The N (standing for Noggin) was an overnight programming block that aired on the Noggin channel. It was launched on April 1, 2002. The block featured education-driven shows for an older audience of tweens and teenagers.
A tween-targeted block had been on the Noggin channel since it first launched, but The N was the first time that the block was given its own name and specific timeslot. The block housed all of Noggin's older-skewing shows after the daytime block changed its target audience to preschoolers.
Three older-skewing shows that previously played during Noggin's daytime block—A Walk in Your Shoes, Sponk!, and Big Kids—continued to air during The N from 2002 onward. Several original shows were created by Noggin exclusively for The N, including O'Grady and South of Nowhere. Despite the different demographics, all of The N's original shows were produced and owned under the same Noggin LLC brand as the rest of Noggin's series. They were all made by the same team that made Noggin's preschool series.
History[]
The N's first logo
Promo
- See also: List of series aired on The N
When the Noggin channel first started in 1999, it was mainly aimed at tweens. From April 2002 onward, the channel divided itself into two programming blocks for different demographics: a daytime block for preschoolers and a nighttime block for tweens and teens. The nighttime block was called The N, standing for Noggin's initial letter, and on-air promotions called it "the New Name for Nighttime on Noggin."
According to this article in the Kidscreen magazine, it took a few months for Noggin's creative team to decide on a name for the block. They needed a name to "help distance and distinguish the tween programming from the preschool fare," but the legal department also required that the block kept a relation to Noggin's main name. They settled on "The N," which stood for Noggin but also gave the block a unique-sounding name.
The original logo for The N was first revealed in January 2002. The announcement is available here. The full logo for The N included a tab at the bottom reading "Noggin." This logo appears on the copyright for The N's name. When the Noggin tab was not used on The N's logo, taglines were used to explain the block's namesake instead.
The N block, like the rest of Noggin, was made with educational goals. Noggin's crew members felt that tweens and teens did not have enough educational shows available to them, and they wanted The N to provide thoughtful, high-quality shows for them. Noggin's manager, Tom Ascheim, explained: "What tweens tell us in research is that their No. 1 challenge outside of class is who they are and where they're going...we like to be the destination that helps them. It's our educational mission." (source)
Series[]
- Original series - Shows made by Noggin specifically for The N block
- Nickelodeon library - Reruns of shows from Nickelodeon's archives
- Sesame Workshop library - Reruns of shows from Sesame Workshop's archives
- Acquired series - Shows from outside companies that temporarily aired on the block
Gallery[]
