Disney Channel vs Nickelodeon: Children's TV in the 2000's

 

Are you ready for a trip down memory lane? This blog post will debate which TV channel comes out on top when comparing TV shows. Now, I'm sorry to disappoint any Cartoon Network fans but I will specifically focus on Disney Channel VS Nickelodeon, as any other TV channel just doesn't compare. It will also be a discussion on specifically TV shows, so sorry High School Musical but you're out.

Let's look first at the Disney Channel then 

Born in 2004, my peak Disney Channel Days was around 2008- 2014. So shows like, 'That's so Raven" and "Lizzie McGuire" cannot be fairly judged by me. My earliest Disney Channel memories include the icon herself Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana. The story of the normal High School student turned rock star really was the dream of all young girls in the mid-2000s and had us all singing "The Best of both Worlds" with the Hannah Montana microphone. Let's be honest, even as adults we can't resist singing along to this and the official Disney YouTube Channel upload of the song has over 24 million views. Hannah Montana - The Best Of Both Worlds (youtube.com) There is still a huge fanbase of this show and we can always hope for a comeback.

"Good Luck Charlie" was another one of those comforting shows to watch after school. Following around a family as they raise their young daughter had us all invested, not to mention Teddy Duncan inventing the vlogging phenomenon which took over in the mid 2010's.

However, the long-lasting impact of this show is limited and it's a show that only some go back to often. This show is fun to remember to feel some nostalgia but this one is on the lower end of my ranking of the shows.

Now, my favourite Disney Channel show has to be Jessie. I might be biased here as New York is at the top of my bucket list, plus adding on a rich family in a luxury penthouse makes it even better. This show ticks a lot of boxes.  Not only is this show funny and easy to watch, it also created the iconic Debbie Ryan meme, which is still constantly referenced all over social media. The theme tune of this is also one of those that has me dancing and singing along every time. The show's popularity meant that it won a BAFTA for Kid's TV choice in 2014 Jessie (TV Series 2011–2015) - Awards - IMDb . The show also had a small comeback after the passing of Cameron Boyce and watching him on the show still makes us laugh. So, I'm not afraid to admit that this is one of those shows I have watched for comfort, even as an adult.

Some other honourable mentions for Disney Channel shows include:
Wizards of Waverly Place, Liv and Maddie and Suit Life on Deck, Shake it Up. Please let me know in the comments if you think there is any I have missed.

Now, let's look at Nickelodeon 

We can't talk about the popularity of Nickelodeon, without talking about the legend which is SpongeBob SquarePants. Created in 1999, the character lives in a pineapple under the sea with his best friend Patrick Starr, there is no denying this is one of the most popular shows to come out of the 2000s. With the extreme merchandising of all sorts of products, we all know someone who's bedroom looked like this:

(Although this one looks very luxurious, so I'm jealous of whoever's room this is)

The character's popularity grew from TV shows, to movies, to eventual theme parks and is now worth an estimated $200 million. How Much Money Does Spongebob Make? Exploring the Iconic Character’s Earnings - The Enlightened Mindset (lihpao.com)

One of the most popular Nickelodeon TV shows of the 2010's era was Victorious. Following a group of high school students in a creative arts school felt like a dream. With the perfect mix of comedy, drama and musical performances the show became a real hit for the network. You can click this link to take you to the top 10 songs from the show Ranking The Top 10 VICTORIOUS SONGS 🎶 Listen & Watch & Dance 🕺 💃 (youtube.com). It also was a big break opportunity for Ariana Grande, who went off to have her own spin-off show Sam and Cat. However, at the height of the show's popularity it was suddenly cancelled with no farewell episode, this is rumoured to be about conflicts within the cast. I don't think the fans will ever know the real reason for the cancellation but we could always hope for a cast reunion some day. 

Now for my personal favourite show overall on this list, iCarly. Created in 2007, the show follows a group of three friends as they navigate the fame of their web show along with the navigation of being teens in high school. Fans also became invested with the love-triangle story line between Freddie, Carly and Sam. To this day I still think about this too often and for the record was on Team Creddie (Carly and Freddie) The original show ran for 5 years on the network and won five teen choice awards, including the favourite TV show twice iCarly (TV Series 2007–2012) - Awards - IMDb. This of course meant the cast getting slimed when accepting their award.

Nickelodeon was also very smart in combining the fandoms of both iCarly and Victorious in the iParty with Victorious crossover episode, which combined all the characters from both loved TV shows for a perfect media storm. More about the crossover episode can be found here The Significance of the iCarly and Victorious Crossover (youtube.com).

The popularity of iCarly remains, as a reboot of the show launched in 2021 on Paramount+. This follows the same characters, however missing Janette McCurdy as Sam Puckett, as they have grown into adulthood. This now caters for fans of the show who have now grown up and features more mature topics and it really does feel like you've grown up with the characters. The reboot of the show was successful, however, the network has decided to cancel the show after three seasons (collective boos from Sam's remote)

Please feel free to leave a comment and share this blog with anyone you think might like it. Do you have a strong stance on this topic or were you a fan of both networks like me?