Development Alert (Rumour): Noggin Streaming Service Reportedly Shutting Down Soon

Noggin is an educational brand that was started in September 1999 before being replaced by Nick Jr. in 2009. Similar to Da Vinci, it started as a TV channel for a preteen audience featuring educational programs and other factual content like The Electric Company, Ghostwriter and 3-2-1 Contact.

it was revived as a streaming service by Paramount Global and Sesame Workshop featuring a line-up of original content outside of Nick Jr alongside archived material. Internationally, it is being distributed by Prime Video in the UK, Germany, France and Austria.

During the week, Paramount Global had made headlines after it was reported that they'll be laying off 800 employees. This included Liz Paulson, head of animation and live-action at Nickelodeon and Geoff Stier, SVP, Original Programming at Showtime Networks.

It had also been suggested by other sources that Noggin team's had also been affected by these layoffs. Similar to the parent company, there was reports going around that Paramount was looking to sell share in the venture.

New leads have pointed toward the company looking to shut down the streaming service. Although not official, Paramount had shuttered apps for Nickelodeon, BET and Comedy Central so it's likely that latter should it be true will probably integrate with Paramount+.

Paramount Global Layoffs: Paramount TV Studios Combines Development & Current, Other Senior Executives Impacted

Details are starting to emerge about the major round of layoffs Tuesday at Paramount Global impacting about 800 employees in the U.S.

Headed into today’s reductions, there had been chatter about Paramount TV Studios possibly downsizing. The studio, led by Nicole Clemens, has remained independent from the larger CBS Studios as the two combined support operations in November 2022 by centralizing finance, law, production, business affairs and casting.

Paramount TV Studios, which absorbed Paramount+’s scripted originals team in 2022, is now streamlining its programming operations by consolidating development and current under Head of Development Jana Helman, who will continue to report to studio president Clemens.

Leaving are Cheryl Bosnak, PTVS’s EVP and Head of Current; Kate Gill, SVP Development; Julie Katchen, VP of Current; and Devin Crossfield, Manager, Development.

Also departing is PTVS’ SVP and Head of Communications Dominic Pagone, who moved into the role a year ago after five years at Showtime and 18 at FX. CBS Studios and PTVS’ communications operations are now being consolidated under CBS Studios’ EVP Communications Kristen Hall.

CBS Studios and Paramount TV Studios’ development/current teams will remain separate.

PTVS established a stand-alone current department in 2019 when former Disney ABC current executive Bosnak was brought in to lead it.

All Paramount divisions are said to be impacted by the layoffs.

At Nickelodeon, Liz Paulson, head of animation and live-action casting and talent development for the network and studio content for third-party platforms, is leaving. The division’s talent department is being decentralized, I hear. Nick’s animation department has been significantly impacted, with close to 10 layoffs on both coasts.

Other notable TV executive departures so far include Brie Neimand, SVP, Current, Cable and Streaming Series at CBS Studios, who has been at the studio for 2 1/2 years; and Geoff Stier, SVP, Original Programming at Showtime Networks, who has been there for five years.

Today’s layoffs represent about 3% of Paramount’s global head count. At the start of 2023, Paramount had 24,500 full- and part-time employees in 37 countries, with another 5,800 project-based staffers.

“To those with whom we are parting ways, we are incredibly grateful for your hard work and dedication,” Paramount CEO Bob Bakish wrote in a company memo at the start of the layoffs this morning. “Your talents have helped us advance our mission of unleashing the power of content around the world.”

Like other traditional media companies, Paramount has been hampered by a slowdown in advertising as it navigates the transition from linear TV to streaming.

Renewals Or Cancellations: Hamster And Gretel + Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur + Kiff + Big City Greens + The Villains Of Valley View + Ravens Home On Disney Channel

Last month, Disney opted to scrap Secrets Of Sulphur Springs and The Ghost And Molly McGee after their current seasons on Disney Channel. This news comes after the brand had announced the cancellation of Bunk'd and Saturdays as they look to reduce content costs and focus more on existing IPs.

Some IPs slated to air across various international feeds include Playdate With Winnie The Pooh and The Little Mermaid for Disney Junior and Phineas And Ferb Season 5 and Monsters At Work for Disney Channel.

Following these cancellations, fans of the networks have been in an uproar wondering what fate awaits their remaining offering. As some readers are aware, Disney is rumoured to have axed Pretty Freekin Scary and although there's still no official confirmation the company has been known for doing it's content dirty (e.g. Milo Murphy's Law).

