How would you fix TeenNick?

[TMC]

http://www.toonzone.net/forums/showt...u-fix-TeenNick

Okay, so TeenNick's top show Degrassi premiered their big yearly promo for the summer season and everyone's excited and then the executive producer drops this bomb. The season will air at 10pm EST. An hour later than the normal time from the past two years. Now, this may be due to the show might be introducing more risque content, but also keep in mind that Nick@Nite is doing their own telenovela throughout the summer, Hollywood Heights. That airs at 9pm on Nick@Nite, and is aimed towards the same audience as Degrassi. Hmm. Also, Degrassi originally premiered at 8pm, until season 9 in which it moved to 9pm Friday nights. Why? Nickelodeon was doing premieres of iCarly during that time period. Hmm.

This has been a constant trend, and I think a huge reason TeenNick hasn't found it's full potential. A lot of what holds TeenNick (also with Nicktoons) back is Nickelodeon proper is essentially competing for the same viewers. I suppose with Nicktoons it's gears for boys, TeenNick for teen girls but those are two demos Nickelodeon already did a good with, not like Disney who had to split off Disney XD for the boys. Not to mention the fact for a good year Degrassi was the only new program the network had.

So, while I get my thoughts together, how would you guys program this network?

Some more insight on TeenNick's problems:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...rShiftsThatFit

Another Nick spinoff, Nick GAS (Games and Sports), was formerly a dumping ground for Nick's aforementioned children's game shows and game/sports-themed shows, along with original segments dealing with kids and their games and sports — basically, Viacom's answer to GSN. And like the former Game Show Network, GAS slowly lost programs until, by the end, it was only airing reruns of a few old Nick games, having lost all of the original segments and programming. It was finally replaced with the teen-oriented "The N", formerly part of the now just-for-preschoolers Noggin, a switch which now leaves millions of college kids without reruns of Legends of the Hidden Temple to sarcastically comment about.*
Naturally, "The N" itself quickly decayed, with a mass-canning of much of their teen/young adult oriented programming (such as South of Nowhere and Instant Star), and devoting an increasing amount of airtime to old Nickelodeon shows, other Disney Channel-esque tween fare, and reruns of UPN stalwart One on One because it can be run for pennies per airing. A special mention goes out to the way they treated Degrassi: The Next Generation — The N's broadcasts had always been bowdlerized, the most infamous example being when they refused to air an episode about abortion for fear of offending the Moral Guardians. It Got Worse when the show started becoming really popular in America, putting The N in a position to force creative changes onto the show that served to turn it from a fairly realistic (if hyper-melodramatic) depiction of teenage life into a clone of The O.C..

Then in a two-for-one decay, the TEENick block got dumped from Nickelodeon proper while The N is being renamed "TeenNick"...and less than two years on the air TeenNick is already on life support. With only one series showing new episodes, TeenNick's problem is that they have too little shows they are willing to show and the ones they do show are rerun into the ground, which mainly consists of continuous marathon-like re-runs of a small handful of mid-2000s tween Nickelodeon shows. In particular, Zoey 101, which is shown on the network at least seven times a day, even though only one actress from that show (Victoria Justice) has an actual career these days. The network's other favorites after Degrassi and Zoey tend to change once in a while. As of this writing, Drake & Josh and The Amanda Show seem to be the other favorite children of TeenNick's shows. It doesn't help that they will re-run the same episodes multiple times over a three-day span. Occasionally, they'll add shows to the schedule and give them big promotion during commercial breaks, but they soon disappear after a month or so. All TeenNick has going for it is Degrassi and The '90s Are All That, but even then that's completely reruns. Very ironic when you think this channel replaced Nick GAS, TeenNick took much quicker to decay than Nick GAS did.

"The N" used to share a programming half with "Noggin", which used to be about education for young people. That demo got younger and younger until now it's for 3-5 year olds (and itself has bitten the bullet and renamed itself Nick Jr.), while others insist Noggin decayed when Sesame Workshop sold their share of the network back to Viacom...a sale which threw The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, Ghostwriter, and pre-1990s episodes of Sesame Street off the air.

A more direct critique on the current state of TeenNick:

http://www.toonzone.net/forums/showt...61#post4007361

TeenNick seriously has to be the worst-run channel on television right now.

Their daytime schedule is a joke. It's basically ALL Zoey 101 and Drake & Josh re-runs with a random showing of Ned's Declassified once every few hours. Why? Who is going to want to watch those two shows that much in a given day? And Zoey in particular gets on my nerves because they've been showing it on a way too frequent basis since last summer and Drake & Josh is slowly on it's way to that. They were also really bad with H2O and True Jackson VP for a while, but that thankfully has ceased.

The lack of original programming is frustrating. We see all these ads for TeenNick's new shows, I guarantee you this time next year Degrassi's the only one still standing. It's just history repeating itself.

They do have a new show Dance Academy, which has been on only for a few months but Nick seems to be choreographing it to end quickly. All the more ridiculous because Dance Academy has plenty of episodes to air. I don't watch the show personally but there's 52 episodes and a second season is currently going on in Australia. They can make this work but I know they won't just so they can throw another showtime to Zoey 101.

Notice how they give shows that are syndicated reruns big pushes but barely do anything with them. When they got Freaks and Geeks they were plugging it every single commercial break and when it came on it ended up being on only once a day very late at night then a month later, it vanished. Way to screw up a good thing there, TeenNick.

