Executives at Disney argue that the issue isn't that boys aren't being served enough boy characters, but that boys have changed and now have no problem relating to strong female leads. In other words, the world is becoming more coed, and tween TV is reflecting that.

Just look at Nick's hit comedy "iCarly," now in its third season, about a girl (Cosgrove) who creates a Web show with her friends Freddie and Samantha. Nick's strategy with shows like "iCarly" and new series "Big Time Rush" has been to reach both genders with the same programming.

It's been paying off: "iCarly" is the No. 1 live-action program on TV with all boy demos, bringing in 3,113,000 viewers on average last year, according to the Nielsen Co., of which 440,000 were tween boys and 481,000 were tween girls. "Big Time Rush," a comedy about four teen boys who become a pop sensation, also approaches a fifty-fifty male-female tween viewership.

Marjorie Cohn, executive vice president, original programming and development for Nickelodeon, said, "We don't feel like boys are just about action and fighting shows. We've found that boys, especially in recent years, have become more emotionally intelligent. They love shows about relationships and humor."