Major Disney Competitor Permanently Shutting Down

When it comes to children’s television shows, Disney is often seen at the top of the charts. However, they are not the only studio known for making great kid’s content. They are also not the only studio that has a channel dedicated to content made for younger viewers — just take a look at Nick Jr. And with the rise in streaming, there are more options than ever for parents to choose from when picking shows for their children to watch.

Credit: Disney

Related: Dive Under the Sea With Disney Junior’s All-New Show Ariel

However, it looks like the competition just got a little easier. According to reports, the streaming service Noggin will be permanently shut down later this year. Noggin was one of the primary streaming services where subscribers could enjoy hit Nickelodeon shows like Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, Peppa Pig, Little Bear, Paw Patrol, and more.

Credit: Peppa Pig

Noggin is owned by Paramount Global, which recently went through a major round of layoffs. 800 employees are now without a job, and this includes the entire Noggin team. Per The Hollywood Reporter:

The platform is a casualty of a round of layoffs that saw 800 staffers across Paramount lose their jobs. CEO Bob Bakish said the layoffs are part of “streamlining costs” at the conglomerate.

Noggin’s entire staff is among the 800 layoffs. The app will stop taking on new subscribers and will shutter sometime later this year, as first reported by trade publication Kidscreen.

Credit: Nick Junior

While it was a big competitor of Disney, in terms of children’s content, it was not nearly as big as other streamers. When the closure was announced, Noggin only had about 2.5 million current subscribers.

If you and your family are fans of Noggin, then you’ll be pleased to know that it is not completely going away. While you won’t have a specific streaming app just for your younger kids, you will still be able to access all the children’s shows on Paramount+. Simply login or subscribe to Paramount+ and you’ll be able to select the Nick Jr. banner.

Credit: Nick Jr.

Related: Major Layoffs Reportedly Coming to Pixar

Paramount was not the only massive studio that had a ton of layoffs over the last couple of years. Last year, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the company would be laying off thousands of employees. This was done in an effort by Iger to cut Disney’s overall budget by $5.5 billion.

In the end, Disney ended up laying off more than 4,000 employees and left 3,000 jobs unfilled. The layoffs primarily affected the studio, but Disney is continuing to hire cast members to work in its theme parks.

Are you sad to see Noggin close? Let us know in the comments!