Nickelodeon

Introduction

Nickelodeon is a Television channel aimed at children of all ages. It serves more than 171 million subscribers around the world via localized channels, branded blocks and individual programmes. Nickelodeon is also part of the MTV networks which are also involved in a variety of entertainment businesses that extend its brands, including films, books, online and consumer products. MTV networks is also one of Viacoms major media holding

Nickelodeon (Nick for short) was launched on 1 April 1979 as the Pinwheel Network. The first Nickelodeon channel was American but there are now several channels in different countries such as Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia and the UK. Many adults know the channel best for Nick at Nite as it offered many classic TV sitcoms in the prime-time and overnight hours. Originally Nickelodeon was commercial free, but accepted commercial breaks and commercials beginning in Fall 1983. It was originally owned by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, a joint venture of American Express and Warner Communications; it then became a part of Viacom.[1]

The relevance of Nickelodeon for Viacom

Nickelodeon is the leading channel for juvenile entertainment in the U.S. it is only challenged by the Cartoon Network and to a lesser extent by Toon Disney. The classic way to financial gains for TV channels is the selling of time on their programmes for ads. This upfront was 700 million $ in 2002 for all of the children TV channels.Its key to success is according to market consultatnt and president of Brand Keys Robert Passikoff, the establishment of a brand identity on its own. [2] Still Nickelodeon manages to make way more profit for Viacom. Nickelodeon Enterprises — made up of consumer products, Web sites, publishing and recreation — is expected to bring in $3.9 billion in retail sales in 2004, up 11% from last year. Viacom's overall revenue for 2003 was $26.6 billion. [3]

How Nickelodeon has Developed with the Digital Age

Nickelodeon has always managed to maintain it's unprecedented leadership in linear television production. Nickelodeon also announced a slate that will include content developed from such platforms as feature films, video games, broadband and international production, as well as announcing a multi-million dollar development slate for non-linear productions. "The first Nickelodeon generation of kids grew up in a video democracy where the words broadcast and cable meant nothing, and great characters and stories meant everything," said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. "This next generation of kids is platform agnostic. We already are programming to kids on 15 different platforms and we're excited to be expanding our tradition of strong content development to reach across broadband, digital and wireless screens that have become a daily part of their lives. Kids are the first adapters of the digital age and we are going to fully integrate our brand into that space with great character and story-driven content that will be developed." [4]

Ms. Zarghami also states that Nickelodeon is investing in a multi-million dollar development slate to introduce new original content specifically for non-linear platforms, including a brand new animation laboratory called "Inkubators," based at Nickelodeon's animation studio in Burbank, CA. The inkubators Lab will be dedicated to the creation of original animated content made specifically for a diverse range of platforms, including broadband; wireless; portable video devices; online and gaming. Nickelodeon will also be committing to the development of resources for the creation of long and short form content developed from the creators in international markets. [5]

Nickelodeon and Junk Food Debate

Parents and advocacy groups announced their intent to file suit against Viacom and Kellog to stop them from marketing and promoting junk food to young children. The plaintiffs contend that these two companies are directly harming children's health since the overwhelmingly majority of food products they market to children are high in sugar, saturated and trans fat, or salt, or almost devoid of nutrients. [6]

The plaintiffs are the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the Boston-based Campaign for a commercial free childhood and two parents from Massachusetts, Sherri Carlson of Wakefield and Andrew Leong of Brookline. Their announcement came just 6 weeks after a landmark report from the Institute of Medicine concluded that food advertising aimed at children merely got them to prefer foods high in calories and low in nutrients. "Nickelodeon and Kellogg engage in business practices that literally sicken our children," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "Their marketing tactics are designed to convince kids that everything they hear from their parents about food is wrong. It's a multimedia brainwashing and re-education campaign-and a disease promoting one at that. And parents are fed up." [7]

This past fall, CSPI analyzed food advertising on Nickelodeon's televised programming and in Nickelodeon magazine and marketing on food packaging that bears Nickolodeon characters. Of 168 adverts for food that appeared on Nickolodeon during CSPI's review, 88% were for foods of poor nutritional quality. The September and October issues of Nickolodeon magazine also contained seven full-page adverts, all of which were for junk foods. However, one former broadcasting executive, Lisa Flythe, who served as director of commercial clearances for MTV Networks and vetted ads on Nickolodeon, says CARU lacks teeth. "There are no real penalties for running afoul of CARU's guidelines, and most of their guidelines are very general," said Flythe. [8]

