Luke & Wyatt, kings of the kids.

When Luke and Wyatt won Most Outstanding Performance by a Presenter at this year’s ASTRA Awards they joked that there must have been an error.

Even presenter Eddie McGuire agreed with them. They had beaten the likes of Rove McManus, Andrew Winter and Sarah Murdoch. But McGuire may not have realised just how popular Luke Ryan (pictured, left) and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd (pictured, right) have become with Nickelodeon audiences.

Originally from WA, they became hosts of Camp Orange‘s sixth season in 2010. Recently hosting the channel’s SlimeFest event, the comedy duo are now a force to be reckoned with in Kids’ TV.

The premiere of Camp Orange: Girls V Boys reached 150,263 viewers, up 102% from the 2011 premiere, and the finale reached an average audience of 128,925 viewers.

TV Tonight recently asked the pair if the show would be getting a ninth season.

“This year’s Camp Orange was a massive success. The ratings went crazy and everyone was giving it two thumbs up. If we were in charge we’d be doing Camp Oranges all year round. But fingers crosses, 100%, can’t guarantee it, there will definitely be another Camp Orange,” joked Wyatt.

The format with kid’s challenges and plenty of slime has now been adapted in Italy and the UK.

“What’s great is they show the Australian one over there. So we get UK airplay. They need something to run into their one, so the week before they play the Australian version to pump up the timeslot.”

As Luke explains, having premium local brands in the competitive Kid’s TV market helps strengthen Nickelodeon.

“I think it’s one of the coolest brands for Kid’s TV in the country. With other brands you get viewers but there’s a ‘cool’ that Nick holds. It’s events like SlimeFest and Camp Orange that have this feeling that ‘You guys are inherently part of this. This doesn’t operate without you.’

“It’s something other kids’ networks aren’t doing. I think that’s what makes Nick a really good brand and keeps our viewers tight.

“Maybe we don’t have the most viewers in the country but the people who are into Nick love it and Australian shows especially rate really highly.

“Kid’s Choice Awards (US) killed it in the ratings, Camp Orange killed it in the ratings.”

Yet for all the success of events like Kid’s Choice Awards and SlimeFest, do they lead to an increase in subscriptions, or is it all just about branding?

“It’s an interesting thing as to whether kids are actually the one who sign up to Foxtel but events like SlimeFest create a buzz that action communities,” Wyatt observes.

Luke says the key to it all is integration, including online visibility.

“The whole thing about driving the online is that you can hit 10 out of 10 kids possibly, because you don’t need to subscribe to see us on the website,” he explains.

“Everything about the website is branding Nick as an incredibly strong thing you want to be a part of. And then you want to watch it on TV.”

“For Camp Orange kids were having Camp Orange sleepovers where they would come around, stay at a friend’s house and watch the episode. Stuff like that will pervade into people wanting to watch the show,” says Wyatt.

Luke adds, “It’s building into their world…”