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| Younger viewers | |
it's all about music The growing trend: Characters who sing and dance Sep 21, 2007
There are now more than a half-dozen airing on kids’ cable networks, including Nickelodeon’s “Naked Brothers Band” and the recently debuted “Yo Gabba Gabba,” Disney’s “Hannah Montana” and Noggin’s “Jack’s Big Music Show.” “Music is trendy in children's television,” says Ashley Fenwick-Naditch, executive editor of ChildrensMediaConsultant.com and a former TV and online content producer. “Shows like ‘Hannah Montana,’ ‘The Naked Brothers Band,’ ‘Unfabulous’ and even the ‘High School Musical’ franchise all use music to present social-emotional themes.” Those shows are among the top draws on their networks. “Jack’s Big Music Show" has been called MTV for toddlers, and the real-life musicians who appear on the puppets-and-live-action show say they immediately see a boost in their record sales. “Hannah,” about a teenage rock star who often performs on the program, recently set a record for most-watched basic cable telecast with more than 10 million total viewers, while “Brothers” broke several Nick records in its series premiere earlier this year. “Gabba” debuted last month, and it focuses on “kindie rock,” or indie rock for kids. The mostly live-action program features a group of bright-colored, dancing, singing monsters who bop along to hip guest musicians like The Shins, Biz Markie and Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh. There are several reasons for the boom in kiddie music shows, and the biggest is probably money. Kids’ records are a growing and lucrative business at a time where sales are down across nearly every other category. Last year, kids’ music album sales rose more than 100 percent compared with the previous year, including kid-focused albums from former alt-rock bands like They Might Be Giants and the popular Kidz Bop series, which records children singing popular hits. But another reason kids’ music shows are flourishing on TV is that they appeal to moms and dads as well as kids, making them more likely to tune in for shows like “Gabba.” “My kids love this show! And for once, it's a show I can enjoy with them and not yawn at the content or roll my eyes up in the air,” writes one poster on Apartment Therapy: The Nursery, a site that provides some kids’ entertainment reviews. Finally, the music format is extremely conducive to educational kids’ television, especially shows aimed at the under-5 crowd. Says Fenwick-Naditch, “For the preschool audience, songs provide an opportunity for repetition and reinforcement of key educational messages. Music's meter and rhymes grab the attention of the viewer and encourage them to participate, either by singing or dancing along, which fosters learning retention and motor skills, among other things.” Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending Sept. 16: The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” (Disney, Saturday 9 a.m.); 2. “Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon, Thursday noon); 3. “Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon, Tuesday noon); 4. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Friday 2:30 p.m.); 5. “Go, Diego, Go” (Nickelodeon, Tuesday 12:30 p.m.) The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. “Drake & Josh” (Nickelodeon, Sunday 8 p.m.); 2. “Zoey 101” (Nickelodeon, Sunday 8:30 p.m.); 3. “Twitches” (Disney, Monday 8 p.m.); 4. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Tuesday 5:30 p.m.); 5. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Friday 8 p.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: “Drake & Josh” (Nickelodeon, Sunday 8 p.m.); 2. “Zoey 101” (Nickelodeon, Sunday 8:30 p.m.); 3. “iCarly” (Nickelodeon, 7:30 p.m. Sunday); 4. “Twitches” (Disney, Monday 8 p.m.); 5. “Suite Life of Zack & Cody” (Disney, 7:30 p.m. Friday)
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