Nickelodeon acquires Sesame Workshop's interest in Noggin

Phillip

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Just got this from Noggin...

NICKELODEON ACQUIRES SESAME WORKSHOP’S 50% INTEREST IN NOGGIN

Network Joins MTV Networks’ Stable of Wholly Owned Channels

Noggin, Sesame Workshop Enter Multi-Year Production Agreement

Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop have signed an agreement in which Nickelodeon has acquired Sesame Workshop’s 50% interest in Noggin, pending customary regulatory approvals, it was announced today by Tom Freston, Chairman, MTV Networks. Mr. Freston also announced that the 24-hour network for kids and tweens will be operated and managed by Nickelodeon, reporting to Herb Scannell, President, Nickelodeon, TV Land and The New TNN.

Launched in February 1998, Noggin is now seen more than 25 million homes via cable, digital cable and satellite television, and will continue its mission to educate and help kids figure out their lives and the world around them. Noggin General Manager Tom Ascheim will continue to oversee the network’s day-to-day operations, reporting to Mr. Scannell. Noggin will maintain its commercial-free format of award-winning preschool programming from 6 am-6 pm followed by its tween-targeted block “The N” from 6 pm-6 am. Noggin will also continue to operate its two websites for preschoolers (www.noggin.com) and tweens (www.the-n.com) as key components in its programming philosophy.

“We are thrilled to have Noggin fully in our family,” Freston said. “The cable and satellite industry loves Noggin – it’s got great distribution and it’s been a real asset in the marketing of digital television. Noggin is another strong youth brand for our company to have under our umbrella. The network does a terrific job connecting with young people.”

Added Herb Scannell, “We are very proud of our relationship with Sesame Workshop in conceiving and launching Noggin, and we look forward to developing more original series for the network with them in the years to come. Noggin has already experienced tremendous creative growth with its fresh approach in developing original series such as “A Walk in Your Shoes,” “Play With Me Sesame” and “Degrassi: The Next Generation” to complement its award-winning library of programming from Sesame Workshop and Nickelodeon. We look forward to continuing to build Noggin on its path to becoming a leading channel for kids and tweens.”

“We are very proud of our role in co-founding Noggin. It has created an opportunity to make some of our best award-winning shows from our library available again.” said Gary Knell, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop. “We felt the time was right to change our relationship with Nickelodeon and use the proceeds from this transaction to launch research, development and content around our exciting global agenda to foster respect and understanding among children.”

Nickelodeon has entered into a multi-year agreement for the development of new original series for Noggin with Sesame Workshop. Noggin’s programming lineup will continue to feature the library of educational series from Sesame Workshop, including prior seasons of its gold standard, Sesame Street, for three more years. Play with Me Sesame, the new original interactive program based on Sesame Street, will continue to be produced and run exclusively on Noggin for seven years.

Noggin will also continue to feature co-produced series from Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop as part of its regular programming lineup. These series include Sponk!, a comedy improvisational series for 8- to 12-year-olds that helps kids develop their ability to solve problems, cooperate, and think creatively; Tiny Planets, a fantastical comic adventure series that stimulates the curiosity of children three to six about the world around them; and Two Down Under, a program that uses the combined power of television and the web to develop resilience in 9-14-year-olds.

In April, Noggin repositioned itself by extending its preschool programming block and introducing a tween-targeted block. The daytime block (6 AM to 6 PM), titled “Noggin,” features award-winning programming for preschoolers including the new interactive program Play With Me Sesame as well as acclaimed series such as Blue’s Clues, Little Bear and the original Sesame Street. The evening block (6 PM to 6 AM), titled “The N,” introduced original and acquired series targeted to and designed for tweens (ages 9-14), including Degrassi: The Next Generation, that offers honest, true-to-life programming that speaks directly to that age group.

Nickelodeon, now in its 23rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines, music and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 85 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic-cable network for more than six consecutive years.

