Paramount Global is shutting down Nickelodeon’s subscription-based Noggin app and has laid off its entire team. 

The SVOD service for two- to seven-year-olds had 2.5 million global subscribers in 2019 (four years after launch) and houses more than 1,000 educational games, videos and books in its library, some of which will soon be homeless. One of the app’s most recent launches that rolled out in December is Nogginville, an immersive digital world where kids can visit iconic locations from the broader Nickelodeon universe and play mini-games. 

Noggin also features Nick Jr. preschool juggernauts such as Blue’s Clues and Dora the Explorer, as well as third-party acquisitions like JoJo and Gran Gran (BBC Studios Kids & Family, A Productions) and Little Bear (Nelvana). This long- and short-form video programming will be shifted over to Paramount+ under the Nick Jr. banner. 

Noggin will no longer be taking new subscribers, and there will be a transition period for current subscribers.

Paramount Global is in the midst of laying off 800 employees (representing about 3% of its workforce) just days after CBS scored a huge ratings success with Super Bowl LVIII, which was watched by around 123 million people across all platforms. 

Despite eliminating the Noggin team, kids and family programming is an important genre and a key piece of the company’s streaming strategy that drives subscriptions, consumption and repeat viewing, according to a Paramount spokesperson. In fact, Nickelodeon’s content for these audiences is consistently among the most watched and re-watched programming on Paramount+, says the source. 

Paramount is set to deliver its Q4 earnings report on February 28, but overall revenue for the third quarter was up by 3% to US$7.1 billion compared to the same period in 2022, despite Paramount+ losing US$238 million.