Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon
Logo used since 2023[a]
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaNationwide
HeadquartersOne Astor Plaza
New York City, New York, U.S.
Programming
Language(s)
  • English
  • Spanish (via SAP audio track)
Picture format1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerParamount Media Networks
ParentNickelodeon Group
Sister channels
History
FoundedDecember 1, 1977 (1977-12-01)
LaunchedApril 1, 1979 (1979-04-01)
FounderVivian Horner
Former namesC-3 (1977–1979)
Links
Websitenick.com
Availability
(channel space shared with nighttime programming block Nick at Nite)
Streaming media
Affiliated Streaming ServiceParamount+
Internet Protocol televisionPhilo, FuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream, Spectrum, Vidgo

Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children, it is primarily aimed at children and adolescents aged 2 to 17,[1] along with a broader family audience through its programming blocks.

The channel began as a test broadcast on December 1, 1977,[2] as part of QUBE,[3] an early cable television system broadcast locally in Columbus, Ohio.[4] On April 1, 1979, the channel was renamed Nickelodeon and launched to a new nationwide audience,[5] with Pinwheel as its inaugural program.[4] The network was initially commercial-free and remained without advertising until 1984. Nickelodeon gained a rebranding in programming and image that year, and its ensuing success led to it and its sister networks MTV and VH1 being sold to Viacom in 1985.[6][7]

Nickelodeon began expanding as a franchise model with the addition of sister channels and program blocks. Nick Jr. launched as preschool morning block on January 4, 1988, and was eventually spun-off into the Nick Jr. Channel in 2009. Nicktoons, based on the flagship brand for Nickelodeon original animated series, launched as a standalone channel in 2002. Noggin, an interactive educational brand created in partnership with Sesame Workshop, existed as a television channel from 1999 to 2009 and a mobile streaming service from 2015 to 2024. Two blocks aimed at teenage audiences, Nickelodeon's TEENick and Noggin's The N, were merged to form the TeenNick channel in 2009.

As of December 2023, Nickelodeon was available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States, down from its peak of 101 million households in 2011.[8]

Evolution of Nickelodeon
1977First Pinwheel broadcast on Qube
1979Nickelodeon is launched by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment
1984A&E merges two networks onto Nickelodeon's prime time schedule
1985Launch of prime time and overnight programming through Nick at Nite with A&E's spin-off to 24-hour operation
1986Viacom acquires network parent MTV Networks
1987The first Big Ballot, which would became the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
1988Nick Jr. launches in mornings
1990Opening of Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios Florida
1991The first Nicktoons premiere
1992SNICK, the network's Saturday night block, begins
Nickelodeon Animation Studio is founded
1993Nickelodeon UK debuts
1994Nickelodeon launches The Big Help
1995Nick.com is launched
1996First theatrical release by Nickelodeon Movies
1999Noggin, a joint venture with CTW launches
SpongeBob SquarePants premieres
2000Nickelodeon on CBS airs from 2000–2006
2001TEENick is launched
2002The N is launched on Noggin and the Nicktoons channel is launched
Sesame Workshop sells their stake in Noggin to Viacom
2005SNICK shuts down
Nickelodeon Studios closes
2007Nick GAS shuts down, The N takes over its channel space
2009Nickelodeon acquires the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise
TEENick and The N merged to create TeenNick, Noggin is replaced by the Nick Jr. Channel
2010Nickelodeon begins co-producing the Winx Club franchise
2012NickMom is launched overnights on the Nick Jr. Channel
2015NickMom closes
Noggin relaunches as a streaming service
2016NickMusic launches
2021NFL on Nickelodeon premieres in partnership with CBS Sports
2024Noggin streaming service is shut down
2025Closure of international Nickelodeon websites


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Hemsworth, Aaron (January 3, 2018). "Viacom's Nickelodeon Remains Driving Force for Media Segment". Yahoo! Finance. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  2. ^ Julie Young (May 28, 2013). The Famous Faces of Indy's WTTV-4. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-62584-506-1.
  3. ^ Hendershot 2004, pp. 15–16.
  4. ^ a b "QUBE Interactive Television History: It Came From Columbus". Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet. June 28, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  5. ^ Jay Bobbin. "Nickelodeon 20th Birthday from Green Slime to Prime Time, The Kids Network Celebrates with Lots of Special Events", The Buffalo News, June 20, 1999.
  6. ^ Dudek, Duane (September 2, 1983). "Cable's Nickelodeon is all for the children". Milwaukee Sentinel. Retrieved December 27, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Hendershot 2004, p. 21–22.
  8. ^ "U.S. cable network households (universe), 1990 – 2023". Wrestlenomics. May 14, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2019.

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