My Open Kimono

FAIR GAME FOR A YOUNG AUDIENCE
As CBS Corp. moves away from its Paramount theme parks in a $1.24 billion sale to Cedar Fair, is it missing an important and emerging outlet for content distribution?
CBS' seven theme parks, tagged with a 10 year licensing deal for familiar Nickelodeon characters (Sponge Bob Square Pants) may have, in the long run, been sold for a song.
With an explosive evolution in media access, the sites for these parks could have been integrated into a broader media strategy to create theme based content (ie. online gaming, rides, streaming adventure videos) for distribution to broad based, young consumer groups.
Kids, teens and young adults are the demographics marketers dreams are made of .... CBS, a network whose programing has always been associated with an older audience, missed the forest for the trees with the pruning of this asset.
The CBS deal brings the number of Cedar Fair theme parks up to 19. The right digital advances, coupled with a digital strategy to leverage its licensing deal, has the potential to place Cedar Fair in an enviable position as a major distribution channel reaching the fickle, elusive and valuable young audeince.