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Nickelodeon

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Nickelodeon
CountryUnited States
HeadquartersNew York City
Ownership
OwnerMTV Networks (Viacom)

Nickelodeon (previously known as Pinwheel from 1977 until 1981) is an American cable television channel owned by Viacom. Since the early-1990s and early 2000s, Nickelodeon as a brand has expanded into other territories including Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and Asia. Nickelodeon has been available in Canada since November 2, 2009.

It is often referred to by its shortened name, Nick, a practice that dates back to the early days of the channel. As of 2009, Nick currently has three blocks: Nick at Nite, Nick's Play Date, and the Hollywood Hang. Since 2006, Nickelodeon has been run by by MTVN Kids & Family Group president Cyma Zarghami. The channel is aimed mostly at children ages 2–7, with the exception of their prime time block that is aimed at children ages 7–18.

History

Pinwheel (1977–1981)

File:Pinwheellogo1.gif
The Pinwheel logo.

Nickelodeon was originally launched as Pinwheel on December 1, 1977 and was a local station on the Qube cable station that ran for only 6 hours a day. Shows included Video Comicbook, Pop Clips and Pinwheel (TV series). Pinwheel went national on April 1, 1979, expanding to Buffalo, New York, thus Nickelodeon has declared that 1979 is the network's official launch year. During its broadcast day, it would air shows such as the long running Pinwheel along with other TV shows such as Video Comic Book, America Goes Bananaz, Nickel Flicks and By the Way. In 1980, Geraldine Laybourne joined Nickelodeon's production team. She would become President of Nickelodeon in 1983.

Relaunch as Nickelodeon (1981–1990)

Pinwheel was relaunched as Nickelodeon: the First Network for Kids on April 1, 1981. It extended its hours from 8am (EST) to 8pm (EST) by turning its channel over to the Alpha Repertory Television Service (ARTS) and, later for about a year, A&E Network. At one point the channel just went to a test screen after a sign-off. Its original logo was a silver pinball with Nickelodeon title in front in multicolor. Nickelodeon's first popular series was You Can't Do That On Television, a Canadian sketch comedy that made its American debut on Nickelodeon in 1981.

After a while the network became known for its iconic green slime, originally featured in You Can't Do That on Television. The green slime was then adopted by the station as a primary feature of many of its shows. In the early years, other shows such as Livewire, Standby: Lights, Camera, Action, The Third Eye and Mr. Wizard's World were part of the regular Nickelodeon time slots.

File:Nickelodeon8409PNG.PNG
The Nickelodeon logo used from 1984 to 2009

The channel struggled at first, having lost $40 million by 1984 and finishing dead last among cable channels. After firing the staff, MTV Networks president Bob Pittman turned to Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman, who created MTV's iconic IDs a few years earlier, to reverse Nickelodeon's fortunes. Seibert and Goodman's company, Fred/Alan, teamed up with Tom Corey and Scott Nash to replace the "Pinball" logo with the "orange splat" logo that would be used in hundreds of different variations for the next quarter century. Fred/Alan also enlisted the help of animators, writers, producers and doo-wop group The Jive Five to create new idents for the channel. Within six months of the rebranding, Nickelodeon went from worst to first and has stayed there for 25 years.[1] In 1985, after ARTS dropped its partnership with Nickelodeon, Nick added a late-night new block called Nick at Nite. In 1988 Nick aired the first annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (previously known as The Big Ballot) and introduced Nick Jr., an educational block for younger children.

Success in the 1990s and the early 2000s (1990-2009)

By October 1990, Nickelodeon was seen in 52 million homes across the United States. In 1990, Nickelodeon opened Nickelodeon Studios, a television studio, in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios Florida and entered into a multimillion-dollar joint marketing agreement with international restaurant chain Pizza Hut, which involved licking Nickelodeon Magazine, which was available for free at participating McDonalds restaurants.[2] In 1991, for the first time, Nickelodeon developed its first animated series, Doug, The Ren and Stimpy Show, and Rugrats. These series, known as Nicktoons, premiered on August 11, 1991.[3] The network had previously refused to produce weekly animated series due to high cost.[3] The three Nicktoons found success in 1993, while in mid-1993, Nickelodeon developed its 4th Nicktoon, Rocko's Modern Life, which was also a success along with the three other Nicktoons. Later, Nickelodeon partnered with Sony Wonder and released top selling video cassettes of the show's programming.[4] By 1994, Doug ended production, but Rocko's Modern Life, The Ren and Stimpy Show, and Rugrats were still in production and airing. In mid-1996, Nickelodeon developed two new Nicktoons, KaBlam! and Hey Arnold! which would take the place of Rocko's Modern Life and The Ren and Stimpy Show since they would both end production about that time, but still would air re-runs up until about 2001. Rugrats, on the other hand, was still airing. The show got very popular in 1998, when The Rugrats Movie came out. The movie grossed more than $100 million in the United States and became the first non-Disney animated movie to ever sale that high.[5]

