What is Nickelodeon Going to Do About This?

If you have children, then it is likely that you are familiar with the children's programming icon - Nickelodeon. During the course of an average day, you may find yourself catching bits and pieces of, or outright watching, cartoons such as Spongebob Squarepants, Jimmy Neutron, and Fairly Odd Parents. In the evening, Nickelodeon switches gears and morphs into Nick At Nite, wherein they air sitcom programming.

I am nearly 30 years old, and I distinctly remember watching Nickelodeon from time to time when I was growing up. The sitcoms they aired on Nick At Nite back then were ones that my parents may have grown up with - Donna Reed, Leave it to Beaver, and The Brady Bunch, to name a few.

It wasn't until a few years ago that it occured to me why a network aiming at a children's demographic would bother with programs for adults. Obviously, Nickelodeon wants to catch both the children and the parents' interests. During the day, children are kept occupied by cartoons and other shows that are age appropriate for them, and in the evening, after the kids have gone to bed, the parents can submerse themselves in a bit of nostalgic comfort that those old sitcoms have a knack for providing.

Now that I'm all grown up and have three kids of my own who enjoy Nickelodeon, I find myself not only watching during the day every so often, but I also enjoy turning on Nick At Nite after the kids are all tucked in for the night. After a stressful day in the real world, it is sometimes nice to be able to watch The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and especially Roseanne. Even after all these years, I can still remember my mom and brother and I sitting in front of the television in the evenings to watch the prime-time sitcoms. No matter how busy we all were during the day, those sitcoms seemed to afford us the ability to have some family time, while watching family oriented programming.

Since I've made this revelation about Nickelodeon's programming strategies, however, I have become somewhat concerned about the future of Nick At Nite. Think of it this way - if they aired shows that my parents grew up watching when I was a kid, and they are now airing shows that I grew up with, I cringe to think about what they will be forced to air when my children have children of their own 15 or so years from now.

Let's explore their options. If you're a fan of ABC's programming, you are probably watching shows like Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and What About Brian (what about him?). None of these shows are particularly "family oriented". Sadly, NBC isn't much better with Deal or No Deal, 30 Rock, The Apprentice, and Law & Order. I love Law & Order as much as the next person, but I won't let my kids watch it. On CBS, you get to see about 17 different versions of CSI and Survivor. Don't even get me started on Fox...

See where I'm going with this? Nickelodeon has really got their work cut out for them if they intend to keep with their current format. Their programming options for things that my children would be watching during prime-time are essentially non-existent. Personally, I am so unimpressed with all of the networks' programming choices during prime-time that I often opt to sit with my kids and watch Nick At Nite. Maybe it's my little way of sticking it to the man, or perhaps I long to continue the family evening tradition that I grew up with. Either way, I sincerely hope that Nickelodeon can figure something out for the future so that my grandchildren don't get stuck watching American Idol on Nick At Nite.