Why Does the Nick Jr Block Needs to Shut Down?
On January 4, 1988, a new programming block dedicated to kids aged 2-6 was born. It was called Nick Jr. During its early days, Nick was no stranger to airing educational shows like Pinwheel and Today's Special. Preschool programming was becoming more common by the late 80s, so a preschool block was inevitable. The shows that aired during its first week were Today's Special, Pinwheel, Sharon Lois Bram, Maple Town, Belle and Sebastian, David the Gnome, and Little Koala. As you can see, this block was known for playing anime during its early days. But once Nick started producing more original shows for the little kids, they left the lineup. And thus, shows like Eureeka's Castle, Allegra's Window, Gullah Gullah Island, Blue's Clues were their established originals. The Nick Jr block was a success and it led to a 24/7 educational channel called Noggin (before it was changed to Nick Jr in 2009). During the 2000s, it had shows such as Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Go Diego Go, The Wonder Pets, Ni Hao, Kai-lan. Then the 2010s came and there were shows like Team Umizoomi, Bubble Guppies, PAW Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, and Shimmer & Shine. Throughout the years, Nick aired a bunch of acquisitions, some of them coming from Canada (like Little Bear and Franklin).
However, as many of you are aware, since the mid 2010s, it is normal for cable television networks to overplay a show because it makes ratings for them. That wouldn't be too bad if certain shows didn't take half of the entire schedule, screwing other shows in the progress. Cartoon Network was hit by this the worst during 2017, and they've recovered since then. Nick Jr was once a safe haven from shows being overplayed, but one show stood out. That show is PAW Patrol. It is a cash cow and it makes a ton of money for Spin Master and Nick. You can't escape from this show at all, whether it's from the merch and the scheduling. So why do I want this block to go away even though it's been one of their longest running blocks next to Nick @ Nite? The answer is simple (and the same thing applies to Disney Junior as well) - it's pointless as it already has a 24/7 channel. Toddlers can watch their favorite shows any time they want. The big problem comes from the availability as Nick Jr and Disney Junior are in less homes than their parent channels. It's not gonna happen any time soon, but my fantasy schedule for Nick this year downright removed preschool education so that Nick can be an actual channel for older kids for 14 hours. It doesn't help that PAW Patrol's turning 10 this year and they're going to keep milking those marathons for all their worth (even on the Nick Jr channel, which the nighttime schedule is just this show). John Flannery just can't run a kids network lineup for beans, and his adoration for PAW Patrol is the worst of them all (though the movie spam is just as bad). It will be a sad day when the Nick Jr block finally comes to an end, but it's for the best. Thanks to today's tv climate, shows that aren't popular barely gets to shine these days. This journal's very short, but the reason I provided is self explanatory to anyone reading this.
