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Many prominent news sources have been crying that the sky is falling for Viacom because of a Nickelodeon ratings slump. And once again, everyone’s favorite scapegoat Netflix has been paraded as a probable reason why less kids are tuning in to Nick’s TV channels.
However, Philippe Dauman dismissed these assertions. Says Dauman “Even if you viewed that as being completely cannibalistic – which of course it is not, it serves our customers in places where they might not otherwise be able to watch television and it serves some promotional value – there is minor impact there.”
Because Netflix only represents less than 25% of all households, the amount of time spent streaming Nick content represents only about 2%, according to Dauman. In fact, he told analysts that Viacom has plans to make changes on the Nick channels to improve their perceived value by their young target audience.
Audience research of new programming will be one step toward correcting the slumped ratings. Trends are fluid, and the favorites of yesteryear – SpongeBob and Phineas & Ferb – are not what the new generation of kids growing up want to watch.
“Nickelodeon is stepping up to the plate in a major way with the creative community, with its own programming teams,” says Dauman. “Our marketing partners are very pleased with what they’re seeing. there was a very good reaction to the Nickelodeon upfront presentation. It’s a very exciting lineup.”
Source: http://www.multichannel.com/article/483984-Dauman_Netflix_No_Impact_on_Nick_Ratings.php
