Netflix Teams Up With Nickelodeon to Take On Disney+ Success

Published on November 14, 2019

Jennifer Aniston hit 1 million followers on Instagram within 5 hours, breaking the Guinness World Records. Well, Disney just broke that record, bringing over 10 million subscribers to its Disney+ streaming platform in less than 24 hours.

As the battle for streaming rights continues, media giants realize the powerhouse that is Disney, hoping to stay alive in what seems to be very rough waters. Today, Netflix responded to the Disney+ mania by signing a $200 million deal with Nickelodeon to bring new movies, television shows, and intellectual property to its platform, based on old and new characters from the network. In its announcement,

While it may seem like a strange partnership, this isn’t the first time Netflix and Nickelodeon have worked together, recently bringing “Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling” and “Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus” to its platform.

Back in 2013, Netflix suffered a major blow when it lost the Viacom programming, as Reed Hastings, Netflix’s Chief Executive hinted at in a CNBC interview. Of course, “Spongebob Squarepants” and “Dora the Explorer” were part of the platform from 2013 up and until Amazon Prime acquired exclusive streaming rights.

In June 2013, Amazon and Viacom announced a major deal, worth more than $200 million, that would give Viacom, the world’s largest Internet retailer even more access to shows, which included “Blues Clues,” “Victorious” and “The Backyardigans.” MTV and Comedy Central’s series such as “Awkward,” “Tosh.0,” and “Workaholics” to the Prime platform.

Last year, Nickelodeon teamed up with AT&T launching a streaming service that included throwback shows such as “CatDog” and “Doug” which I grew up on. As of now, it is unclear as to where those shows will be headed, if anywhere…(cough) (cough) HBO Max.

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,” Netflix vice president of original animation, Melissa Cobb said in a statement. 

According to Netflix, this latest partnership is to unite kids and families around the world, bringing them family-friendly content.

Nickelodeon’s next step forward is to keep expanding beyond linear platforms, and our broader content partnership with Netflix is a key path toward that goal,” said Brian Robbins, President of Nickelodeon. “The ideas and work at our Studio are flowing, and we can’t wait to work with Melissa and the Netflix team on a premium slate of original animated content for kids and families around the world.

Andrew "Drew" Rossow is a former contract editor at Grit Daily.

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