The Massachusetts statute the plaintiffs chose to sue under provides for damages of $25 per violation of unfair or deceptive advertising. In this case, a violation would occur each time that a Massachusetts child sees an ad for a junk food on Nickolodeon. Jacobson also argued in CSPI's press release that "in any other sphere of American life it would be considered creepy and predatory for adults to propose commercial transactions to toddlers and young children. Yet companies like Kellogg, Nickelodeon, and others have been doing it with impunity, and government has done nothing for decades. This litigation is truly a last resort-and vitally important to children's health." [9]

The two faces of Nickelodeon

The numbers behind the publicity directed at the young are quite impressive. In 1995, according to Interactive Marketing News and Youth Markets Alert, children under 12 spent $14 billion, teenagers another $67 billion, and together they influenced $160 billion of their parents' annual spending.[10]
It should be clear that Nickelodeon that controls a fair share of the entertainment market directed at kids, is interested in keeping the laws that control marketing directed at the youth as limited as possible. To this extent and to deceive the public opinion they often promote good goals to a certain extent, so that they are not perceived as a threat. As seen before Nickelodeon has been criticised several times for their promotion of junk food. A good example on how Nickelodeon tried to keep a favourable public opinion is the effort Nickelodeon showed in participating in the “Alliance for a Healthier Generation” a movement created by Bill Clinton and the American Heart Association to tackle the problem that childhood obesity is in the United Staates of America. This partnership with two rather popular organizations as it is the Clinton Foundation and the American Hearth Association, was no doubt started to create a favourable opinion of Nickelodeon in the public. At the same time though, Viacom the owner of Nickelodeon and the corporation that reaps the huge benefits that Nickelodeon is generating, was busy challenging a Federal Communications Commission rule that seeks to limit marketing to children. Susan Linn a Harvard psycologist and Alvin F. Poussaint, a Harvard psychiatrist wrote a letter to Bill Clinton stating: "Although childhood obesity is a major public-health problem, Nickelodeon threatens public health and the public interest by consistently using its media to market junk food to children and by undermining policies established to protect children from predatory marketing,” Ms. Linn also says that she believes that Nickelodeon is using the alliance to promote a positive image it does not deserve. “It is outrageous what [Mr. Clinton] is doing on behalf of Nickelodeon because it is hypocritical of Nickelodeon to be claiming to form an alliance to prevent obesity, when [Nickelodeon] is one of the prime promoters” of unhealthy food advertising, she said. “Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob have become characters to promote junk food.” [11] SpongeBob is the most famous and succesful character developed by Nickelodeon, a living sponge that works in a fast food restaurant and loves his work there! A copy of the letter sent to Bill Clinton can be found here: http://www.commercialexploitation.org/pressreleases/CCFC%20letter%20to%20Clinton.pdf
Recently Nickelodeon together with the cereals manufacturer Kellogs have been sued by a coalition demanding a halt to the junk food marketing. In a press conference organized by the coalition (Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood) a mother summed up the problems she faced when trying to raise her children in a healthy way. Sherri Carlson, was quoted by The Associated Press as lamenting that despite her pushing healthy grub, her offspring "turn on Nickelodeon and see all those enticing junk-food ads. ...Adding insult to injury, we enter the grocery store and see our beloved Nick characters plastered on all those junky snacks and cereals." One presumes the "beloved characters" include Nick's charismatic, aquatic SpongeBob. Nickelodeon and Kellogs obviously refused this. Nickelodeon said that the network has led young viewers to be more active and eat healthier (campaigns described later). [12]

Nickelodeon invests for obvious reason a high amount of effort in the research for better marketing strategies and the figures are impressive too. For example, Nickelodeon conducts multiple studies a year to determine what is effective at getting and keeping children’s attention. They are conducting 10 to 20 studies at any given time, they interview five to ten thousand children a year and conduct more than 250 focus groups per year. All the results gained from that research will no doubt will show up eventually in Nickelodeons programmes or ads and that they will be succesful in their goals. The problem is that the signs directes at the children will not be easily identified and therefore it will be hard to confront Nickelodeon with all of their manipulative practices, to quote a blogger which probably is right: " You can sit there with your child watching Nickelodeon (or MTV — Nickelodeon for kids with adult hormones) and the two of you will have completely different experiences. Everything from words and phrases (not all of which you’ll find in the dictionary) to the barely perceptible nuances — eye contact, facial expressions, subtle body language, voice inflection, the rhythm of speech, the timing of laughter and so on — are significant according to a set of shared (cultural and peer group) understandings and capable of communicating meanings that any outsider will miss." [13]
That Nickelodeon targets kids directly should be clear as vice-president of marketing at Nickelodeon stated, "Product preferences develop at a much earlier age than anyone had ever thought. . . . As people begin to understand this, to see how brand loyalty transfers to adulthood, there is almost nothing that won't be advertised for children." [14]
So while Nickelodeon tries to generate a positive image to the public opinion by creating campaigns that pursuit positive goals it is still part of a corporation which is aimed at maximazing profit. It will always be hard to get both quite antagonist sides together.

