Dog Named Blue Outdraws Big Bird

For the latest generation of toddler television watchers, Big Bird and Barney are no longer the biggest celebrities on the playground. They have a scrappy new rival, in the shape of a bright blue computer-generated dog named Blue.

“Blue’s Clues,” an educational show for preschoolers on Nickelodeon, has been consistently drawing more viewers each week than PBS’s “Sesame Street,” the original and for many years the only educational show for preschoolers, and in recent months it has also begun to outdraw “Barney and Friends,” the toddlers’ favorite.

It is the first time a show outside the Public Broadcasting Service’s sheltered orbit has broken through and appealed to parents of preschoolers in such large numbers.

Big Bird, Elmo and their “Sesame Street” co-stars are still popular, as is that giant purple dinosaur. But both shows’ ratings have been declining for the last year and a half, since the arrival of Blue, a perky puppy who, with Steve, her master, engages children in helping to play games and solve puzzles.