As of May 22nd, like in just a few days, Nick Jr. programming (or anything owned by Viacom) will not be available on Netflix, according to the research I can turn up.
Deadline.com reported on April 22nd:
This news nugget was tucked into Netflix‘s letter to investors that CEO Reed Hastings and CFO David Wells released today: They say that at the end of May they won’t renew their broad deal with Viacom Networks that enables Netflix to carry programming from Nickelodeon, BET and MTV.
If you find yourself relying on the help of a Nick Jr. show on Netflix – like Dora, Diego, Yo Gabba Gabba, Fresh Beat Band, or (for us) Wonder Pets- to help you through getting dinner on the table, finding time to get yourself dressed, or as a babysitter for a last minute, important business call you must take from inside the closet, you might be looking for the nearest paper bag to breathe into right now.
I felt similarly when I read Elizabeth Ross‘ Facebook status about the situation. She bemoaned losing Dora, Diego, and Blue’s Clues. I felt a twinge of empathy for her, but was mostly fine with it because my kids don’t watch those shows anymore… until I made the connection. Netflix isn’t just picking off shows willy nilly, but axing all Viacom programming, which encompasses every Nick Jr show.
Say what you will about the Wonder Pets. It’s certainly not MY favorite show, but it’s the only one both of my kids will agree to watch together, and Leyna is infatuated with it. So much so that she’s been singing “What’s gonna work? Team work!” for the last 4 months every time she needs help with something. Beyond that show, nearly every other show that’s in our “recently watched” list is a Nick Jr. show.
We don’t have Netflix for us anymore. We’ve seen all the documentaries on food that we can stomach. We don’t have time to watch old movies or start whole new TV series. We have Netflix for the kids, for now. It’s very possible we won’t be keeping it after this.
Oh sure, there will still be other children’s programming, including a recently added to Disney lineup, but all you parents know how hard/impossible it is to tell your kid, “Oh, yeah. That favorite show of yours isn’t actually on here anymore, BUT here’s another one I know you’ll like just as much.” I mean, you CAN tell them that. You can try. But kids… they know what they want. And they’ll whine and ask eleventy billion questions if it suddenly disappears.
Now, there are other options for accessing Nick Jr. shows on demand. Of course, if you have cable and a DVR, you can always just record those shows, or possibly stream them from your cable provider’s on demand library. We, however, do not have cable. We gave it up quite a while ago, and haven’t missed it, in large part because of how easy it was to access these shows via Netflix and other streaming services through our Wii. I know there are many cable-free families now, doing the same.
It seems Amazon Prime Instant Videos have free streaming of at least a couple seasons of Nick Jr. shows. Wonder Pets, for example, only allows free streaming of the first 2 seasons, and we’re to pay for episodes from season 3 (even as Prime members). I find the Amazon interface not as easy to navigate when looking for the kids’ shows, though, and we can only access it through our Wii U at this time, not the Wii in our bedroom (which is where the majority of the kids TV watching happens these days while I catch a pregnant nap).
I know, this whole thing reeks of first world problems that we wouldn’t even have if we were better parents who didn’t let our kids watch TV. Whatever.
We’ll live.
But I had to come here and tell you all to prepare yourselves because I know so many of us rely on that 20 minutes of our kids’ favorite show to get us through a rough spot in the day. At least this way you won’t be caught off guard when you get an email requesting an important phone call in 15 minutes, and you can’t find Dora to save your life.
**Tip- If you want to see if your favorite show is going to disappear, head to your Recently Watched list when you’re logged in online (I’m told this doesn’t work on the mobile site). Click on the show, then scroll down to the description. On the bottom right side, it will tell you how long it’s available (for the shows Netflix is ditching). It seems the shows that aren’t going anywhere don’t say anything about how long they are available.
