Noggin (brand) facts for kids
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The final logo used from 2019 to 2024
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The original Noggin logo, used for the channel, website and streaming service until June 14, 2019, and on the website since October 2024
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| Owner | Paramount Global |
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| Introduced | February 2, 1999 (Television channel) March 5, 2015 (Streaming service) |
| Discontinued | September 28, 2009 (Television channel) July 2, 2024 (Streaming service) |
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| Previous owners | Sesame Workshop (co-owner; 1999–2002) |
Noggin was an American brand focused on education and entertainment. It started on February 2, 1999. It was created by MTV Networks (who own Nickelodeon) and Sesame Workshop. Noggin began as a TV channel and a website. Both aimed to encourage imagination, creativity, and learning. From 2015 to 2024, Noggin was also a streaming service.
For its first three years, Noggin was mostly for pre-teens and teenagers. It wanted to show that educational TV could be fun for older kids. It only aired shows for young children in the mornings. The rest of the day was for shows aimed at tweens and teens. In April 2002, Noggin changed its schedule. The preschool shows aired for 12 hours, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The teen shows aired from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. This teen block was named "The N" to make it different from the preschool block.
Sesame Workshop later sold its share of Noggin to Viacom in August 2002. However, they kept making shows together until 2009. The original Noggin channel closed on September 28, 2009. The brand then took a break until 2015. That year, it was announced that Noggin would return as a streaming service. The service launched on March 5, 2015. In 2020, the Noggin streaming service began making its own special shows.
Contents
How Noggin Started
The idea for Noggin began in 1995. Sesame Workshop (then called Children's Television Workshop) planned an educational TV channel. It was going to be named "New Kid City." The Los Angeles Times newspaper said this channel would help their good shows find a home. Meanwhile, Nickelodeon (part of MTV Networks) had its own plan for an educational channel called "Big Orange." When both companies found out about each other's ideas, they decided to work together.
They named the channel Noggin, which is a slang word for a person's head. This name showed its goal: to help kids think, discover, and use their imaginations. When it first started, Noggin was mostly for kids aged 6–12. Its main goal was to offer "fun shows that help kids learn." Noggin believed that "Kids want to learn. Kids are naturally curious. There are no stupid questions."
Noggin's Look and Feel
Logo and Design
From 1999 to 2019, Noggin used a special logo. It was the bottom half of a smiling cartoon face. The top half of the logo changed to show what the head was "thinking about." For example, a beaker meant science, and flowers meant springtime. Hundreds of different "toppers" were made for the logo. For its first few years, Noggin often used the slogan "What sparks you?" They also showed videos of kids and teens explaining what "sparked" their imaginations.
Noggin's logo appeared in many short videos and animations between shows. In its early days, Noggin hired unique animators to create short commercials. They wanted the logo to look different from other TV channels. This was meant to inspire kids' creativity. In 2019, the original Noggin face logo was changed after 20 years. It was replaced with a purple wordmark that just said noggin in lowercase letters.
The TV Channel
The first part of Noggin was a cable TV channel. It was on air from February 2, 1999, to September 28, 2009. When it started, the channel mostly showed old episodes from Sesame Workshop and Nickelodeon. Noggin first aimed at pre-teens. The creators felt this age group didn't have enough good educational TV. The Noggin channel did not have commercials. Teachers could also record its shows for use in their classrooms.
Noggin's first shows included classics like The Electric Company and Ghostwriter from Sesame Workshop. It also showed series like Nick News and Doug from Nickelodeon. From 2000 to 2002, Noggin aired Bill Nye the Science Guy. Bill Nye also made new short videos for Noggin. In these, he played Noggin's "head sparkologist."
Noggin's first original show was Phred on Your Head Show. It had an animated host named Phred. Another original show, A Walk in Your Shoes, started in October 1999. Each episode showed two different people "switching lives." This helped them understand each other's cultures. In 2000, Noggin added three short series. These aired during breaks. They included Me in a Box, Citizen Phoebe, and Oobi.
By 2001, new original content made up 40% of Noggin's schedule. That year, Noggin launched four new shows. These were Big Kids, On the Team, Sponk!, and The URL with Phred Show. On April 1, 2002, the channel changed. It split into two parts: a daytime block for preschoolers and a nighttime block, The N, for teens. Play with Me Sesame, a new show with Sesame Street characters, also started that day.
Sesame Workshop kept making shows for Noggin until 2009. These included Out There and The Upside Down Show. Both were live-action series. The Noggin brand then paused for six years, from 2009 to 2015. On September 28, 2009, the Noggin channel became a 24-hour channel based on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block.
The N Block
The N (which stood for Noggin) was a nighttime TV block on the Noggin channel. It was for older kids and teenagers. It started on April 1, 2002, and aired until December 31, 2007. Ads called it "The N: The New Name for Nighttime on Noggin." It took a while to choose the name. They needed a name that would separate the teen shows from the preschool shows. But it also had to connect to Noggin's main name.
Noggin's older shows, like A Walk in Your Shoes and Sponk!, only aired during The N after 2002. Noggin also made new shows for this block. These included the cartoon O'Grady, the drama South of Nowhere, and the competition show Girls v. Boys. The N was also where the Canadian show Degrassi: The Next Generation aired in the U.S. Noggin wanted to teach life skills through The N's shows. These included self-respect and tolerance.
Like the rest of Noggin, The N's shows had educational goals. This was unusual for teen shows at the time. The same team that made Noggin's preschool shows also managed The N. They found it challenging to focus on both young kids and older audiences. But because both focused on learning and life lessons, they felt Noggin and The N had a "unified brand identity." From 2007 to 2009, The N moved to a new channel. This channel showed TEENick programs all day. The N's content was only shown in a block at night.
