Nick No. 1 Network For Kids

They’re getting ready to break out the Shirley Temples at Nickelodeon. For the first time ever, the all-kids cable net is about to take title to the No. 1 ranking in ratings for viewers ages 2 to 11. And not only that, it’s doing so big-time, outpointing all of its competitors combined in terms of market share.

“Never has any programmer, be it sports or news, ever captured a demographic (viewing category) so dramatically like we have,” a spokeswoman for the channel proclaimed. “We are surpassing all broadcast and cable channels in reaching kids.”

The kid-TV year, which totaled about $800 million in advertising revenues, started last Sept. 2 and finishes this coming Sunday. With its share of the kid audience growing by 15 percent compared to the previous year, Nick outpaced all other kiddiecasters based on comparisons of their total offerings of kid shows. Nick also took top honors with its 8 p.m programing and ran second to only Fox on Saturday mornings.

The No. 1 show with kids? Ask any one of them: It’s Nick’s “Rugrats.” The animated series is watched by a total of 20 million viewers each week, 11 million of them ages 2-11.