Two cases in point: “Home Improvement” with Tim Allen and “George Lopez,” which both premiered last September. Ratings have been soaring.

It's not a lesson lost. Now, heading into the upfront ad market, the network is looking to put on more dual-appeal shows, targeting kids who watch Nickelodeon during the day in addition to the adults Nick has long attracted at night, with the aim of deepening its pool of potential viewers.

As the primetime block for adults on Nickelodeon, Nick has been measured by Nielsen as a separate network for several years, and thought of as such.

That's less the case these days. “We are starting to talk about Nick at Nite as primetime on Nickelodeon,” says Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon and MTV Networks’ kids and family group. “It’s a subtle shift.”

The network’s identity
Nick at Nite long built its programming around reruns of former top network shows, and that's not changing, as Zarghami suggests. What is changing is the mix toward more shows adults and kids can watch together.

As much as anything that reflects an emerging social trend of time-pressed families spending what little time they may have together watching TV and choosing shows that have family-viewing appeal.

“A lot more households have two working parents or single parents, and kids are a lot busier,” she says. “So there’s this opportunity to watch television together, which seems to have made a big comeback.”

The network’s target audience
Nick at Nite targets adults 18-49 but it’s expanding its focus to include kids.

The network’s ratings
Nick at Nite’s audience tumbled 12 percent from 2006 to 2007, but it’s been rebounding since premiering “Home” and “George.”

In first quarter, its audience was up 32 percent over the same time in 2007, to 1.7 million viewers, ranking No. 5 among cable networks. It was up 42 percent in 18-49s, 39 percent in 18-34s and 47 percent in 25-54s.

The network’s competitive set
Nick at Nite competes with networks like its sister outlet TV Land and TBS that air reruns of network sitcoms but also family-friendly networks like ABC Family and Disney.

“Advertisers really like that family-friendly content,” says Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director at Horizon Media. “Many are sensitive about certain shows and certain cable networks because of what’s on the air. That’s not a factor here.”

What’s new for 2008/09
Next year, Nick at Nite will build upon its dual-audience strategy by adding the CW’s “Everybody Hates Chris” from comedian Chris Rock. And it’s dipping its toes into original movies with stars familiar to adults but also popular with kids.

Its first original movie premieres this fall: “Gym Teacher: The Movie” with Christopher Meloni of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and Nathan Kress of Nickelodeon’s “iCarly.”

The network’s upfront outlook
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being excellent: 4.

Nick at Nite is in a groove with soaring ratings. With “Home” and “George” still new to the network, ratings should remain strong at least until next year, and then it should get another boost from “Chris.”