Kids’ Streamer Noggin Shutting Down Amid Paramount Layoffs

Rick Porter
·1 min read
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Noggin, Paramount Global’s subscription video-on-demand service targeted at young kids, is shutting down.

The platform is a casualty of a round of layoffs that saw 800 staffers across Paramount lose their jobs. CEO Bob Bakish said the layoffs are part of “streamlining costs” at the conglomerate.

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Noggin’s entire staff is among the 800 layoffs. The app will stop taking on new subscribers and will shutter sometime later this year, as first reported by trade publication Kidscreen.

Noggin features a library of educational games, books and videos aimed at kids under 7, along with shows from Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. roster including Blue’s Clues & You, Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig. As of 2019, the service — which charges $8 monthly or $71 for an annual subscription — had about 2.5 million subscribers.

Programming currently housed on Noggin will be shifted to Paramount+ under the Nick Jr. banner. Current users will be given the option of transitioning to a Paramount+ subscription.

Noggin began life as a cable channel under the Nickelodeon umbrella, with programming initially targeted at kids ages 6-11 (and a nighttime block known as The N that featured teen shows). In 2015, it relaunched as an SVOD service aimed at preschoolers.

The 800 layoffs at Paramount follow a year of cuts and corporate reorganization that included Showtime merging with flagship streaming service Paramount+, MTV News shutting down, and a stake in BET being put up for sale (and then taken off the market).

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