No more Noggin?

I just heard that Nickelodeon is absorbing Noggin and renaming the channel Nick Jr. I sure hope they don’t do away with Moose A. Moose – he’s our favorite! And he represents all things Noggin! According to the press release I read, the change shouldn’t be too big of a deal – mostly in name. We shall see, I guess.

As Nickelodeon enters its landmark 30th anniversary year, the number-one kids’ network will unify the TV channels (Noggin, The N, Nicktoons Network) and web sites (Nick.com, Neopets.com, AddictingGames.com, among others) from its top-ranked portfolio under the single, globally recognized brand “Nickelodeon”—beginning 4Q 2009. This philosophy of ‘one brand’ signals Nickelodeon’s continued move toward serving the whole family through TV, online, consumer products, recreation and theatricals, as well as heightening its ability to seamlessly navigate audiences across its targeted entertainment platforms for everything from Dora, SpongeBob, AddictingGames and iCarly, to George Lopez, Degrassi and ParentsConnect.com.

Bringing together the entire multiplatform portfolio under the single Nickelodeon umbrella will reinforce Nick’s leadership in the marketplace as a global brand serving the whole family, with kids always at the center. A ‘one brand’ philosophy also allows audiences to easily find the content they want across multiple screens, and it anticipates the platform agnostic media environment and single currency that the audience and industry are moving toward.

Noggin will be renamed Nick Jr., retaining its quality schedule of commercial-free, preschool-focused programming. The N assumes the name TEENick and will further develop and deliver on its mission of serving teens and tweens through programming reflecting the breadth and depth of ‘teen-dom’. Nicktoons Network retains its name while continuing to organically grow its boy 6-11 audience through hit, action-oriented animated programming like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Marvel’s Wolverine and the X-Men and the forthcoming Iron Man series. Also, Nick.com will expand to become a hub for Nickelodeon’s entire digital network of properties and brands, and will continue to serve as the leading content destination for kids.

Guess we’ve got a few more months to love on Moose A. Moose and Zee!