Nick deal brings more kids to Netflix

Global streaming giant Netflix has announced a multi-year output deal with US-based Viacom-owned kids’ network Nickelodeon.

Melissa Cobb

The deal will create original series and feature films based on Nickelodeon characters and new IP to be distributed globally on Netflix.

The deal extends the companies’ existing relationship which has seen animated specials based on Nickelodeon titles appear on Netflix including Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling and Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. Future specials coming to Netflix will be based on The Loud House and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

“Nickelodeon’s next step forward is to keep expanding beyond linear platforms. Our broader content partnership with Netflix is a key path toward that goal,” said Brian Robbins, president of Nickelodeon.

“The Nickelodeon Animation Studio is home to the world-class artists and storytellers behind some of the most iconic characters and shows ever made and our head of animation, Ramsey Naito, has been building on that legacy over the past year by ramping up development and production exponentially.”

Children’s content is a major battlefield in the so-called streaming wars. Amazon Prime has opted out entirely https://www.c21media.net/amazon-explains-kids-originals-shift/ of making original kids’ content but for Netflix, about 60% of its subscribers watch children’s and family content regularly. Its Nickelodeon expansion was announced on the day Disney+ launched in the US, Canada and Netherlands – attracting 10 million subscriptions in its first 24 hours.

“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 VP of original animation Melissa Cobb.