Kids Cotton to Web Extension of ‘iCarly’

Convergence, it turns out, is kids’ stuff.

By Jon Lafayette

Before it launched “iCarly” in September, Nickelodeon said the series would break ground in combining scripted television with viewer participation via the Web.

That may have been an understatement. The show’s a hit in both mediums, according to both Nielsen and comScore.

“We’re surprised at how much this has captured our audience,” said Steve Youngwood, executive VP of digital for Nickelodeon and the MTV Networks Kids & Family Group. “But now that we see it, we’re in some ways not surprised because it really is such a great creative fit and really reflects how our audience lives their lives right now.”

While all TV networks are reaching out to viewers online, it is particularly urgent for kids networks. While TV use by kids is up somewhat, kids spend a lot of time online, some of it multitasking.

Nick has digital extensions of all of its TV properties online, but because iCarly.com is an integral part of the TV show, “This is definitely a quantum step,” Mr. Youngwood said. “This is definitely taking us, and the industry, to a new level.”

During the first quarter, “iCarly” averaged 3.5 million total viewers during its Saturday night time slot. During March, three “iCarly” episodes were among the top 10 in the ratings among children 6 to 11.

The show’s Web site, iCarly.com, drew a record 3.3 million unique visitors in March, up 22% from February. It accounted for about a third of the Web traffic for Nickelodeon, which had its best month ever online with 27.9 million uniques. Users streamed 34 million video streams in February.

The creator of “iCarly,” Dan Schneider, said that while some producers of kids TV fear the Web, he’s embracing it.

“It’s not the Internet competing with television, it’s the two of them working in this perfect harmony together,” he said.

Kids can upload their own video to the site, and some of that video winds up on the cable show, creating more engagement with the audience.

Good Numbers

Advertisers are noticing the show’s numbers, which compare favorably with programming on Disney Channel, which has a number of hit series but accepts only sponsorships, not regular advertising.

“If you’re looking to get into a hot space that’s on par with the ‘Hannah Montanas’ of the world, it’s definitely a place you can go,” said Darcy Bowe, associate activation director with media buyer Starcom, which has been studying the way young viewers multitask.

“Everything we’ve ever read or seen is that kids are online and they’re on TV, and they’re doing it at the same time, so anything a network can do to bring us opportunities to be in those spaces and have them feed off one another is fantastic,” Ms. Bowe said.

“iCarly” is about a group of 14-year-olds who put out a popular Webcast drawing 355,000 users.
iCarly.com, a site that’s designed to look like the creation of those kids—without Nick logos, tune-in promos or actors’ bios—at this point does not take ads.

Mr. Schneider said advertising on the site has been discussed.

“If I had a daughter who created a Web site getting a million uniques and generating 34 million video streams, I would say to her, ‘Sweetheart, we need to monetize the site,’” he said.
In real life, he added, “You would have toy companies and you would have cereal companies and cell phone companies coming to these kids saying, ‘Whoa, you’re getting all this traffic, we want to buy a banner ad.’”

That happened in a recent episode of the show. The kids made a deal with a fictional sneaker company. But the lucrative deal blew up when it turned out the shoes were shoddy. (Since no product placement is allowed on kids TV, they use gadgets like a laptop with a pear logo.)
Mr. Youngwood said there are no plans now to sell ads on the site.

“Over time, we’ll figure out any potential monetization avenues,” he said. “But it’s really about building the right experience before we go anywhere else.”

Advertisers have other opportunities with “iCarly.” Sponsorships are available on-air and there is advertising on the “iCarly” areas of Nick.com that can be tied into the show.

“The pricing and opportunities are commensurate with the other big opportunities that Nick puts out there,” Ms. Bowe said. “They want to limit the number of advertisers. They don’t want to oversaturate it with lots of different messaging.”

Mr. Schneider, a former teen actor who has created a string of hits for Nickelodeon, said when he originally pitched “iCarly” to the networks, “I didn’t really think about the fact that I was pitching two shows at once. It’s a taxing show to do because the Web site is so involved.”

He told the network the Web site had to be created by a unit with the production, rather than by Nickelodeon’s Web staff in New York.

“This is the first time it’s ever been done at Nickelodeon,” he said.

Producing the Web site is a staff of three, headed by Jana Petrosini.

“It’s part of our own show budget. We shoot things that are specifically for the Web site that are not on the show,” he said.

A decade ago, Mr. Schneider said, he created a Web site for “The Amanda Show” called AmandaPlease.com, supposedly created by one of the show’s characters.

Here to Stay

“Kids were going online in more numbers every year, streaming content, and it was just clear by 1996 or so that this was not going to go away,” he said. “That was a little ahead of its time.
The Web site also provides instant feedback in the form of messages from viewers and in the number of hits features or characters get. Recently, photos of one of the show’s adult characters, Lewbert, the world’s meanest doorman, were drawing a lot of attention.

“This tells me this is a character I need to be using more in the show,” Mr. Schneider said. The agent for the actor who plays Lewbert was called to book him for the next few episodes.

“That kind of thing happens a lot,” he said.

Mr. Schneider said not all shows aimed at kids have to be Web-centric. His shows “Drake and Josh” and “Zoey 101” are among the top kids programs on cable and don’t have big Internet activity.

“But I will tell you, I’m already developing my next TV series for Nickelodeon, and again I’m backing it into the DNA of the show, a Web site that will go along with it,” he said.

Nickelodeon also is looking at ways to enhance iCarly.com with more content.

Mr. Youngwood said games will be added to the site, along with tools that allow kids to manipulate content more easily. Also, a new iCarly game has been added on Nick.com.

“Our research shows us the reason the Web site has resonated is they love the property and the Web site is a natural part of the property,” he said. “Each time we do it, the bar goes higher.”