Nickelodeon breaks out of cable’s cage, preps standalone streaming service

By Christine Persaud January 29, 2015

viacom takes nickelodeon stand alone streaming no subscription little girl watching tv — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Nickelodeon, which serves as home to popular kid’s shows like iCarly and SpongeBob SquarePants, is following the lead of networks like HBO and CBS – though for a very different audience – with plans to launch its own subscription video service, reports Variety.

The service would give parents the opportunity to access tons of children’s programming for a small, yet-to-be-confirmed fee without needing a cable or satellite TV subscription. That’s a huge leap of faith for parent company Viacom, but perhaps a very smart decision. Children’s programming is one of the most popular genres among cord-cutters, and one that competitive video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon focus heavily on. Get ‘em young when it comes to the new TV, it seems.

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And it makes sense – anyone who has kids knows that a toddler isn’t going to happily sit through a one-minute commercial break every few minutes – standard practice on regular network television. And while they are growing up pretty tech-savvy, most kids either don’t know how to skip through commercials, or don’t understand the very concept of having to do so. On-demand is the way to go with the young’uns.

Interestingly, Nickelodeon will reportedly be focusing mainly on the mobile side – presumably for parents who are looking to entertain their kids while out and about using a smartphone or tablet. Though there’s no reason the content wouldn’t be just as easily accessible on a computer or large screen TV.

That said, more details, including a name for the service and what programming will be made available there, are to be revealed next month.

This new business model is promising for those who have been craving TV packages that are more customized. But one must wonder if the better option would be to partner up with a Netflix or Hulu or Amazon and let these guys take care of the on demand needs. Sure, the more a la carte options customers have, the better. But at some point, those costs will add up and customers will come full circle, looking once again for a one-stop-shop solution that’s tailored to them, and offers exactly the channels they want. Surely, the industry can meet somewhere in the middle.

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Christine Persaud

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Christine has decades of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started her career writing exclusively about…

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Not everyone is cut out to be a cord-cutter, though. Ditching your satellite or cable subscription and the bill it carries sounds great in theory, but it's not something you want to rush into without a bit of research. Let's go through the best methods for dropping traditional cable in favor of some of the best streaming services.
First things first: How's your internet?
The thing about internet-delivered TV is that you need a broadband connection that can keep up with the streaming lifestyle. This may seem like a foregone conclusion, but we want to make it clear that if you're going to bet your precious entertainment future on your home network, you had better have a solid internet connection. Netflix and other similar streaming video services suggest a minimum downstream speed of 5Mbps for HD streaming, but if you have inadequate home internet connection (like 5Mbps) that is not going to allow for a smooth streaming service experience, especially when you consider other devices also using the connection. You will likely experience buffering and possible crashing of the show you are streaming, especially for those with families or households streaming more than one show or movie at a time.
High-quality streaming needs higher-speed internet
Of course, if you're looking to get into the streaming big leagues to access the growing array of 4K Ultra HD streaming content available from Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, YouTube, and others, you'll want to kick up your broadband speed to at least 25Mbps. If you're only going to be downloading 4K content from sites like FandangoNow or Ultraflix -- which offer 4K content at speeds as low as 4Mbps to 10Mbps -- 25Mbps will probably suffice, but regardless of which streaming service you select, fast and reliable internet is key to a positive streaming experience.
Peak internet usage time can affect your streaming
We also recommend testing your internet speed at peak streaming hours (between 6 and 10 p.m. on weekdays) to determine if your neighborhood struggles under the strain of heavy traffic. For example, if you routinely get around 10Mbps downloads during the day, but that speed takes a dive to about 3Mbps around dinner time, you'll want to call your internet provider to see if anything can be done. Fortunately, this is an increasingly rare problem outside of rural areas, but better to check ahead.
Check your home network equipment
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