The board at THQ can breathe a sigh of relief, as it has today emerged that they have extended their lucrative deal with Kid’s TV channel Nickelodeon until 2010, amidst fears that the contract would shift over to rivals Midway.

Part of the massive Viacom Empire, Nickelodeon’s rumoured move to Midway came about because Viacom’s Chairman, Sumner Redstone, is a majority shareholder at Midway and his plans for a closer collaboration between Viacom and Midway are well known.

The deal now means that THQ can concentrate on producing more titles based on hit Nick brands – 16% of the publisher’s revenue came from the brand and it represents a significant share of the GameBoy Advance market.