Heading into its first anniversary, NickMom is connecting with young mothers through original content that in October will include its first scripted series.
The programming block, which runs daily from 10 p.m. to 2 p.m. on toddler-targeted network Nick Jr., will launch its first original series, Instant Mom, to mark its one-year anniversary, according to senior vice president Bronwen O’Keefe.
NickMom’s signature original programs, which include comedy reality series Take Me to Your Mother and Parental Discretion With Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, have helped draw a family-oriented 18-49 female audience that’s most likely watching Nick Jr. toddler-targeted programming with their young children.
Off -network sitcoms such as The New Adventures of Old Christine and Yes, Dear have helped broaden the audience with content familiar to NickMom’s core viewer.
UP 60% IN DEMO
As a result, the network is up 60% from its October 2012 launch to June 2013 in its target 18-to-49-year-old female demo. O’Keefe attributed the network’s rating gain to greater viewer awareness, the result of increased marketing on both Nick Jr. and other Nickelodeon brands.
“Our ratings are definitely improving and that’s a matter of awareness,” O’Keefe said. “When we launched, we were just starting to find our audience and our audience was just starting to find us. That’s a virtue of time — in the absence of ongoing and really substantial marketing efforts, it’s about letting the audience find you.”
NickMom hopes to keep the ratings momentum going this fall with the launch of Instant Mom, starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict as a successful career woman who marries an older man with children. Adding a scripted series gives the block a chance to build up repeat viewers who want to keep up with the show’s storylines, O’Keefe said.
“Tia Mowry-Hardrict in particular offers an incredible connection for our audience who grew up with Tia and her sister Tamera on [1990s comedy series] Sister, Sister as much as they grew up on Nickelodeon,” O’Keefe said. “So to see her now with her sister on their Style series [Tia & Tamera], I think there’s an enormous amount or recognition and reliability for our audience.”
If the show proves successful, O’Keefe said the network will explore other opportunities to launch scripted content.
NO COMPETITIVE WORRIES
O’Keefe also said she’s not concerned about competition from other entertainment networks, such as Oxygen and WE tv, looking to draw young women with original comedy fare.
“The female 18-49 demo is probably one of the most competitive segments that exists. Facebook is competition for us,” O’Keefe said. “But what we’re offering nearly a year after our initial launch is a unique proposition that looks at parenting through the lens of funny and being able to laugh at your experiences.”
TAKEAWAY
Nick Jr.’s year-old NickMom block will look to deepen its connection to young moms by launching its first scripted series this October.
