Netflix and Nickelodeon Enter New Partnership For Series And Features

Netflix and Nickelodeon are expanding their partnership to produce kids and family content.

The timing of the announcement, just one day after the launch of Disney’s streaming service Disney+, suggests that both companies are concerned about their ability to retain younger viewing audiences. Netflix has previously reported that over 60% of its 158 million paid memberships watches family content regularly on its platform.

Details of the partnership are minimal at this point, but here’s what we know about the deal:

• Nickelodeon will produce original animated features and series for Netflix as part of a multi-year output deal. The shows will be based both on Nick’s existing library of characters and original productions.
• Nickelodeon has already been feeding original content to the streamer, including the animated specials Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling and Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, as well as the series Pinky Malinky.
• Nickelodeon Animation says that it is “ramping up development and production exponentially.” Among the first projects that Nick will deliver as part of this deal are specials based on The Loud House and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
• Nickelodeon is transitioning from pure linear broadcasting to what it describes as a “studio model” that provides content for third-parties such as Netflix. This is due in large part to its sinking cable ratings, part of an industry-wide viewership decline for cable programming as audiences shift to streaming services like Netflix and video hosting platforms like Youtube.
• “Nickelodeon has generated scores of characters that kids love, and we look forward to telling wholly original stories that re-imagine and expand on the worlds they inhabit,” said Netflix vice president of original animation, Melissa Cobb. “We’re thrilled to continue collaborating with [Nickelodeon president] Brian Robbins, [Nickelodeon head of animation] Ramsey Naito, and the creative team at Nickelodeon in new ways as we look to find fresh voices and bring bold stories to our global audience on Netflix.”