premise: SpongeBob SquarePants is not a media franchise.
hypothesis: SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon . The series ' popularity has made it a media franchise , as well as the highest rated series to ever air on Nickelodeon , and the most distributed property of MTV Networks . As of 2015 , the media franchise has generated $ 12 billion in merchandising revenue for Nickelodeon . SpongeBob SquarePants is the titular character and protagonist of the American animated television series of the same name . SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated/live-action comedy film series based on the Nickelodeon animated television program of the same name , created by Stephen Hillenburg .