Netflix and Nickelodeon Partner up to<br />Create ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ Spinoff.<br />Netflix and Nickelodeon recently announced<br />an estimated $200 million deal to create a<br />slate of original animated content.<br />The animated films and series will be based on both new<br />and existing characters, including SpongeBob Squarepants.<br />"Nickelodeon has generated scores of characters that kids<br />love, and we look forward to telling wholly original stories that<br />reimagine and expand on the worlds they inhabit."<br />-Melissa Cobb, Netflix Vice President of Original Animation, via ’NYT’.<br />The SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff is being described<br />as a “music-based project” centered around the<br />popular clarinet playing character, Squidward. .<br />It has not yet been confirmed<br />whether the spinoff will take<br />the form of a series or movie. .<br />This multiyear content-production deal reflects a<br />strategic shift in part by Nickelodeon’s owner, Viacom. .<br />Rather than launch their own platform,<br />Viacom intends to create content for<br />already established streaming sites. .<br />"Nickelodeon’s next step forward is to keep expanding beyond linear platforms,<br />and our broader content partnership with Netflix is a key path toward that goal."<br />-Brian Robbins, Nickelodeon’s president, via ‘NYT’
