SpongeBob SquarePants is expected to reach television screens in China and Japan by the end of the month as MTV Networks International, part of Viacom, the US media group, launches SpongeBob SquarePants cartoons in the two countries.

The cartoons, which air on MTV Networks’ Nickelodeon channel in most countries, will be screened on the children’s channel of CCTV, the Chinese national broadcaster, which has a reach of 300m households.