Connecting to the Future

Herb Scannell, the president of Nickelodeon, was recently at a dinner in New York City when he met expectant mother Karenna Gore Schiff, the eldest daughter of Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper.

“I was talking to her before the dinner and she said, ‘I used to watch Nickelodeon when I was a kid,’ ” says Scannell. “There she is pregnant talking about watching Nick. There are people who have connections to Nick beyond their own childhood. In many ways, that is what is kind of the interesting part of Nick’s future--the Nickelodeon generation is going to start to have kids of their own.”

After a modest beginning in just two cities on April 1, 1979, the hip, nostalgic and clever Nickelodeon moves into its 20th year seen in 75 million homes. For the past three years, Nick has been the most-watched basic cable network.

“More kids watch Nickelodeon in prime time than any broadcast or cable network,” says Scannell. “More kids watch Nickelodeon Saturday morning than any broadcast or cable network. Who would have thunk 20 years ago that a cable network would outperform any broadcast network in what had traditionally been the bastion for broadcasting on Saturday morning?”

Nickelodeon has seemingly earned the undying devotion of kids of all ages with its dogged determination to tap into the tykes’ psyche. The cable network offers a veritable smorgasbord of animation along the lines of the incredibly popular “Rugrats”; live-action and variety series like “Kenan & Kel”; games shows, including the popular “Family Double Dare”; and educational and informational series like “Nick News,” which is produced and hosted by award-winning journalist Linda Ellerbee.

In celebration of its 20th birthday, Nick is throwing itself a huge party. Part of the celebration Sunday includes episodes of vintage Nick series that feature some of today’s hottest teen dreams in their early years: Melissa Joan Hart and James Van Der Beek on “Clarissa Explains it All,” Neve Campbell on “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and Alanis Morrisette on “You Can’t Do That on Television.”

But back when Nick began, its only competition was the broadcast networks and PBS’ “Sesame Street.” The kids TV ‘ landscape has changed radically, though, in the past two decades. Fox, WB, UPN, Fox Family Channel, the Disney Channel, and syndication have been aggressively trying to lure some of Nick’s audience.

Scannell is blase about the competition: “Through all [the types of competition], Nickelodeon has emerged and become the top choice for kids.”

In fact, having 20 years experience, says Cyma Zarghami, executive vice president and general manager, gives them an advantage over all comers. “We understand our audience,” she says. “We have been living in a competitive environment for some time now.”

Nickelodeon’s secret, Scannell says, is that the programming doesn’t talk down to children. “We embrace their sense of humor. We put characters in starring vehicles who look like them.”

“You see kids of color and of a variety of ethnicity,” says Scannell. “I think we have made it a point to refect a world of kids and reflect the things that are important to a kid.”

Five times a year, Nick talks to kids all over the country at market research facilities. “We go out and find out what is going on in kids’ lives,” says Zarghami. “We can use that to help inform the development process. For every show we develop, we do a bunch of pilots and we go in and ask kids what they think. [All shows] are kid tested and kid approved.”

Through the years, though, Nick programming has subtly changed. “Kids change a little bit every year,” she says. “We kept pace with that. If you took a look at a 10 year span, the evolution has been natural.”

The network plans to continue to keep a balance of live action and animation series. “We are launching a live action series in the fall,” says Scannell. “We launched a couple of animated shows this summer. We have always had a healthier appetite for live action than other people.”

Nickelodeon also successfully branched out into several ancillary businesses, including motion pictures, the Internet, magazines, books, toys, apparel and home furnishings.

After its 1998 “Rugrats: The Movie” made $100 million at the box office, Nick plans to do one animated feature a year, along with one or two live-action films. Its latest live-action comedy, “Snow Day,” with Chevy Chase, is due for release later this year.

In February, Nick launched three new digital channels that are slowly rolling out across the country: Noggin, the first educational network for kids, is a 50-50 partnership with the Children’s Television Workshop; Games and Sports, a.k.a. Gas, celebrates the games kids play; and Nick 2, which is a second feed of Nickelodeon. And in September Nick is scheduled to introduce Nozzle, the first online registered community for kids. “Kids will have the opportunity to chat and provide e-mail in a safe environment,” says Scannell.

Innovation, he adds, is the key to Nick’s future. “When I got involved in developing programs, what I thought was great about kids’ television was that there was so much that hasn’t been done. I still think that is true.”