Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon
Logo used since March 4, 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 (Paramount Global)
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

Nickelodeon, occasionally shortened to Nick, is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through Paramount Media Networks’ subdivision, Nickelodeon Group. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children, the channel is primarily aimed at children and adolescents aged 2 to 17,[1] along with a broader family audience through its program blocks.

The channel began life 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] The channel, now named Nickelodeon, launched to a new nationwide audience on April 1, 1979,[5] with Pinwheel as its inaugural program.[4] The network was initially commercial-free and remained without advertising until 1984. Nickelodeon gained a new facelift regarding programming and image that fall, and its ensuing success led to it and its sister networks MTV and VH1 being sold to Viacom in 1985.[6][7]

Throughout history, Nickelodeon has introduced several sister channels and programming blocks. Nick Jr. is a preschool morning block launched on January 4, 1988. Nicktoons, based on the flagship brand, launched as a separate sister channel in 2002. In 1999, Nickelodeon partnered with Sesame Workshop to create Noggin, an educational brand consisting of a cable channel and an interactive website. Two blocks aimed at a teenage audience, TEENick (previously on Nickelodeon) and The N (previously on Noggin), were merged into a standalone channel, TeenNick, in 2009.

As of September 2018, the channel is available to about 87.167 million households in the United States.[8]

Evolution of Nickelodeon
1977Pinwheel broadcasts on QUBE
1979Nickelodeon is launched by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment
1986Double Dare premieres
1984Nick's Balloon font logo debuts
1985Nick@Nite is launched
1988The Big Ballot premieres and the programming block Nick Jr. was launched
1991Nickelodeon debuted their "Nicktoons" brand
1992The programming block SNICK was launched
1994Nickelodeon launches The Big Help
1996Nickelodeon released its first feature-length film in theaters in 1996, an adaptation of the Louise Fitzhugh novel Harriet the Spy
1999Noggin, a joint venture with Sesame Workshop is launched, SpongeBob premieres, and the pilot of Dora the Explorer premieres on Nick Jr.
2001TEENick is launched
2002the N is launched on Noggin and NickToons TV is launched
2005Nickelodeon premiered Avatar: The Last Airbender
2009Nickelodeon went thru a major rebrand: TEENick and The N became TeenNick, Noggin became the Nick Jr. Channel, and Nicktoons Network became NickToons, as well as a debut of the current "litebulb" logo and the TMNT franchise to the Nick family
2010Nick bought Winx Club
2011Power Rangers Samurai premieres
2023Nick's iconic splat logo redebuts


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. ^ "Nielsen coverage estimates for September see gains at ESPN networks, NBCSN, and NBA TV, drops at MLBN and NFLN". awfulannouncing.comm. September 10, 2018. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.