevel has his own nefarious plans for the main event.

Nickelodeon launches an online "iFight Shelby Marx" mini site for fans to get exclusive footage, game and downloads for the movie event. For those who want a taste of what to expect on the all-new iCarly, select video from the movie will be available to preview. By August 3, an original game, entitled "iKick Butt," will be posted to the site for users to test their martial arts skills in the octagon against Carly or Shelby. In addition, a cool movie poster wallpaper featuring Carly and Shelby may be downloaded.

The iCarly movie stars Miranda Cosgrove as Carly, Jennette McCurdy as Sam, Nathan Kress as Freddie and Jerry Trainor as Spencer. Victoria Justice guest stars as Shelby Marx and Reed Alexander guest stars as Nevel. "iFight Shelby Marx" is written by Dan Schneider and directed by Steve Hoefer. iCarly is from creator and executive producer Dan Schneider (Zoey 101, Drake & Josh).

A show within a show, iCarly follows Carly Shay and her two best friends, Sam and Freddie, as they create a webcast for and about kids their age while grappling with everyday tween problems and adventures. Carly lives with her older brother and guardian Spencer and produces her web show from a makeshift studio in the loft upstairs. Due to Carly and Sam's hilarious banter and great chemistry, iCarly becomes an internet sensation and a pop phenomenon blooms with the weekly webcasts featuring everything from comedy sketches and talent contests to interviews, recipes and problem-solving.

Unique to this series, viewer participation at www.iCarly.com drives content for the show. Fans of the television series are able to upload original video to the website -- with the hope that their sketch will be chosen to appear on-air. In addition, the site offers sneak peeks of upcoming episodes, bonus footage and cool games. Users may interact with the popular characters by reading their blogs, posting comments about the latest episode, participating in polls, sending emails and much more.

Nickelodeon, now in its 30th 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 more than 99 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 15 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

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