Self-published creators and print-on-demand content (POD) are all over the web right now with everyone from elementary school classes to grandpas with memoirs able to get their content out there on the web right now, bypassing the traditional publishing routes. Places like CafePress, Lulu.com, and CreateSpace all make this possible easily and simply no matter how much experience you have in publishing.

But what may surprise you is that many of the new titles from kid’s entertainment giant Nickelodeon aren’t distributed using Viacom’s ample connections and publishing power but rather. . . CreateSpace. Huh?

From Animation World Network:

The Nickelodeon titles now available through CreateSpace DVD On Demand include selected seasons of DRAKE & JOSH (Best of Seasons One through Four), UNFABULOUS (Seasons One and Two), NED’S DECLASSIFIED SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE (Seasons One and Two), JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS
(Best of Seasons One through Four), DANNY PHANTOM (Seasons One and Two) and ZOEY 101 (Season Two).

Hit shows from the Nick Rewind collection also will be available, including classic favorites like HEY, ARNOLD! (Seasons One and Two), DOUG (Seasons One and Two) and ROCKO’S MODERN LIFE (Best of Volumes One and Two). Also available for the first time on DVD will be the hit show SOUTH OF NOWHERE (Seasons One and Two) from The N. All of these titles are multi-disc sets.

Titles available immediately on Amazon.com for purchase and expedited shipping are DRAKE & JOSH Best of Seasons 1-2 and HEY, ARNOLD! Season 1. Additional titles being produced on-demand with CreateSpace (part of Amazon.com’s group of companies) are now available for pre-order on www.amazon.com/nickelodeon.

For cult shows without a huge audience, print-on-demand DVDs may be the way to go. Instead of an expensive launch, studios only pay for the production costs of copies that sell. While this may cut into their bottom line since production costs are higher for a POD DVD than a huge run, they can easily raise their prices. If you are a die-hard fan of the original Doug, you’d be willing to pay a little more to finally have them on DVD and so the profit would even out. (Trust me, this is coming from someone who paid a good deal for Season 1 of My Little Pony on DVD).