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63 comments
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RT @babyrabies: Prepare yourselves, parent friends. New post: Netflix Is Probably Ditching Your Kids’ Favorite Show http://t.co/HXzbVYB496
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Canceled our scrip last week! Nice timing. “@Melenanana: NO. | Netflix is probably ditching your kids’ favorite show http://t.co/7TtE0wQcYf”
RT @babyrabies: Prepare yourselves, parent friends. New post: Netflix Is Probably Ditching Your Kids’ Favorite Show http://t.co/qDKupd06P7
Oh BOO. We love Blue’s Clues over here. That’s bullshit. Some stuff you can find on YouTube though!
NOOOOO WE WON’T SURVIVE! No Yo Gabba, wonder pets, blue, why?!!!! It’s like crack in this house. How will I ever get a 15 min shower again.
Dude I’m so serious though
So THAT’s why Dora and Diego don’t show up on the line up of kids shows or stay in your recently watched listings… I didn’t notice the other ones because the boys aren’t as into them, but have been on a Diego kick lately… hmmm I wonder what else we are going to lose?
There are a lot of four letter words I’m thinking of right now…the safest to post is crap. Grrr.
This may be the final straw. We ditched cable awhile ago but keep getting offers to win us back. Considering it would give us more better internet & the programming that I need to save my sanity…it’s looking like we might become a cable family again.
Thanks for the heads up.
Jeez… AGAIN? It was bad enough when they got rid of PBS shows (Which of course, my eldest son’s favourites were part of (Curious George and Word World) This is really going to blow… my youngest LOVES Blues Clues…
WTF! Luckily my kids have taken a liking to some old school shows recently, but Dora and Diego are staples around here. Thanks for letting us know.
Well snap…
We figured this was coming. All of a sudden, Diego and a couple other Nick Jr. shows weren’t showing up on our lineup. Boo.
I bet if we could get a month or so advance notice, we could just start sneaking new shows into their rotation so it wouldn’t be such a tough transition. And yes, this is the first-est first world problem ever. 😉
Crap.
Yep, that pretty much sums it up.
That’s a bummer– we gave up cable right after my 4 yo had discovered Disney Jr. and princess type shows on there. She was mad. We did manage to find some of the items we could put on a tablet and others from the library, but we just don’t have the download capability to watch a bunch of shows/stream them/etc. because we have satellite, not cable internet/hard wired. It stinks, but PBS does okay in the mornings and if we’re really desperate we can pop in a VCR tape, dvd, blue ray, etc. at dinner time. I’m exceedingly grateful I can just tell my oldest to ‘go read’ and she does. The library is a godsend.
“@babyrabies: Netflix Is Probably Ditching Your Kids’ Favorite Show http://t.co/doRVzp0gzE” @OxytocinSarah
Well, this is going to be rough. Not sure how my 2-year-old is going to understand that he can’t zone out to Yo Gabba Gabba on Netflix anymore.
My daughter will miss a few of those shows but, lately, she has really been into the PBS kids station. Good, educational shows that are relatively un-annoying – haha.
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Is this the end of Nick Jr. on Netflix? http://t.co/DreixkjZLr
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! [deep breath] NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! RT @KJDellAntonia Is this the end of Nick Jr. on Netflix? http://t.co/PV7dmNQdbD
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RT @babyrabies: New post: Netflix Is Probably Ditching Your Kids’ Favorite Show http://t.co/vMKhMV9QVP
Jill at Baby Rabies was content on starting my Monday off on a bad foot. (I kid, I kid! lol)
BUT…if you… http://t.co/iegq4Al2l6
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We are in trouble. The only show, seriously, ONLY show my son watches is Backyadragains on Netflix. This is terrible news to hear that it will no longer be available. Let the almost four year old whining begin! But I can’t blame him, I’ll be whining right along side him.
Netflix Is Probably Ditching Your Kids’ Favorite Show http://t.co/MJ4axx5ZxH #DadsTalking
That’s the only reason we have Netflix too! We just may have to drop them after we’ve seen all of the new Arrested Development!
There is ANOTHER OPTION (besides cable). Buy a ROKU. It’s a small, hockey-puck sized device that streams video via wifi to your TV. On it, you can access your Amazon Prime (and add shows to your watchlist…making them easier to view), there’s a PBS station for free, a Disney station, and you can still access NetFlix. Admittedly, this doesn’t help with Diego and Dora disappearing from NetFlix (though my kids have several episodes on their LeapPads…which drives me crazy), but it will help you get more options. We love our Roku!