Below a list of various content on the Disney Channel and their status

Renewals

Big City Greens Season 4

Hamster And Gretel Season 2

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur Season 2 (exclusive to Disney+ in EMEA)

Kiff Season 2

Cancelled/Ending

Bunk'd Season 7

Secrets Of Sulphur Springs Season 4

The Ghost And Molly McGee Season 2

Saturdays Season 1

Unknown

Raven's Home (currently on season 6)

The Villains Of Valley View (currently on season 4)

Hailey's On It (currently on season 1)

Pretty Freekin Scary (currently on season 1)

Development Alert (Rumour): That Girl Lay Lay To End With A Season 2 On Nickelodeon???

That Girl Lay Lay is an American comedy television series created by David A. Arnold that premiered on Nickelodeon on September 23, 2021. The series stars That Girl Lay Lay, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, Tiffany Daniels, Thomas Hobson, Peyton Perrine III, and Caleb Brown.

Synopsis for That Girl Lay Lay

Struggling to make her mark at school and needing a best friend to talk to, Sadie wishes that Lay Lay, an artificially intelligent avatar from a personal affirmation app, were real and could help teach her how to stand out. When her wish comes true and Lay Lay is magically brought to life, they navigate life as teenagers and discover who they truly are, all while trying to keep Lay Lay's identity hidden.

The first season premiered on September 23, 2021 and consisted of 13 episodes and surprising the second season premiered July 14, 2022 with 39 episodes set to be produced basically tripling the first seasons commission.

During the week, several viewers had spotted the second season to That Girl Lay Lay on Nicktoons leading some to speculate it's possible demise. Although, there has yet to be official confirmation it's been a norm for Nickelodeon to use their secondary networks when axing shows.

That Girl Lay Lay's possible demise would follow Erin And Aaron and Danger Force as a number of Nickelodeon originals to have been culled in the year. Even fellow competitors Disney Channel's content slate had been cut with Bunk'd and Secrets Of Sulphur Springs.

Goblins Of Litter | Before Courage | Courage The Cowardly Dog | Cartoon Network

Before Courage was a scrapped prequel revival series to the Cartoon Network series, Courage the Cowardly Dog initially made for release on the Boomerang channel. Although development for the series' pilot began in late 2018, it was later shelved due to the management team at Cartoon Network prioritizing their focus to other properties.

In October 2018, Dilworth commented on a Facebook post that he was in negotiations with Boomerang for a prequel to the series. Later that month, Dilworth announced on Facebook that development on a "potential prequel" to Courage for Boomerang was expected to begin.[1] However, in May 2020, when asked about the project, Dilworth responded that it had been "transformed into another thing". Albeit not confirmed, it could be presumed that he may have referred to the Scooby Doo crossover, Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog.

In June 2021, Dilworth revealed that the project was on turnaround as Cartoon Network's management is prioritizing their focus on other projects. In January 2022, Dilworth revealed that the project has already been dropped and fell through for the same reason.

In February 2024, Dilworth posted the animatic pilot for the series, titled "Goblins of Litter", onto his YouTube channel.

Recap To Last Month: Disney Junior Trademark To Be Shortened To DJr

Last month, it was revealed through United States Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO) that Disney had filed a new trademark for Disney Junior known simply as DJr. This would be brand's first official rebrand following its inception back in 2011 in place of Playhouse Disney.

For several years, companies had been simplifying their logos and now they look to expand this to a younger demographic. For starters, there's CBeebies and PBS Kids whose current logos had been aligned to match of existing brands operated by BBC Studios and PBS.

Disney Junior's first logo is currently being used across several platforms with some minor modifications in other countries. Now this one seems bland and lifeless but this is only what's currently seen on paper and may not be the future of the whole brand.

If anything the font and styling used on Junior (Jr) implies that they could some playful aspects. Now with Disney Junior (soon to be DJr) is getting a complete makeover one has to wonder whether some of these aspects could spread to their other channels.

I mean the idea wouldn't seem far fetched, Disney Channel could simply be the "D" while Disney XD is DXD. But then again, the current logo for Disney XD had been simplified from the start while Disney Channel has more of that in Europe than the main market so it's either way.

Interesting to note, DreamWorks Channel and the block DreamWorks Junior have the same initials as Disney Channel and Disney Junior - DC/D and DJR.

Below is an ident to the upcoming rebrand: