• The New York Times, Monday, October 16, 2006 12 PM

While he has helped push the kids' net to the top of the heap, Nickelodeon is learning that SpongeBob can only take it so far as the competition in its core business--the cable network--has exploded. In the last year, the Disney Channel has bolstered its market share, closing the gap with Nickelodeon, whose ratings have been flat.

At the same time, the Cartoon Network has been losing share. In the ratings, Nick still has the top 10 shows for children ages 2 to 11. But for Michael Nathanson, a media analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, it could use some new hits "to lure advertisers and create consumer products. The competition to come up with those has just gotten tougher."

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