Sesame Workshop is a not-for-profit educational organization that stands alone in its ability to creatively help meet major educational and developmental needs that affect children around the world. For over 30 years, the Workshop has created innovative and engaging media to help children reach their highest potential. The organization grounds its work in research to understand how multi-media platforms help children learn, develop and grow. Best known as the creators of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat airing on PBS, the Workshop continues to break new ground with Noggin, the only 24-hour kids’ thinking channel. Find the Workshop online at www.sesameworkshop.org.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, NICKELODEON/NICK at NITE, TV LAND, THE NEW TNN, CMT and the THE SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of nine digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide. In addition, MTV Networks operates the MTVi Group and Nickelodeon Online, a portfolio of leading Internet properties built to address every interest of today's music fan and Internet-savvy kid.
 

FellowWLover

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Hmm... wonder if this means that I will get Noggin now.
 

dvakman

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You may be more likely to see Noggin on different cable lineups, but SS Unpaved probably will be gone by then.
 

scarecroe

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Originally posted by dvakman
You may be more likely to see Noggin on different cable lineups, but SS Unpaved probably will be gone by then.
Well, that's no way to talk "Mr. Negative." Given SW's new role here, there's a better chance that it will stay in place. This is to say of course if Noggin really was planning to slowly phase it out. We never got that officially confirmed. Besides, even if it is gone, there are plenty of other cool shows on Noggin like Play With Me Sesame and Tiny Planets.
 

Phillip

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Here's a little more info...

Nickelodeon buys out Noggin from Sesame partner
Courtesy of Yahoo News

Children's network Nickelodeon doubled the size of its Noggin Wednesday, buying out the other 50 percent of the educational cable channel seen in 25 million homes from joint venture partner Sesame Workshop.

Nickelodeon, a unit of media giant Viacom Inc. , wants to use Noggin to further sell the benefits of digital cable. Cable networks are betting that as digital cable reaches more homes, niche channels will gain a wider audience.

"We've been pretty successful in the roll-out of digital offerings," Nickelodeon President Herb Scannell said in an interview. "We see the growth of digital distribution as something we're optimistic about and we want to have a portfolio of cable networks in the digital space."

Noggin will continue to show programming developed by Sesame Workshop, the not-for-profit educational organization that developed the pioneering children's show "Sesame Street," which will air on Noggin for three more years.

Sesame Workshop said it cashed out of the venture to help pay for last year's acquisition of the Sesame Street Muppets characters from German media firm EM.TV & Merchandising AG . It also wants to use the money to conduct further research on children's attitudes to develop new programming.

"We have always been primarily a content provider ... We're not a channel operator and I think that's what Nickelodeon is really fantastic at," Sesame Workshop Chief Executive Gary Knell said in an interview from Japan. "This gives us the ability to have some resources and to grow our content base going forward."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Scannell said Noggin is profitable.

Launched in February 1998, Noggin features the first "Sesame Street" spin-off, "Play with Me Sesame," which will continue to be shown on Noggin for seven years, and "A Walk in Your Shoes," where kids swap places to experience each other's lives.

Noggin is a 24-hour, commercial-free network geared toward younger children during the day and older, so-called tweens at night.

The network began as a joint venture because both Nickelodeon and Sesame were individually exploring the idea of a new channel for children at a time when digital channels were still a shaky proposition, Scannell said.

"Our two names together made for a compelling proposition out of the gate," he said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020808/tv_nm/noggin_2
 

scarecroe

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You know what? I think I read the first one backwards. Press releases give me a headache.
 

ssetta

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When you said that Sesame Street will be on Noggin for 3 more years, did you mean Unpaved, Season 25, or Season 30, the newest ones they currently have?
 

dvakman

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I'm not Mr. Negative, I'm just being realistic. Noggin is no longer owned by CTW. Nickelodeon is paying lip service to CTW out of courtesy, but if anyone seriously thinks that CTW programming is going to expand after this acquisition, I'll respect their phenomenal optimism. And I predict that Nick will axe Unpaved from their schedule faster than you can say "Clarissa". I hope that doesn't heppen, but the show was already marginalized when CTW owned half of the channel, so what now?

:confused:
 

Jackie

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I hope this doesn't effect Bill Nye the Science Guy... LOL! He's almost as good as Beakman!
 
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