Nickelodeon’s new iOS app is a Netflix for preschoolers

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A Netflix for your little ones. Photo: Nickelodeon

Last year around 1.4 Million U.S. households reportedly threw in the towel on Pay TV and embraced the cord-cutting revolution. And it seems that the idea of consuming media in non-traditional ways starts young, with Nickelodeon this week announcing its plans to launch a subscription video service aimed at preschoolers.

Called Noggin, the service takes the form of an iOS app set to launch on March 5. Costing just $5.99 per month, it will be advertising-free, and will boast a range of kids’ shows, such as “Blue’s Clues” and “Little Bear” that are not currently part of Nickelodeon’s assorted TV networks.

That might make it sound like something of an experiment for Viacom (which it is!), rather than a full-on replacement for existing Nickelodeon channels, but there’s no doubting that kid’s TV is going through much the same shakeup as its more grownup counterpart.

As kids have had access to more screens to pick from, Nickelodeon’s ratings are down 35 percent compared to the same period one year ago. It’s not for nothing that the iPad was recently voted kids’ favorite brand according to the “2014 Young Love” study — putting Apple’s tablet above brands such as Disney, Toys”R”Us, McDonald’s and YouTube among children aged 6-12.

Other companies have recently also tried launching kid-targeted premium app-based services, with Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus all having sections for younger viewers. YouTube, meanwhile, recently launched a new app designed to make its service safer and more enjoyable place for little ones.

Apple, for its part, last month launched a new App Store category, called “Games for Kids,” offering everything from “cute puzzlers to accessible tower-defense games” for the tinier members of Cupertino’s fanbase.

Source: Variety

 

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