4Kids.tv Relaunches

4Kids.tv, the online home for 4Kids Ent.’s popular Saturday morning programming block on FOX, has been upgraded with new features and functionality as the four-hour slate of animated and live-action children’s shows kicks of its sixth season on the air.

According to 4Kids, its 4Kids.tv is ranked among the top ten ad-supported kids sites by Nielsen/NetRatings. The latest additions to the site include branded games, video-on-demand content and a kids’ pop culture buzz section, all of which are updated daily. Designed as community-fostering features, these new additions allow for customization as kids create avatars and personal profiles. Tagging and ranking of content is also made possible through Web 2.0 tools.

New Game Wednesdays sees the release of a new game each week on 4Kids.tv. Titles will be based on shows and characters from the 4Kids TV lineup, including Chaotic, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward, Viva Pi’ata and Dinosaur King.

Episodes of these and other shows are also available for viewing on the site, which will feature more than 300 hours of toon programming. New videos will be added on a daily basis and visitors will be able to build custom play lists of their favorite series.

Also new to the site is the 4Kids.tv Rewards Points program, which rewards fans for watching 4Kids TV Saturday mornings, playing online games and watching online videos. Young viewers can cash in points to customize their avatars with limited edition avatar items like hair, eyes, noses, mouths, clothes, decorations, backgrounds scenes and more. They can also access exclusive screen savers, wallpapers, videos and games.

The sixth season of 4Kids TV on FOX got rolling on Sept. 8 with the introduction of two new animated series, Dinosaur King and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Newly dubbed The Game Station to reflect that fact that most shows are based on trading-card and video games, the block airs nationwide on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (ET).