Speaking of said drivel, why do kids of today eat the stuff up? It's not entertaining, nor is it truly beneficial for said kids in the long run, anyway.
Cuz it's hip? Seriously, I feel that people would set their selves on fire and jump into oncoming traffic if they were told it was "hip." And that's not something new, either.
And how hip are these? take a show called Yo Gabba Gabba... the characters were designed to look like 1970's Japanese kids shows, something I give them credit for. Apparently, they're so hip, Kid Robot made large vynal dolls of them for adult collectors. BUT don't be fooled. It may look like a 1970's Japanese kid show, but Brother, it doesn't feel like one. I've seen some of them myself, especially Kure Kure Takora (look it up!), and it's pretty violent, weird and wild stuff. Curse Kid Robot for not getting the license to Kure Kure Takora instead.
But this is starting to get wildly off topic... suffice to say, a LOT of the changes SS has made reflected the Nick Jr. style of programming. Journey to Ernie was meant to reflect Dora and Blue style of education.... of course, frankly, SS did a better job when they actually worked with it. Even then, everything BUT EW and occasionally Hewo Guy has been erased from the show... JTE, Monster Clubhouse, and especially the epic failure of "Time to Play."
The point of the matter is, SS wants to change back to the glory days... but they smurfed themselves royally, and can't change out of fear of losing that audience.