SpongeBob SquarePants is the most popular franchise on Paramount+, according to the streaming platform's Chief Content Officer of Kids and Family, Brian Robbins.
Robins, who is also the President and CEO of Nickelodeon, revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that SpongeBob has brought more success to Paramount+ than any other franchise in its library. When asked about what Robbins has learned about Paramount+ subscribers since its rebranding in early 2021, Robbins attributed the streaming service's success to its consistent support of its pre-established franchises, the biggest being SpongeBob.
Robbins used iCarly as an example to explain the benefits of using streaming to support a franchise. iCarly, which originally ran for 6 seasons from 2007 to 2012 on Nickelodeon, was rebooted with a new season this year for Paramount+. The revival series wasn't only a massive success on its own; it also breathed new life into the older seasons, drawing viewership back to the original show. The same, according to Robbins, has been happening with SpongeBob.
"You launch iCarly and then the iCarly library also rises to the top, creating this one-two punch of new and old. The same with the SpongeBob universe," said Robbins. "You launch the Sponge on the Run movie, Kamp Koral and then you have 12 seasons of SpongeBob library all being consumed graciously by the audience."
Robbins boasted that the kids and family franchises on Paramount+ are largely responsible for the platform's growing viewership. He explained that Paramount intends to keep up the momentum of its success by continuing to support its other family-friendly franchises, such as Rugrats and Paw Patrol.
Robbins went on to express pride in the platform's viewership numbers overall, stating, "Our content has really risen to the top. We have a lot of the top-performing shows on the service from a stream, minutes watched and consumption point of view."
A spinoff film from the main SpongeBob series, Sponge on the Run joined Paramount+ in 2021. The prequel series Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years premiered simultaneously on the same platform. The Patrick Star Show, a new series starring SpongeBob's best pal, recently joined its cohorts on streaming, further fueling the success of the SpongeBob franchise and Paramount+ as a whole.
Paramount+ originally launched as CBS All Access in 2014, but it was rebranded in early 2021 following a merger in 2019 between CBS and Viacom. The rebranding brought with it a plethora of Nickelodeon series, including iCarly, SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly OddParents, which will also receive a revival in the form of a live-action reboot.
Source: THR