For the first time in years, Nickelodeon has heat. Ratings are up across the board, powered by buzzy new live-action hits like “Victorious,” centered on life at an elite performing-arts high school, and “iCarly,” a series about an everyday girl with her own Web show. A new animated program, “The Penguins of Madagascar,” is a solid success. Even the decade-old “Dora the Explorer” has perked up, thanks to a yearlong birthday celebration.
Nickelodeon’s spinoff channels are also spiking upward, albeit from smaller bases. For Nicktoons, ratings among the target demographic of boys 6 to 11 are up 33 percent so far this year, compared with the year-earlier period, according to Nielsen Media Research. Nick Jr., aimed at preschoolers, is up 12 percent. And TeenNick has climbed 10 percent among its target audience, ages 12 to 17.
“We’re winning in a way that we haven’t been in a very long time,” Ms. Zarghami says. “That sounds braggy, but we’ve worked really hard, and we’re pleased it’s finally paying off.”
Nickelodeon has also struggled to come up with a new generation of cartoons to replace aging stalwarts like “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Dora the Explorer.” Animated series are much more valuable than live-action programs like “iCarly” because they are easier to export overseas and generate a larger array of merchandise. But while Nickelodeon has poured tens of millions of dollars into the development of new animated hits, a parade of efforts — “El Tigre,” “The X’s,” “Catscratch,” “Mighty B,” “Back at the Barnyard” — have failed to catch substantial wind.
Ms. Zarghami concedes that Nickelodeon needs animated reinforcements but points to promising shows like “Team Umizoomi,” a preschool series centered on learning math; “Fanboy & Chum Chum,” about two science-fiction aficionados; and “The Penguins of Madagascar,” based on the DreamWorks Animation films.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/business/media/31nick.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&src=twt&twt=nytimes
While a bloated Nickelodeon was basking in its top-dog status, Disney Channel cracked the code for the “tween” audience — ages 9 to 14 — with “Hannah Montana” and “High School Musical.” That audience was once the icing on the kids’ TV cake, but became hugely important as younger children started to follow its lead. Although Nickelodeon has been the top-rated children’s network for 16 years, by 2007, Disney had started to regularly beat Nickelodeon by certain measures.
By her own account, she started off slowly. She was pregnant with her third child at the time of her promotion and spent part of her first year on maternity leave. Upon her return, she stepped cautiously, putting into motion a grinding two-year brand review.
Inch by inch, changes started to click. The spinoff channels for preschoolers and teenagers — then called Noggin and the N — were rebranded Nick Jr. and TeenNick to improve consumer recognition, a move that ratings growth indicates is working. Nick at Nite, the prime-time block of programs for adults, was expanded by an hour and scheduled with reruns families could watch together. (Out: “Murphy Brown.” In: “My Wife and Kids.”) As a result, Nick at Nite has also perked up in the ratings, reversing years of declines.
Ms. Zarghami also attacked Disney’s tween flank with “iCarly.” It is currently the No. 1 show on television among children 2 to 11, as measured by new episodes and not repeats, according to Nielsen Media Research, and it has spawned at least one cultural craze: spaghetti tacos, a dish created by an oddball character on the show.
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