That sound? Oh, just the sobbing of busy-at-home parents. “Netflix Is Probably Ditching Your Kids’ Favorite Show” http://t.co/vA6hRBuxJH
RT @jenrrain: That sound? Oh, just the sobbing of busy-at-home parents. “Netflix Is Probably Ditching Your Kids’ Favorite Show” http://t.co…
It wouldn’t have been so bad if there was better publicized warning so we could wean our kids off of those shows. My daughter loves Jake, although if they add Octonauts I’d be much happier. At least then I can convince myself it’s ok because she’s watching something educational. My daughter will definitely miss Diego, for sure. One of your linked articles says they are trying to do a contract for individual shows, so maybe some of these will come back?
Noooooooooo! That stinks!
We watch Amazon Prime on the Wii (just the old Wii, not the U), there’s an app for it.
I DIE. I’M DEAD
I’ve never tried Netflix but like having the series downloaded from iTunes.
The programming that is getting the axe is almost completely uneducational in the first place. They might as well be watching Spongebob square pants. Oh no! You mean you actually have to PARENT your children yourself? My 2 year old watches nothing but PBS and Baby First programming such as Numbers parade…the result? He can count to 20 unassisted and without looking at the numbers. He can also say the entire alphabet and attach 3-4 different words with each letter.
What will *I* do without my Invader Zim? No, really…
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My son loves Wonder Pets. We switched from Netflix to Amazon Prime a while ago, mainly because I love the free two day shipping. And because it ends up being cheaper than Netflix. It is annoying that we have to pay for more than the first season on a lot of shows (Dinosaur Train), but it seems like there’s more selection than Netflix when you consider the pay-per-view options. I have found that it’s easier to pick out shows and movies to watch online, then access them from my Watchlist on whichever device I’m using. Now if only I could use the Amazon Instant Streaming app on my phone without being connected to WiFi…
So I don’t have to watch another Diego? Forever ever? http://t.co/L4303xwBmE
-Cancels subscription-
I wasn’t prepared for this yesterday when I went looking for YGG. How do you tell a 1 1/2 yr old they can no longer watch their favorite show? :'(
I’m never going to have 10 minutes to take a shower or get dinner made without my kids being distracted. I (unsuccessfully) tried to explain to my 3 year old that Diego isn’t on there anymore while she had a complete meltdown. thanks netflix for that battle.
I’m screwed…my kids LOVE Nickelodeon shows!
The new shows they’ve replaced? WONDERFUL! I could give a rats ass about dora and diego, and my kids thankfully don’t have a ‘favorite’ show…so it’s no biggie for our family, so i’m just here to say the new shows they’ve put up are just as good as the ones they took out. Peace!
Yea, I’m cancelling my Netflix subscription! 🙁
Dear Netflix,
My 4 year old is not very happy about your decision to drop nickelodeon, here is a video of how he feels.
http://youtu.be/FTuYWSa47Z0
I do agree with all the ideas you have offered to your post.
They’re really convincing and can definitely work. Still, the posts are very short for starters. May you please lengthen them a little from subsequent time? Thank you for the post.
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Damn, a lot of you sound like the source of the problems we are incurring as a nation…teach you’re children something about disappointment. This is an easy lesson, i mean, cheese and rice, it’s TV, it will take a young person a day or two 2 to get over it and move on to something else (either on TV or just physical activity) sounds like it will take a lot longer for some of you losers
[…] Baby Rabies | Netflix Is Probably Ditching Your Kids … – As of May 22nd, like in just a few days, Nick Jr. programming (or anything owned by Viacom) will not be available on Netflix, according to the research I can turn up. […]
[…] Baby Rabies | Netflix Is Probably Ditching Your Kids … – As of May 22nd, like in just a few days, Nick Jr. programming (or anything owned by Viacom) will not be available on Netflix, according to the research I can turn up. […]