Nickelodeon to take on Disney in tween battle
Nickelodeon will take on rival Disney in the teen and tween girls market with a major new UK sitcom and the launch of a young-skewing daily T4-style strand.
RDF Kids is making a 20 x 30-minute live action series under the working title Frankentwins, which has been conceived by My Parents are Aliens creator Andy Watts. TX is planned for 2010.
Nickelodeon managing director Howard Litton told Broadcast: “It used to be Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network doing battle for the top spot but now it’s Disney. To me, this is about trying to compete with the iCarlys or the Hannah Montanas of this world, but with UK originations. Genie in the House did well, but it still hasn’t reached those sorts of levels. Working with Andy Watts and RDF is us taking the next step up.”
The channel is also poised to launch the Teenick strand at the end of this month, fronted by Olly Murray and targeting girls aged between 10 and 14. Produced inhouse, it will air between 5pm and 7pm, seven days a week, and will host pop acts and LA features, as well as visits to UK events such as Camp Bestival. Currently, the strand is commissioned to the end of September but will be made permanent if it is successful.
Meanwhile, the broadcaster has tied its longstanding Nicktrition healthy eating strand to the government’s Change For Life campaign - commissioning its in-house team to produce two extra spots and to rebrand the 14 existing ones to feature both campaign logos.
Litton said the government has not invested any funds in the project, but that he hoped a commercial relationship would follow. “It’s a good thing to do and we believe in demonstrating the commitment first,” he said.
Litton also pledged to continue investing in UK-originated content for younger audiences on Nick Jr.
Also, from C21 Media:
Nickelodeon unveils live-action commission
UK kids network Nickleloden is launching a new live-action series and a daily teen and tween strand in a bid to retain its older viewers.
Frankentwins (20x30'), from RDF Media, follows a family's move to Transylvania. The show was created by My Parents Are Aliens creator Andy Watts and is set for a 2010 launch.
Speaking at the network's autumn/winter schedule launch last night, MD Howard Litton said 16 series will return to the channel. All of the shows, including iCarly and True Jackson, will feature new episodes. Seven new programmes are also set to make their debut.
Litton said the live-action programming was about keeping connected to "the slightly older end" of the channel's audience.
"It's about the teen and tween audiences that we've always done well with on Nickelodeon. But now want to take it up a notch," he said.
Seemingly set on going head-to-head with Disney, Litton said: "ICarly is a phenomenon in the states. There's been a lot of press about (the show's star) Miranda Cosgrove being the next, or bigger than, Hannah Montana. So getting new episodes of that in the fourth quarter is going to be great for us."
Nickelodeon is also set to launch a new strand called Teenick towards the end of July, targeting tween girls and featuring pop acts, fashion and news. Produced in-house, the strand will run from 17.00 to 19.00, hosted by Olly Murray.
In its Nicktoons strand, the channel has acquired Marvel Animation's The Super Hero Squad Show (26x30'), featuring a stylised renditioning of the publisher's characters fighting to save Super Hero City.
And maintaining its commitment to public service responsibilities, the broadcaster has linked its healthy-eating Nicktrition strand to the UK government's Change For Life campaign. Nickelodeon has commissioned its in-house team to produce two new spots focusing on the importance of a balanced diet.
Martin Buxton
9 Jul 2009
© C21 Media 2009
