ANd, like I said above in responding to Sarah, I am definitely not holding my breath for any major innovation from the Hub. I did a lot of eye-rolling in reading the press release, for sure. Total generic business speak. But like you say, I wanted to offer more than just a simple cynicism. Network brands have always interested me. And this one lends itself to interesting connotations and *could* do interesting things. That doesn’t mean it will. But who knows. 🙂

A brand called the Hub, though, signaled to me that Hasbro/Discovery could take it a step further and conceptualize the ancillary platforms/products as much more than that. It could recognize the mobility of texts and viewers and synthesize experiences from the web, television, merchandising, etc. in more involved strategies of transmedia story-telling and world-building. I have to admit that I’m a little skeptical that, once it launches, it will actually be much different from anything that’s out there now. But the branding efforts filled me with intrigue.

And as for nostalgia – I totally agree. Nostalgia plays such a huge role in youth media these days, and you hit the nail on the head – it works through its familiarity and built-in approval from parents. It’s a huge factor here – concerns of materialism circulated around these show in the late 1970s/early 80s when they were introduced as the first toy-driven media franchises, but one could argue that some of those concerns are muted as they return to TV 25 years later, when their original fans are now parents.

And great point about industrial conceptions of flow for the under-14-ers and enticement. I had a line in an earlier draft of this post about marketers seeing the the Hub’s “spiral logo” as another metaphor for 360-degree-advertising (one of my least favorite buzzwords). But you’re right in thinking about them staying on the channel – the Hub signals staying power and gathering place just as much as mobility. Will be interesting to see how it develops and how the channel constructs its bumpers, promos, and ‘master narrative.’

I like that we’ve moved past a simple cynical response, that Hasbro partnering with Discovery is not seen as the death of creativity in and of itself. However, I’m with Sarah in that I don’t particularly see any real places for the “Hub” to go which would really change what already exists, and considering the workout my gag reflex got reading that press release I have no expectations that their new branding discoveries will actually result in better or more satisfying programming on any level. This isn’t an evil strategy, but it doesn’t sound like a particularly organized one either, and while (like Cars 2) it might be a good idea in theory I don’t know if it feels particularly creative or novel at the end of the day.

Oh the McDonalds Happy Meal toys to come!

I confess that my kids will surely be Hub fans– my 3 year-old won’t know how to process the news that his beloved Transformers are on TV without letting his head explode from oy.

PBS Kids frequently pushes their website at the end of each episode, as does Nick Junior, and kids can visit these sites to extend their viewing pleasure, download crafts and coloring pages, and basically become superfans across media. All of the PBS and Nick Junior characters are on every product imaginable, from chemical-filled fruit snacks, to diapers, to BandAids, to frozen ravioli. Walk through a Target store with a toddler and see how many times s/he screams Dora, SpongeBob, Elmo, etc. I don’t get how much more brand synergy the Hub can feature. I get that they’ll be making cartoons about popular toys, but since most cartoons get turned into popular toys, how are they doing anything new?

I was excited to see mention of Romper Room, a show I remember from my own preschool TV days. We can’t overlook the importance of nostalgia. Nothing assuages the my-kids-are-watching-too-much-TV guilt better than a show or two that we grew up on.

It’s also worth noting what we’re likely losing with the demise of the current iteration of Discovery Kids: fantastic and slightly less brandable shows like The Magic School Bus and PEEP and the Big Wide World, both of which my kids love. And yes, those 15-year old episodes of TMSB still hold up for six year-olds! However, they’re each the kind of kids’ programming that doesn’t foreground products.