Noggin (brand)
Noggin is an American edutainment brand launched on February 2, 1999.[1] It was co-founded by MTV Networks (owners of Nickelodeon) and Sesame Workshop.[2][3] It started out as a cable television channel and a website, both centered around the concepts of imagination, creativity, and education. Since 2015, Noggin has been a streaming service.
This article is about the TV brand. For other uses, see Noggin (disambiguation).Product type
- Television channel (1999–2009)
- Websites
- Streaming service (2015–2024)
United States
February 2, 1999[1]
2024 (TBD)
- United States (1999–2009, 2015–2024)
- United Kingdom (2006–2010, 2020–2024)
- France (2020–2024)
- Germany (2020–2024)
- Austria (2020–2024)
- Latin America (2015–2024)
Sesame Workshop (co-owner; 1999–2002)
In Noggin's first three years, it was mainly aimed at pre-teens and teenagers.[4] One of Noggin's goals was to disprove the idea "that educational programming is not entertaining enough to attract pre-teens and young adults."[5] It only aired preschool shows in the morning and devoted the rest of its schedule to tween and teen shows. In April 2002, Noggin extended its preschool block to last for 12 hours, airing from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and the teen block ran from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.[6][7] The teen block was given a new name, "The N," to distinguish itself from the preschool block. The shows that made up Noggin's original older-skewing lineup aired exclusively during The N from 2002 onward.
Sesame Workshop eventually sold its stake in Noggin to Viacom in August 2002, but continued to co-produce shows for Noggin until 2009.[8] The original Noggin channel closed on September 28, 2009, and the brand was dormant until 2015, when it was announced that Noggin would return as a mobile streaming service.[9] The service launched on March 5, 2015.[10] Since 2020, the Noggin streaming service has produced its own exclusive shows.[11]
On February 15, 2024, Paramount Global announced that Noggin would be shutting down in the coming months, resulting in the immediate layoff of Noggin's staff, with its video library set to be moved to Paramount+.[12]
Brand elements[edit]
Logo and branding[edit]
From 1999 until 2019, Noggin used the same logo: the bottom half of a smiling cartoon face.[21] The logo's upper half featured different icons that represented topics the head was "thinking of" (such as a beaker to reflect science, or flowers to reflect springtime).[20] Hundreds of different "toppers" were designed for the logo.[21] For its first few years, Noggin often captioned its logo with the slogan "What sparks you?"[21] It also aired videos of kids and teens responding to the question, explaining their favorite topics that "spark" their imaginations.[21]
Noggin's logo was featured in a large amount of original shorts and animations that ran between shows on the channel.[20] In its early years, Noggin's creative team hired "sick and twisted"[22] independent animators to create station ID commercials, hoping that they could each bring their own personal design elements to the logo. The goal was to make the logo "look unlike any other network" and inspire kids' creativity.[22] In 2019, the original Noggin face logo was retired for the first time in 20 years; it was replaced with a lowercase noggin wordmark written in purple.[23]
Spin-off media[edit]
Websites[edit]
The Noggin channel launched along with an interactive website, Noggin.com, which was active until 2024. The website features games, blogs, printables, and fact sheets. The website was integrated into many of Noggin's earlier shows, like Sponk! and The URL with Phred Show, which featured viewer-submitted questions and artwork from Noggin.com.[67][68] Throughout 2000, Bill Nye of Bill Nye the Science Guy answered questions asked by Noggin.com users between airings of his show.[69][70] In 2001, Noggin launched "Chattervision", which allowed viewers to comment on different shows online and see their conversations appear live on TV.[71]
One of the website's first games was the "Noggimation Station," which taught visitors about the animation process and allowed them to design their own animations, some of which were chosen to air on TV.[72] Another website, called MyNoggin.com, was launched in October 2007.[73] It was a subscription-based site that offered educational games and allowed parents to track their child's progress in different subjects.[74][75]
Blocks on other channels[edit]
Blocks based on Noggin have appeared on other channels. TV Land aired a one-night Noggin special on April 26, 1999.[76][77] Spanning two hours, the special featured reruns of The Electric Company, along with animated shorts featuring the Noggin logo.[78] Noggin shows were also occasionally seen on the main Nickelodeon channel.[79] On June 6, 1999, Nickelodeon ran the first episode of Noggin's Phred on Your Head Show.[80]
On March 27, 2000, Nickelodeon introduced a half-hour block of Noggin shows that aired every weekday morning until June 2001. The block was originally titled "Noggins Up" and became "Noggin on Nickelodeon" during its second year on the air.[81] It showcased one tween-oriented program every weekday, including A Walk In Your Shoes and On the Team. The block attracted thousands of visitors to the Noggin.com site.[82] Nickelodeon revived the block for a single day on April 7, 2003.[83][84][85] Following the block's removal, premiere episodes of Noggin series were often simulcast on Nickelodeon and Noggin.[86]
The Noggin name was used for an otherwise unrelated programming block on Nick Jr. UK from May 2004 until September 2005.[87] It ran for two hours every night and included reruns of older British television series for children.[88] On January 30, 2006, Noggin was launched as a block on TMF in the United Kingdom, this time in the style of the US Noggin.[89][90] It ran every weekday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.[91][92] Noggin continued for a short time on TMF's successor, VIVA, until March 2010.
From May 2021 to March 2022, the Nick Jr. Channel aired an hour-long block of programming from the Noggin streaming service every Friday.[93][94] The block, titled "Noggin Hour,"[93] featured shows such as Noggin Knows and Kinderwood,[95][96] as well as the acquired series Hey Duggee and JoJo & Gran Gran. Noggin interstitials played during commercial breaks, and a purple screen bug reading "On Noggin" was shown toward the beginning of each show.
Live events[edit]
Noggin held live events to promote its shows. At the 2001 North American Trade Show in Minnesota, Noggin presented a replica of the set from Oobi.[97] In spring 2002, Noggin launched a live version of its Play with Me Sesame series, featuring mascot characters and music from the show.[98][99] In May 2002, the Jillian's restaurant chain offered "Noggin Play Days" each Wednesday afternoon, where attendees could watch a live feed of Noggin with themed activities and meals.[100]
In March 2004, Noggin partnered with GGP shopping malls to host a free arts-and-crafts program called Club Noggin.[101][102][103] It debuted at five malls in April of the same year.[104] Attendance at the first few events exceeded expectations,[105] leading GGP to bring Club Noggin to over 100 malls across the United States.[106] The monthly events were hosted by trained YMCA leaders, who offered crafts and activities based on Noggin characters.[107] Each meeting was themed around a different Noggin show.[108][109]
From October 2005 until late 2006, Noggin sponsored a music festival called "Jamarama Live", which toured the United States.[110][111] The tour had performances from Laurie Berkner, a musician on Jack's Big Music Show.[112][113] It also had appearances from a mascot costume of Moose A. Moose.[114] Reviewers for Time Magazine compared Jamarama to a family-friendly version of Lollapalooza.[115]
In November 2005, a Noggin float appeared at America's Thanksgiving Parade.[116] In November 2006, Noggin hosted an online charity auction on its website, called the "Noggin Auction." Viewers could bid on props from different Noggin shows.[117] Noggin also auctioned off props from The N's teen shows, with the money going to homeless shelters.[118] In August 2007, Noggin partnered with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and sponsored its annual Trike-A-Thon program.[119][120]