Streaming Service
On March 5, 2015, Noggin came back as a mobile streaming service. From 2015 to 2020, it had older shows from Noggin's TV channel days. In 2020, Noggin started making new shows for the service. These included an exercise show called Yoga Friends and a cooking show called School of Yum. Kinderwood, a cartoon about five friends at a magical school, also started on Noggin in 2020. In 2021, the service added Noggin Knows and short videos called The Noggins. These featured new teal-colored mascots.
The Noggin streaming service grew into other countries. A Spanish version launched in Latin America in November 2015. This version had some shows not on the English service, like the Spanish Rugrats. A Portuguese version came out on November 21, 2015. On September 21, 2020, Noggin launched in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Austria. It was an add-on to Amazon Prime Video.
On February 15, 2024, the owner, Paramount Global, announced that the Noggin streaming service would close. The Noggin team was laid off. The platform shut down on July 2, 2024. Some of Noggin's shows moved to another streaming service, Paramount+.
In October 2024, the Noggin website was updated. It showed the old 1999 logo and a message saying "Rebooting…". This hinted that Noggin might come back.
Mascots
Noggin has always had special cartoon characters. They acted as hosts and mascots for the brand. When Noggin was a TV channel, these mascots often appeared between shows. Noggin has had these mascots:
- Phred (1999–2002) – A small green creature voiced by Doug Preis. He was Noggin's first mascot. He had a New York accent and liked to tell jokes.
- Feetface (2002–2003) – This mascot, voiced by Jessica DiCicco, looked like a round face with legs. Feetface hosted Noggin's preschool block from April 2002 to April 2003.
- Moose and Zee (2003–2009; 2015–2019) – A talking yellow moose (voiced by Paul Christie) and a quiet blue bird. They hosted Noggin's preschool block from April 2003. They also hosted the Noggin streaming service from 2015 to 2019.
- The Alpha Teens (2004–2005; The N) – The N's first mascots. They were high schoolers drawn like comic book characters. They introduced the shows on The N.
- The Noggins (2021–2024) – A group of small, teal-colored creatures with purple eyes. They were mascots on the Noggin streaming service from 2021 until it closed in 2024.
Other Noggin Projects
Websites
The Noggin channel launched with an interactive website, Noggin.com. It was active until 2024. The website had games, blogs, and printables. The website was part of many early Noggin shows. For example, Sponk! and The URL with Phred Show used questions and art from Noggin.com. In 2001, Noggin launched "Chattervision." This let viewers comment on shows online, and their comments would appear live on TV.
One of the website's first games was "Noggimation Station." It taught visitors about animation. Users could design their own animations. Some were even chosen to air on TV. Another website, MyNoggin.com, started in October 2007. It was a paid site with educational games. Parents could track their child's progress in different school subjects. On October 6, 2024, the Noggin website changed. It showed a green Noggin logo and "Rebooting..." text. This hinted at a possible return for Noggin.
TV Blocks on Other Channels
Noggin-themed blocks have appeared on other TV channels. TV Land aired a special Noggin night on April 26, 1999. It showed old episodes of The Electric Company and short videos with the Noggin logo. Noggin shows also sometimes appeared on the main Nickelodeon channel. On June 6, 1999, Nickelodeon showed the first episode of Noggin's Phred on Your Head Show.
On March 27, 2000, Nickelodeon started a half-hour block of Noggin shows. It aired every weekday morning until June 2001. It was first called "Noggins Up" and later "Noggin on Nickelodeon." It showed one tween-focused program each weekday. This included A Walk In Your Shoes and On the Team. This block brought many visitors to the Noggin.com website.
The Noggin name was also used for a different block on Nick Jr. UK. This ran from May 2004 to September 2005. It aired for two hours every night. On January 30, 2006, Noggin launched as a block on TMF in the United Kingdom. This time, it was like the US Noggin. It aired every weekday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Noggin continued on TMF's next channel, VIVA, until March 2010.
From May 2021 to March 2022, the Nick Jr. Channel aired a "Noggin Hour." This was an hour-long block of shows from the Noggin streaming service every Friday. It featured shows like Noggin Knows and Kinderwood. It also included acquired series like Hey Duggee and JoJo & Gran Gran. Noggin ads played during breaks. A purple "On Noggin" graphic appeared at the start of each show.
Live Events
Noggin also held live events to promote its shows. At a trade show in Minnesota in 2001, Noggin showed a copy of the set from Oobi. In spring 2002, Noggin started a live version of its Play with Me Sesame series. It had mascots and music from the show. In May 2002, the Jillian's restaurant chain offered "Noggin Play Days." On Wednesday afternoons, people could watch Noggin live with themed activities and meals.
In March 2004, Noggin worked with GGP shopping malls. They started a free arts-and-crafts program called Club Noggin. It began at five malls in April that year. Many more people came than expected. So, GGP brought Club Noggin to over 100 malls across the United States. These monthly events were led by trained YMCA leaders. They offered crafts and activities based on Noggin characters. Each meeting had a theme from a different Noggin show.
From October 2005 to late 2006, Noggin sponsored a music festival called "Jamarama Live." It toured the United States. The tour had performances from Laurie Berkner, a musician from Jack's Big Music Show. It also featured a mascot costume of Moose A. Moose. Time Magazine compared Jamarama to a family-friendly version of Lollapalooza.
In November 2005, a Noggin float appeared at America's Thanksgiving Parade. In November 2006, Noggin held an online charity auction. Viewers could bid on props from different Noggin shows. Noggin also auctioned props from The N's teen shows. The money went to help homeless shelters. In August 2007, Noggin partnered with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. They sponsored its yearly Trike-A-Thon program.
See also
In Spanish: Noggin para niños
- List of programs broadcast by Noggin
