Nickelodeon, the self-proclaimed First Kids' Network, has designed its first-ever app that features free games, slideshows and interactive surveys. The free-floating components of the app are, of course, set against Nick's signature orange.
The app, designed to be what Nick executives refer to as a "ginormous grid of everything Nick," according to the New York Times, is a response to two years of intensive inquiries via child focus groups comprised of 9- and 10-year-olds that revealed children — Nick's core audience — aren't watching much television on their iPads.
This is why, in addition to making its most successful shows — iCarly, SpongeBob SquarePants and Victorious — available on tablets (for subscribers only), Nick decided to create the app which boasts a "noisy, colorful smorgasbord of animated clips, irreverent music videos and the occasional deluge of the network's trademark green slime."
More than a playful treat for children, the app also marks the first attempt by Nick's parent company Viacom to use its TV Everywhere (TVE) feature, which more and more cable providers are hoping will help keep viewers loyal to their cable/satellite contracts.
Initially enacted by Comcast and Time Warner in 2009, TV Everywhere is a system that allows service providers to ensure viewers streaming their On-Demand Internet television are actually paying subscribers. Some consumer groups have complained that the system stifles online television competition in a manner comparable to the creation of a monopoly.
"TV Everywhere is a given," says Nickelodeon President Cyma Zarghami. "We took our time to combine these two ideas of interactive games and snippets of shows," continues Zarghami, considering that longtime Nick competitor Disney Channel has already released apps that allow children to stream shows and engage in interactive "appisodes."
"Being first wasn't important to us," Zarghami says.
The fact that the Nick app focuses more on ancillaries over episodes heralds what Viacom may be considering for other channels under its umbrella, such as MTV, Comedy Central and VH1. The notion Viacom is using the app as a kind of pilot program for what it may do in the future is all the more salient, considering the company has yet to release any other official app for its channels.
"This is a creative sandbox for kids but it's also a creative sandbox for the company," said Steve Youngwood, Nickelodeon's executive vice president for digital.
The app is available as of Thursday, Feb. 21 at the App Store.
Like what you're reading? Follow @profklickberg.