In June 1993, Nickelodeon resumed it magazine brand, Nickelodeon Magazine.[6] Nickelodeon Magazine will cease production in 2009 with the December issue being the last. In 1993, Nickelodeon removed sketch comedy You Can't Do That on Television from its schedule after twelve years on and by the next year the network had launched a new sketch comedy, All That. For many years, until its cancellation in 2005, All That would launch the careers of many actors and actresses including Kenan Thompson, Amanda Bynes, and Jamie Lynn Spears. In 1994, Nickelodeon also launched The Big Help, a public service initiative created to encourage kids to volunteer in local communities. It expanded in 2001 by encouraging kids to talk with their friends and loved ones. In October and December 1994, Nickelodeon sold Halloween and Christmas themed episodes of its Nicktoons through syndication to local markets across the United States, with then-new former corporate relative, Paramount Domestic Television (now CBS Television Distribution).[7]

File:Nickelodeon logo.svg
Nickelodeon's logo used from 2002 to 2009. The logo became more circular.

In October 1995, Nickelodeon ventured in the the world wide web and launched Nick.com.[8] Initially the website was available only using America Online's internet service, but was later available to all internet service providers and became a strong promotional tool for Nickelodeon. The website's popularity grew and in March 1999, Nick.com became the highest rated website for children aged six to fourteen years old. Nickelodeon used the website in conjunction with television programs which increased traffic.[9] In 2001, Nickelodeon partnered with Networks Inc. to provide broadband video games for rent from Nick.com. The move was a further step in the multimedia direction that the developers wanted to take the website. Skagerlind indicated that over 50% of Nick.com's audience are using a high speed connection which allows them to expand the gaming options on the website. To accompany the broadband content, TurboNick was created. Initially it was a popup panel which showcased broadband content on Nick.com.[10]

Rebranding and the future (2009–present)

In July 2009, Nickelodeon debuted a new logo for the first time in 25 years on the packaging of Nickelodeon DVDs coming out beginning that month, the Australian service, and that year's Nickelodeon Animation Festival, intending to create a unified look that can better be conveyed across all of MTV Networks's children's channels.[11] As of September 28, 2009, the new logo is used across Nickelodeon, and Nick at Nite, along with the rebranded TeenNick, Nick Jr. and Nicktoons (The N, Noggin and Nicktoons Network, respectively) channels in varying iterations customized for brand unification and refreshment purposes.[12] The new logo will debut in the UK in late February-early March 2010.

On October 21, 2009, it was announced that Nickelodeon secured the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise from Mirage Studios. The network plans to develop a new CGI-animated TMNT television series and will partner with fellow Viacom company Paramount Pictures to bring a new TMNT movie to theaters. Both are expected for 2012.[13]

Programming

Main article: List of programs broadcast by Nickelodeon

Nicktoons

Main article: Nicktoons

Programming blocks

Various types of program are broadcast on Nickelodeon in named programming blocks.

  • Hollywood Hang (2009-present) The programming block broadcasts over Nickelodeon every weekday from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The block features behind the scenes with stars from Nickelodeon's live action shows, a special poll that viewers can vote on Nick.com, and Nick stars doing dares posted online from viewers. The block is hosted by Lily Collins.
  • Nick Play Date (2009-present) The successor-of-sorts to the Nick Jr. block, the Nick Play Date runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on weekdays, but not on holidays. Its programming is generally targeted at preschool-age children, since the station's usual target audience is mostly in school at the time. The preschool block has been in place on Nickelodeon since at least 1988 under the "Nick Jr." brand, but this branding was transferred to the former Noggin channel on September 28, 2009. Much of the Nick Play Date's programming, though not all, overlaps with the Nick Jr. channel, and there is frequent cross-promotion between the two entities. Programming seen on the Nick Play Date includes The Fresh Beat Band, The Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, Max and Ruby, and Ni Hao, Kai-lan.

Sister channels

Current channels

  • TV Land is a cable channel that was created based on Nick at Nite. It airs classic programming from as far back as the early 1950s.

Former channels

  • Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids (commonly referred to as Nickelodeon GAS, Nick GAS), was a U.S. satellite television channel that was launched on March 1, 1999 as part of MTV Networks' suite of digital cable channels. Olympic swimmer and Figure It Out host Summer Sanders was named the Commissioner of Nick GAS. Dave Aizer and Vivianne Collins were the channel's original on-air hosts, with Mati Moralejo joining soon after. Nick GAS ended their run on digital cable on December 31, 2007. On this date, another Nickelodeon-based channel, The N, took the channel's position. An automated loop of GAS programming remained on Dish Network until April 23, 2009 due to channel bandwidth concerns that kept The N on a split-channel with Noggin on Dish. After a channel shift that day, the channel ended quietly on Dish Network. Cartoon Network's west coast feed replaced Nick GAS on that channel.

