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Rejoice, fellow millennials – Kenan, Kel and Clarissa are back on TV.
Starting Oct. 5, TeenNick’s nighttime lineup welcomes a few new faces – that is, faces from 20 years ago that will look new (and possibly strange) to its teen/tween audience.
Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., Ren, Stimpy, Kenan, Kel, Pizzaface, CatDog and Rocko himself join the TeenNick world in a new programming block and online/social hub called The Splat.
A nostalgic throwback to the ‘90s shows beloved by millennials, The Splat is planning to air a mix of live-action and animated shows of the era including All That, Angry Beavers, Are You Afraid of the Dark, CatDog, Clarissa Explains It All, Hey Arnold!, Hey Dude, Kenan & Kel, Ren & Stimpy, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Rocko’s Modern Life, Rugrats, Salute Your Shorts and The Wild Thornberrys.
According to Keith Dawkins, SVP and general manager of Nicktoons, TeenNick and Nick Jr., millennials themselves inspired the network to bring back these once-popular programsl.
Dawkins calls The Splat a “fan-led idea,” which started with millennials crying out for these shows to return via social channels.
“That’s the beauty of the world that we live in,” said Dawkins, “is you can have this two-way conversation. We can talk to you on whatever platform you live on and you can give feedback to me in real time. That’s how we’ll make choices going forward, that constant two-way conversation.”
Similar to MTV’s fan initiative where the network hires superfans to lead its brand messaging, Nickelodeon started The Splat Pack, a group of employees that also happen to be millennial fans of ‘90s Nickelodeon.
“We don’t want to force ideas into the mix,” said Dawkins. “The whole idea has been fan-based, so an informal Splat Pack was formed to keep that authenticity. I can’t think of a decision that we weren’t tapping into their help for.”
The Splat Pack has so far helped with the logo, spot choices, programming choices, even the name The Splat. Nickelodeon has been using its social channels to tease the launch of The Splat (even before the name was announced) for weeks.
The linear programming block on TeenNick extends to seven social media platforms and a dedicated website for fans to talk about and react to the content. Like the Splat Pack, fans of the programming block may also have input about how The Splat changes over time as well. Dawkins says that their feedback could influence new shows they add to the time slot, how the content is distributed or how they promote it going forward.
The programming block also extends past just the shows millennials grew up with, also including programming stunts of old like Nick or Treat and old interstitials fans will remember.
The Splat is launching with theme weeks and promotional stunts as well, starting off with Rugrats Reptar Takeover and Hey Arnold! Live from the Stoop (featuring popular episodes with Reptar and the Stoop Kid, respectively).
And while Nickelodeon fully plans on using the power of fellow Viacom channels to promote The Splat, cross-promotion is a tougher obstacle. TeenNick caters to teens and tweens, while the shows in this new block appeal mostly to older millennials who grew up with shows like All That and Ren & Stimpy.
This is why The Splat gets its own website, its own social channels and its own identity.
“The Splat is its own idea,” said Dawkins. “It’s dedicated to that ‘90s kid, that millennial generation who grew up on that Nick content of the day. It’s a completely different audience from TeenNick.”
An Emoji keyboard is also launching along with The Splat, with Nickelodeon-themed emoticons, stickers and GIFs of characters and moments from popular Nick shows with new content being added monthly.
“Most of all, it’s fun to see smiles on everyone’s faces talking about it,” said Dawkins. “These shows resonated with this audience - they all have their shows, the moment they liked. This takes them back to that time in their life.”
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