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CBS All Access is bulking up.
The subscription video platform is adding children’s programming from Viacom-backed Nickelodeon in one of the first moves ahead of the media titans’ Dec. 4 merger. The news was announced Monday, the same day that kids programming from Boat Rocker Studios (Danger Mouse) and WildBrain (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs) began streaming on CBS All Access.
The Boat Rocker and WildBrain deals, announced in August, see the Marc DeBevoise-led streamer land library titles including The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Inspector Gadget, Madeline and Bob the Builder, among others. As part of that pact, CBS All Access will be rolling out new original seasons of Cloudy and Danger Mouse as the platform doubles down on kids programming.
“Bringing children’s programming to CBS All Access is a significant step toward providing even more value for our subscribers, and now for their children as well,” said the recently promoted DeBevoise. “We’re bringing to market a fantastic roster of exclusive originals along with a library of marquee series for families, and we look forward to continuing to expand our children’s programming offering, especially with the future addition of incredible programming from Nickelodeon.”
While it’s unclear which library titles from Nickelodeon will head to CBS All Access, it’s safe to assume that hit titles like SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer will be included, as Viacom currently doesn’t have another subscription streaming platform to house them. Nickelodeon famously pulled its library titles from Netflix years ago in a bid to stem its linear ratings downfall.
The Nickelodeon-CBS All Access deal arrives shortly after Viacom agreed to create and produce new original series and spinoffs of some of its beloved titles (like SpongeBob) for Netflix in a deal worth an estimated $200 million.
Monday’s news reinforces Viacom’s larger strategy of being both an arms dealer — providing content to competitors — while also servicing its own platforms. In an interview with THR last week, Nickelodeon president Brian Robbins noted that his network’s streaming strategy would become more crystallized in the coming years as parent company Viacom and CBS figured things out.
Joining CBS All Access’ kids programming slate are new seasons of Cloudy and Danger Mouse as well as the libraries for the latter, Bob the Builder, Inspector Gadget, Madeline, Heathcliff and The Adventures of Paddington Bear. The platform’s library of children’s programming is expected to grow to more than 1,000 episodes as additional series are added over the coming weeks.
In a larger sense, kids programming has emerged as a top priority among streaming services with Disney+ having its massive library, Apple TV+ teaming with Peanuts and Sesame Workshop and the forthcoming HBO Max having Sesame Street.
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