SpongeBob SquarePants and a girl with a webcast, iCarly, helped drive Nickelodeon to a record-setting Nielsen run during the second quarter this year.

That’s because the kidscaster, helped by strong numbers from iCarly starring Miranda Cosgrove, the animated series The Mighty B and a SpongeBob SquarePants movie, notched its 53rd straight quarter, and 14th consecutive year as the most-watched basic cable network on a total-day basis.

Number crunchers say it’s the longest streak of its kind in basic cable.

The USA Network, backed by original series In Plain Sight, WWE Monday Raw and Law & Order, was the most-watched basic cable network in prime time during the second quarter, according to Nielsen statistics released yesterday.

It was the best second quarter in USA Network’s history, with 2.73 million viewers tuning in during prime time. Nickelodeon averaged 2.2 million for the quarter on a total-day basis.

We love iCarly, even better than Hannah Montana!!!