Nickelodeon channels

  • Nickelodeon HD is the on-air name for a feed provided by Nickelodeon to broadcast a limited schedule of programming in 1080i high definition, which is carried by most of the major American cable providers on a simulcast schedule that programs based on a Eastern/Central and a Pacific/Mountain schedule.
  • Nick 2 is the on-air name for a feed provided by Nickelodeon to digital cable and satellite providers that features either the Pacific/Mountain or Eastern/Central feed of the channel, depending on geographical location and giving viewers a second chance to watch programming three hours after or three hours before the original airing. Previously a Nick TWO logo was used on the channels until 2004 (the channel was also called Nick TOO); the regular Nickelodeon logo has been used since then. Most program listings display the channel as either Nickelodeon Pacific/NICK-P, Nickelodeon Eastern/NICK-E, or NICK 2.

Other Nickelodeon projects

See also: Nickelodeon Toys and Nick Rewind

Nick.com

Main article: Nick.com

Nick.com is Nickelodeon's main online portal. It houses Nicktropolis and TurboNick (2005-2009).

Nickelodeon Magazine

Main article: Nickelodeon Magazine

Nickelodeon Magazine was launched by Nickelodeon in 1993, following a short-lived effort from 1990. It contains informative non-fiction pieces, humor, interviews, pranks, recipes (such as green slime cake), and a comic book section in the center featuring original comics by leading underground cartoonists as well as strips about popular Nicktoons.

In June 2009, Nickelodeon, in response to a hard-hit magazine industry, closed the doors to Nickelodeon Magazine after 16 successful years.[15]

Nickelodeon Movies

Main article: Nickelodeon Movies

Nickelodeon Movies is the channel's motion picture production arm founded in 1995. It has produced films based on Nickelodeon programs, as well as other adaptations and original projects. Its films are released by Paramount Pictures. Nickelodeon has not made a new logo when the Nickelodeon new logo came into effect. Nickelodeon plans to get one in early 2010.

Destinations

Nicktoons Studios

Main article: Nicktoons Studios
A giant Nickelodeon balloon that was located above Nickelodeon's booth at Comic Con 2008 in San Diego, California.

"Nicktoons Studios" (Formerly "Games Animation") is the home of Nicktoons located in Burbank, California it houses production of many current Nicktoons.

Theme park areas

File:Nickelodeon-Rajchel.JPG
Nickelodeon Studios as viewed from the Hard Rock Cafe in March 2004.
  • Nickelodeon Studios was an attraction at Universal Orlando Resort that opened on June 7, 1990, and housed production for many Nickelodeon programs. It closed on April 30, 2005, after all of Nickelodeon's production had re-located to Burbank, California. The Slime Geyser was removed from the front of the facility in May 2005, the trademark Nickelodeon sign was removed in January 2006, and the Nickelodeon Time Capsule was removed prematurely in August 2006. The building was then converted into the Sharp Aquos Theatre, a venue for the Blue Man Group, which opened on June 7, 2007. The Time Capsule is now located at the Nick Hotel.
  • Nickelodeon Central is an area inside many theme parks around The United States, Canada, and Australia. The area is filled with attractions, shows, and themes featuring the Nickelodeon characters.
  • Nickland is an area inside of Movie Park Germany featuring Nickelodeon-th emed rides, including a Spongebob Squarepants-themed "Splash Battle" ride, and a Jimmy Neutron-themed roller coaster. This area is currently being expanded to fill space formerly occupied with rides based on Warner Bros. characters.
  • Nickelodeon Universe is an area inside of Kings Island featuring Nickelodeon-themed rides and attractions. The area is one of the largest areas in the park, and has been voted "Best Kid's Area" by Amusement Today magazine since 2001. Nickelodeon Universe is also located at Mall of America being the largest in-door theme park in America. On August 18, 2009, Nickelodeon and Southern Star Amusement confirmed that the second Nickelodeon Universe will be located in New Orleans, Louisiana and have a tentative opening date by the end of 2010. It will be Nick's first-ever outdoor theme park.
  • Nickelodeon Blast Zone was an area in Universal Studios Hollywood that featured attractions centered around Nickelodeon characters and themes. The four attractions that were present in the area were "Nickelodeon Splash", a waterpark-style area, 'The Wild Thornberrys Adventure Temple', a jungle-themed foam ball play area, and "Nick Jr Backyard", a medium-sized toddler playground. This area closed in winter 2007 and has been rethemed to Curious George. Another attraction, "Rugrats Magic Adventure", was present at the opening of the area in 2001, but closed in 2002 to make way for Shrek 4-D.

