MUMBAI: MTV Networks International (MTVNI) has announced that it has signed a deal with CiTV in the UK for the broadcast rights to its sister channel Nickelodeon's animated pre-school property, Dora the Explorer.
 

The 13-episode deal marks the terrestrial television debut of Dora the Explorer in the UK and the second for Europe. The show currently airs on TF1 in France. Benefiting, from complementary exposure on Nickelodeon UK and CiTV, this deal also signals a move by MTVNI to extend the property's consumer products potential which will hit $1 billion in US retail sales this year,

Vice-president, sales & co-productions of MTV Networks International programming enterprises' VP Nicolas Bonard commented, "Dora the Explorer is one of our leading properties and we're very pleased to have secured another top broadcast partnership deal. Ranked number one on Nick Jr in the UK, exposure on terrestrial television is a significant step forward to harnessing the property's potential growth, especially in the consumer products arena. CiTV is the perfect platform to take Dora the Explorer to a new and wider audience."

Dora the Explorer is a bilingual pre-school animation featuring heroine Dora and her pet monkey Boots, who actively engage preschoolers in play-along quests. The show's bilingual English/ Spanish format teaches preschoolers new words, while promoting problem solving, cognitive skills and flexible thinking.

Dora the Explorer also claims to be the number one preschool show in the US across all channels amongst kids 2-5 years old, with monthly viewing figures of over 21 million.