Nickelodeon's "Lets just play."

As with tobacco companies attempting to stop underage smoking and alcohol makers counseling "responsible drinking," there is cognitive dissonance in hearing Nickelodeon telling kids to turn off their TVs and go outside to play: "You must watch us to find out how to not watch us."

Nickelodeon will celebrate its third "Let's Just Play Worldwide Day of Play" by going off the air for three hours (noon-3 pm ET/PT) on Saturday, Oct. 1, to encourage kids to spend more time simply playing outside. "Let's Just Play" is Nickelodeon's "pro-social commitment" to encourage kids to take part in more "active, healthy, and playful lifestyles" through daily on-air messages and activities, a welcome action against the rise in childhood obesity, reduction of PE in schools and in after-school programs, and the over-scheduled lifestyles of many of today's children.[15]

There have also been more than 500 schools and organizations which have already committed to holding "Worldwide Day of Play" events in their communities, Nickelodeon's "Let's Just Play" partners Boys & Girls Clubs of America, National Association for Sport & Physical Education, National Parent Teacher Associations, and the WNBA are also helping to encourage a more healthy, active lifestyle for children. Therefore, Nickelodeon has also been at the forefront of events which hold incresed social significance for both children and adults.[16]

Nickelodeon Spin-off Channels

Since it's launch in 1979, the popularity and success of the cable channel Nickelodeon has rocketed, now making it the most watched children's cable network in the world. As their popularity rose, so did the demand on the network's executives and producers to make more shows for broadcast to meet the needs and criteria of their viewers.

The fact that the channel had benn so sucessful in appealing to children all over the world ment that it had brought in many, many sponsors, companies and businesses all over the world that wanted to have advertising space on their network. This in turn lead to gross profit for the company who now felt that they had a lack of space for the programmes that they wanted to deliver.

With children's television advertisers spending almost $800 million per year to sponsor children's television shows and to secure advertising among the aired programmes, the Nickelodeon network knew that they had the capital and the backing to create new channels where the could show new programmes.

Nick: Games and Sports

The very first spin off channel created by Nickelodeon is known as Nick: Games and Sports (Nick: GAS), a new channel which was also part of the MTV Network, as cited by Viacom. The channel was thought to be a great way of encouraging children to become more active, as Nickelodeon had previously taken alot of criticism for encouraging children to sit in front of the television, and of course for the fact that it also showed far too many junkfood adverstisements.

The creation of this channel was a good public relations opportunity which Nickelodeon did not pass up on. The fact that the launch of the new channel was so successful meant that the sponsors and the advertising companies were desperate to advertise on the new network.

All of these companies and businesses realised that being associated with such a network which was being praised for bringing children's programmes to encourage sport and activity would only in turn boost their profile. Making them more affiliated with parents would definately boost their profit margins.

Nick: Games and Sports (GAS) was the first and only games network which had been provided and produced for children. Nickelodeon were seen as admirable, all the while they were only seeing the profit that was there to be made from their original network proposal. It was definately a success for Nickelodeon and the MTV Network.

The fact that they were gaining such good publicity meant that they only wanted to enhance the image an soon got involved with numerous profects, such as the children's marathon, which not only encouraged and helped kids to get fit by taking part, but also raised moeny for charities and various good causes, putting them in touch with a substantial number of new business interests, investors and sponsors.

A Commercial Free Nickelodeon?

Nickelodeon has also attempted to be less commercialised with the creation of Noggin; a commercial free, educational network from Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop. Noggin is a joint venture between Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop and currently reaches over 22 million households via cable, digital cable and satellite.

With two distinct program blocks, Noggin for preschoolers and The N for tweens the network helps kids to figure out their lives with educational media on-air and online. Therefore, Noggin, is obviously quite distant from Nickelodeon's usual cartoons and endless number of junk food adverts. [17] and [18]

Noggin

After the success of Nickelodeon's first spin off channel, the MTV network as part of Viacom soon had another secondary Nickelodeon channel in production. This was a channel which was aimed at pre-schoolers. The channel was a joint effort between Viacom, makers of Nickelodeon and the Children's Television Network (mainly renowned for the production of Sesame Street).

