In March, we pointed out how the struggling tween-oriented network Nickelodeon injected anti-gun politics into the low-rated Kids’ Choice Awards. Last week, they politicized their brand again in the form of a YouTube video touting it was time to “Celebrate [Gay] Pride Month.”
The content of the promo barely touched on LGBT issues. One boy announced “I’m proud of my moms” and it showed him with a brother and two women. They showed a child sitting on an adult’s shoulder holding a rainbow flag. Then it turned to talk about “being yourself.”
But you shouldn’t expect anything less than politics from parent company Viacom, which does this with most of their networks on a daily basis. But, they have to understand that the network’s target audience of young people under the age of 13 is way too young to be knowing about LGBT culture. Even Disney Channel, which featured a gay teen in the series Andi Mack, didn’t resort to doing anything as political as this.
The network’s sharp turn to the left is part of the reason why it’s struggling. In fact, president Cyma Zarghami – who will be leaving this year after three decades at the network – is a committed liberal who supported failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election, and has used the network to promote left-wing causes in the past. And there’s a reason why they’re so desperate at this point.
As previously demonstrated, Nickelodeon is a shadow of its former self. Like the Disney-owned sports network ESPN, the specialty network (as well as its two child-oriented rivals) has been struggling badly because of the advent of streaming video services. But the question is, how did this happen? Why did this once-popular network lose to streaming of all things? Changing technology could be part, but it could also be partially because parents are hopefully noticing propaganda such as the recent Pride Month promo, and not allowing their kids to watch the network anymore.
Kid-friendly advertisers/promotional partners that have had relationships with Nick for a long time, like Nintendo, Mattel, and Kellogg’s, might be more careful next time they plan on airing commercials and/or doing promotions on the network.
Then again, other advertisers – like Honey Maid Graham Crackers – have made more explicit pro-LGBT ads. Whether those ads appeared on Nick is anyone’s guess.
