Glancing at the top 10 list of shows among kids 2-5, there are all the characters one would expect, the ones everyone has heard of: Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse and SpongeBob, to name three.
But more and more we're seeing a new group of characters, “The Wonder Pets.” Over the past year and a half, "Pets" has quietly become one of TV’s top shows among 2-5s.
When a new episode airs, "Pets" becomes
the top show, as happened last Friday. The 10:30 a.m. airing was the No. 1 show in the demo on both broadcast and cable for the week ended Oct. 21, attracting 1.08 million kids 2-5.
That translates to a 33 percent increase over the 809,000 preschoolers it had averaged so far in the fourth quarter. It also beat out better-known programs such as “Dora the Explorer,” “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Blues Clues.”
“The Wonder Pets” uses a mixed-media sort of animation known as photo-puppetry, in which animators manipulate real photos of animals to create movement.
The main characters are Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming Duckling and Turtle Tuck.
By day the three animals live the lives of classroom pets, biding their time in their cages and tanks. But when school’s out they change into superheroes, and they dress the part. Linny dons a yellow cap and a blue cape, while Ming-Ming has an old-fashioned pilot’s helmet with goggles and a green cape, and Turtle Tuck wears a sailors cap, tennis shoes and a red cape.
In the show, which also features songs accompanied by a 10-piece orchestra, the pets use teamwork to rescue animals around the world.
“Wonder Pets” airs daily at 10:30 a.m. during Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. block of programming.
Friday’s episode, titled “Save the Turtle!; Save Little Red Riding Hood,” was the first original episode to air since June, and it was followed by four more new episodes this week, which aired Monday through Thursday.
The infrequency of new episodes could be one reason the show has flown somewhat under the radar compared to the likes of “Dora” and “SpongeBob.” Nickelodeon is still rolling out episodes from its original 20-episode season-one order, although more new shows could be coming soon as the network has ordered 20 additional episodes for season two.
Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending Oct. 21:
The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. “Wonder Pets” (Nickelodeon, Friday 11 a.m.); 2. “Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon, Friday 10:30 a.m.); 3. “Back at the Barnyard” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 10:30 a.m.); 4. “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” (Disney Channel, Saturday 9 a.m.); 5. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Monday 5:30 p.m.)
The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Friday 8 p.m.); 2. “Wizards of Waverly Place” (Disney, Friday 8:30 p.m.); 3. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Friday 7 p.m.); 4. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Friday 7:30 p.m.); 5. “Back at the Barnyard” (Nickelodeon, Sunday 10 a.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Friday 8 p.m.); 2. “Wizards of Waverly Place” (Disney, Friday 8:30 p.m.); 3. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Friday 7 p.m.); 4. “Zoey” (Nickelodeon, Sunday 8 p.m.); 5. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Friday 7:30 p.m.)
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TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 2-5
Week Ended Oct. 21
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|
|
Program
|
Net
|
Rtg%
|
(000)
|
|
1
|
WONDER PETS-10/19/2007
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NICK
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6.7
|
1075
|
|
2
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DORA THE EXPLORER-10/19/2007
|
NICK
|
6.4
|
1029
|
|
3
|
BACK AT THE BARNYARD-10/20/2007
|
NICK
|
6.2
|
987
|
|
4
|
MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE-10/20/2007
|
DSNY
|
6.1
|
977
|
|
5
|
SPONGEBOB-10/15/2007
|
NICK
|
5.9
|
947
|
|
6
|
BLUES CLUES-10/19/2007
|
NICK
|
5.9
|
942
|
|
7
|
DORA THE EXPLORER-10/16/2007
|
NICK
|
5.7
|
907
|
|
8
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MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE-10/21/2007
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DSNY
|
5.7
|
906
|
|
9
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BACKYARDIGANS, THE-10/19/2007
|
NICK
|
5.6
|
902
|
|
10
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WONDER PETS-10/18/2007
|
NICK
|
5.6
|
893
|
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Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
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TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 6-11
Week Ended Oct. 21
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|
|
Program
|
Net
|
Rtg%
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(000)
|
|
1
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HANNAH MONTANA-10/19/2007
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DSNY
|
8.7
|
2120
|
|
2
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-10/19/2007
|
DSNY
|
8.7
|
2112
|
|
3
|
HANNAH MONTANA-10/19/2007
|
DSNY
|
8.1
|
1960
|
|
4
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S HANNAH MONTANA-10/19/2007
|
DSNY
|
7.7
|
1872
|
|
5
|
BACK AT THE BARNYARD-10/21/2007
|
NICK
|
6.8
|
1653
|
|
6
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SPONGEBOB-10/21/2007
|
NICK
|
6.5
|
1569
|
|
7
|
SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY-10/17/2007
|
DSNY
|
6.4
|
1561
|
|
8
|
S HANNAH MONTANA-10/19/2007
|
DSNY
|
6.4
|
1557
|
|
9
|
ZOEY 101-10/21/2007
|
NICK
|
6.3
|
1525
|
|
10
|
CASPER
MEETS WENDY-10/16/2007
|
DSNY
|
5.9
|
1428
|
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Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
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TOP 10 PROGRAMS – CABLE
Kids 9-14
Week Ended Oct. 21
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|
Rank
|
Program
|
Net
|
Rtg%
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(000)
|
|
1
|
HANNAH MONTANA-10/19/2007
|
DSNY
|
8.6
|
2108
|
|
2
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-10/19/2007
|
DSNY
|
8
|
1958
|
|
3
|
HANNAH MONTANA-10/19/2007
|
DSNY
|
6.9
|
1692
|
|
4
|
ZOEY 101-10/21/2007
|
NICK
|
6.9
|
1689
|
|
5
|
S HANNAH MONTANA-10/19/2007
|
DSNY
|
6.8
|
1651
|
|
6
|
S HANNAH MONTANA-10/19/2007
|
DSNY
|
5.4
|
1310
|
|
7
|
ICARLY-10/21/2007
|
NICK
|
5.3
|
1296
|
|
8
|
SPONGEBOB-10/21/2007
|
NICK
|
5.1
|
1255
|
|
9
|
ICARLY-10/20/2007
|
NICK
|
5.1
|
1241
|
|
10
|
CASPER
MEETS WENDY-10/16/2007
|
DSNY
|
5.0
|
1217
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
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