And don't even get me started on The 90s Are All That. Started with so much potential, then lost steam, then it seemed like they were getting back on track by starting U-Pick and an earlier time slot but then they got rid of both and added Hey Dude. Then they tried to reverse that by adding Hey Arnold and Rugrats. I love both those shows, but it seems like most fans are sick of them by now. And All That and Kenan and Kel have been around since night 1. All these shows are getting a bit stale and people want more, but Nick isn't listening.

Want a good example of a channel that's well-run? Check The Hub. They're only a year younger than TeenNick and a much smaller channel yet they (a) have plenty of original programming, both produced in-house and out-sourced, (b) don't devote excessive amounts of airtime to certain shows (their top dog show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, is usually on only 3-4 times a day in the morning), (c) have re-runs that aren't to the point of annoyance (Fraggle Rock is only on once at 7am and Batman: TAS is only on twice a day during the nighttime hours). And The Hub is basically on the same level as TeenNick ratings-wise and actual size. Now why is it The Hub is so much more successful with variety than this joke of a channel is?

How would I change TeenNick? I wouldn't, nothing would make me happier than to see this joke of a channel go under.

[mets82]

The problem I had or have with TeenNick is the fact that you cant get into any of the shows. I say that because you watch a show at one time and the next thing you know, it changes timeslots or it vanishes all together. I dont remember specific shows but I do remember it happening on more than one occasion.

[clj2]

I think making TeenNick its own channel was sort of a mistake. There hasn't been much of anything worth watching on there since it came on as its own network except for Growing Pains (which was on very little) and That '70s Show.

Then again, it's Viacom - my absolute least-favorite cable network operator. Their channels are garbage.

[TKMetal]

Do SOMETHING with The 90's Are All That block for a start. Why the same five shows over and over? They have the content, there's a demand. What's the deal?

[ajgenard]

Like every Viacom upstart channel, it begins well and with the blessings of the public. But sooner or later they all wind up as a colossal crapfest for the original audience. In reality this happens to almost every cable channel eventually but it seems Viacom's channels are hyped more and fall harder quicker. Reason #2031 that cable is no longer worth my money.

[ryan423]

This is one case where a conglomerate has done the polar opposite of what is expected by spreading their wings too thin and falling flat on their faces. You have all of this programming that could make Nickelodeon itself a much more diverse network. Instead you spin off a successful network without enough programming. There is no reason Degrassi couldn't have aired on Nick back when it debuted in the early '00s on a Friday or Saturday night. Snick was dying. TGIF was dead. THIS was their chance and they blew it. Then you've got a superstar in Dan Schneider and fail to produce enough episodes of any of his shows to appropriately air them twice a day, five times a week in reruns. Drake and Josh, Zoey 101... these were BIG shows for NICK, and they produced what, 50-60 episodes? Pathetic.

Viacom has the rights to a plethora of wonderful syndication favorites, and they always promote the hell out of their launch on one network only to move them to another. In a dream world, NICK, TV LAND, TEENNICK, NICK JR, etc would all be a single station. A show like Hot In Cleveland could have launched on Nick at Nite, a "'90s are all that" block could have been integrated into Nick at Nite on weekends, and Teennick originals could have formed a solid Friday night block. Think about it... Nick at Nite airs Friends and it does spectacular. Why not go the TBS route and try to launch a sitcom out of Friends, and a GOOD one at that? And you know how people have always said they'd love to see Nick at Nite extended? That's fine and dandy. Start it at 6pm! Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, That '70s Show, etc... Viacom holds the rights to some of the biggest sitcoms of the last two decades and beyond! It would work if this was all a single network. Program Nick Jr. from 6-10am, have regular Nick programming from 10-6 throwing in new original shows and old, and then start the biggest syndication hits in the evening.

Business keeps this from being simple.

[DSfan]

Originally Posted by ryan423

This is one case where a conglomerate has done the polar opposite of what is expected by spreading their wings too thin and falling flat on their faces. You have all of this programming that could make Nickelodeon itself a much more diverse network. Instead you spin off a successful network without enough programming. There is no reason Degrassi couldn't have aired on Nick back when it debuted in the early '00s on a Friday or Saturday night. Snick was dying. TGIF was dead. THIS was their chance and they blew it. Then you've got a superstar in Dan Schneider and fail to produce enough episodes of any of his shows to appropriately air them twice a day, five times a week in reruns. Drake and Josh, Zoey 101... these were BIG shows for NICK, and they produced what, 50-60 episodes? Pathetic.

Viacom has the rights to a plethora of wonderful syndication favorites, and they always promote the hell out of their launch on one network only to move them to another. In a dream world, NICK, TV LAND, TEENNICK, NICK JR, etc would all be a single station. A show like Hot In Cleveland could have launched on Nick at Nite, a "'90s are all that" block could have been integrated into Nick at Nite on weekends, and Teennick originals could have formed a solid Friday night block. Think about it... Nick at Nite airs Friends and it does spectacular. Why not go the TBS route and try to launch a sitcom out of Friends, and a GOOD one at that? And you know how people have always said they'd love to see Nick at Nite extended? That's fine and dandy. Start it at 6pm! Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, That '70s Show, etc... Viacom holds the rights to some of the biggest sitcoms of the last two decades and beyond! It would work if this was all a single network. Program Nick Jr. from 6-10am, have regular Nick programming from 10-6 throwing in new original shows and old, and then start the biggest syndication hits in the evening.

Business keeps this from being simple.

This is actually ridiculously true. Well put.

[LUNCH]

How many 'Nick' channels are there now anyhow? 10? Showing the same stuff on many of their channels,and/or just filling the schedule with mostly useless programming in between commercials.Absurd.How do you fix them? Take them off the air along with a lot of other useless channels that make-up the cable line-up.