Yet again, by introducing a channel aimed only at pre-school children, meant that Nickelodeon were inundated with more and more sponsors and businesses wanting to advertise on their new network. It seemed like a recipe for success following the triumph of the previous Nickelodeon spin-off channel, teamed with the makers of Sesame Street, one of the most famous and influention pre-school programmes of all time. It is clear that both networks had a lot to gain from teaming up together.

With the number of pre-school aimed networks on the up, Noggin soon realised that they had to do something taht had to keep the investors and advertisors interested, so they decided to do a little research.

Noggin released a statement after making a shocking discovery. 'Did you know that 61% of low income families have no books for their children?' [19]

Following the revelation, Noggin found a great opportunity for some good publicity and decided taht they should do something about their recent findings.

Shortly after the network launched their "Get Ready to Read" campaign. In order to do so they paired up with First Book, a national non profit organisation. Together they aimed to generate $1 million worth of books for at risk children.

They made many different attempts during the campaign rectify the situation that they had discovered. Noggin began screening the programme "Story Time", a programme which taught and encouraged early literacy.

Of course the network were praised for their attemps to rectify the fact that 61% of low income families have no books for their children, however, despite the fact that they were raising money for others the scheme did not put them out of pocket.

As they had anticipated it encouraged new advertisers thanks to the new publicity the scheme had generated. For example, although First Books may be a non profitable organisation, Time Warner Cable also became part of the project, obviously it was in both their's and Nickelodeon's best interests to team up in order to enhance the profits that they had the potential to make.

With Noggin being an instant Nickelodeon spin off channel success, the network soon seen a clever way to enchance profits for the new channel. As most kid's networks are off air from 6 or 7pm, Nickelodoen devised The N. The N would take over from Noggin in the evening. While Nickelodeon through the creation of Noggin wanted to appeal to that of pre-schoolers, they knew that they also had a broader market to tackle, and with the creation of The N, they planned to reach out to 12-24 market.

This move attracted a whole new wave of advertising executives who wanted advertising space on their network, as there are many products on the market which appeal to this generation. It aired many successful programmes, such as re-runs of Sabrina The Teenage With, The Fresh Prince Of Belair, and Moesha. Despite them being re-runs, their intense popularity meant that advertisers knew that the programmes would attract intense audience figures. Also attracting high audience figures was new programmes such as O'Grady and Instant Star. Yet again, Nickelodeon found themselves with a ratings winner and large profits to show for them.

Nicktoons

The latest spin off channel created by Nickelodeon is Nicktoons. Much like the original Nickelodeon channel, it has a target audience which ranges from pre-school children to those bordering on their early teens. With the success of the previous spin off channels, and of course with the success of Nickelodeon with their target audience, it meant that the investors, sponsors and the like were queueing up to secure advertising space at any price. NIcktoons, launched on May 1st 2002, did everything that the Nickelodeon network hoped that it would. It became a ratings winner in turn making them masses of money.

Nick-TV Promotion

To launch Nick-TV, a new UK Nickelodeon channel, Nickelodeon took the unusual steps of mailing free packs to its viewers as an attempt to court their viewing figures. As well as a pencil case there was a Parental Consent form which had to be completed. This not only built trust with the parents but also gave Nickelodeon valuable information for future contact with its viewers such as mobile telephone numbers and email addresses. [20]

The purpose of this promotion was to collect information about the viewers for a database so that in future Nickelodeon and its subsiduries can forward details of future promotions. This would be done through the completed forms returned to the television station from the viewers. Their details, such as email address and SMS mobile telephone numbers could be utilised promote new events, programming and competitions the station was running at the time.

Marketing

One of the advantages of being a channel devoted entirely to children’s television is the ability to advertise Nickelodeon products through both the television channels and products available in the supermarket. One of Nickelodeons success stories of the past few years is the cartoon SpongeBob Squarepants who has, along with a popular cartoon amongst children and adults, spawned a movie and with it the multitude of merchandising. However, SpongeBob Squarepants image has also been sold to sell items other than what it has initially been created for. [21]

The above report was published by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) in an attempt to highlight the ages at which children are susceptible to advertising and commercial exploitation. The CCFC are a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and concerned parents who counter the harmful effects of marketing to children through action, advocacy, education, research, and collaboration among organizations and individuals who care about children.

With the child market worth around $500billion world wide it is no wonder that big business wish to exploit this lucrative avenue. The CCFC highlight the types of advertising that business's employ and the effects it has on the children, the report highlights each stages of the child's growth, and their families.

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