Hotels and Travel

  • Hertz also offers a media option in their family rental cars and minivans at American locations called Nick on the Go, which features Nickelodeon programming pre-loaded onto car entertainment centers.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Nickelodeon Family Cruises is a series of Nickelodeon-themed cruise packages in partnership with Royal Caribbean International. These cruises will feature special amenities and entertainment themed to various Nickelodeon Properties.[17]

International

File:Picnickelodeon.jpg
An attempt at the Guinness record for the world's largest picnic, sponsored by Nickelodeon in Petah Tikva, Israel.

It also operates language- or culture-specific Nickelodeon channels for various markets in different parts of the world, and has licensed some of its cartoons and other content, in English and local languages, to TV and cable stations such as KI.KA and Super RTL in Germany, RTÉ Two (English speaking) and TG4 (Irish speaking) in Ireland, YTV (English) and VRAK.TV (French) in Canada, Canal J in France, Alpha Kids in Greece and CNBC-e in Turkey.

As of August 2007, the channel also broadcasts in South East Asia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Scandinavia, Republic of Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Cyprus, India, Italy, Israel, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Hungary, France, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Africa, and Latin America.

On October 11, 2006, Viacom's subsidiary MTV Networks Asia Pacific set up a new unit to manage Nickelodeon South East Asia TV based in Singapore.[18] Nickelodeon was launched in Singapore and expanded its services in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Polynesia. In the present, Nickelodeon Philippines and Nickelodeon India started working independently. They started their new website, Nicksplat.com in 2003.

In India, Nickelodeon is available on the One Alliance bouquet, through the Dish TV and Tata Sky DTH services. In the Philippines, it is available on SkyCable Gold, Silver and Platinum channel 45, Sun Cable channel 34 and Global Destiny Cable channel 42. In Hong Kong, it is available on now TV, while in Malaysia, it is available over Astro via Channel 612. In Singapore, it is available over StarHub TV and in Indonesia, Nickelodeon is available on Astro Nusantara channel 14, Global TV, a free-to-air television channel, and is also broadcast on Indovision channel 33.

A pan-Arabia version of Nickelodeon has been relaunched in 2008 (now relaunched), in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. From the late-1990s until the mid-2000s, It used to be on the Showtime Arabia and Orbit satellite services, until they were removed.[19]

In September 2009, Corus Entertainment, owners of YTV and Treehouse TV, announced that they would launch Nickelodeon Canada on November 2.[20]

The Polish version of Nickelodeon has launched on July 10, 2008 in Platform N.

See also

References

  1. ^ Seibert, Fred. "The Fred/Alan Archive". Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  2. ^ Lewin, Tamar (1990-10-21). "Hey There, Dudes, the Kids Have Grabbed a Network". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  3. ^ a b "Nickelodeon to offer cartoons". Victoria Advocate. 1991-08-09. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  4. ^ Cohen, Sydney (1994-10-23). "KIDSDAY ON THE GO Video Winners". Newsday. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  5. ^ Lacher, Irene. "Birth of a Nickelodeon Nation". Newsday. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  6. ^ accessdate = 2009-10-18 "IN THE NICK OF TIME, A KIDS' MAGAZINE THAT'S REALLY GROSS". NewsLibrary. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing pipe in: |url= (help)
  7. ^ "Tooned Up Hipper characters and computer power are driving the comeback of cartoons". Boston Herald.
  8. ^ "Nick History". Nickelodeon. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  9. ^ "Nickelodeon TV & Online Are Perfect Together as Nick.com Takes Top Ratings Spot in March". Entertainment Wire. 1999-05-19. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  10. ^ Brown, Karen (2001-11-12). "Nick Looks to Gaming As High-Speed Revenue Play". MultiChannel News. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  11. ^ The New Nickelodeon Logo: Fixing the Unbroken, Toon Zone, July 22, 2009
  12. ^ Nickelodeon Unveils New Logo, Variety.com, July 29, 2009
  13. ^ The Mirage Group Sells Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(TM) to Nickelodeon | Reuters
  14. ^ "TV LAND OPENS UP ON MONDAY". April 23, 1996. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  15. ^ "Nickelodeon Magazine Closing". June 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  16. ^ Clabaugh, Jeff (May 31, 2007). "Marriott strikes resort deal with Nickelodeon". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  17. ^ Sail with SpongeBob on new Nickelodeon Family Cruise - Cruise Log - USA TODAY.com
  18. ^ "MTV Networks Asia Pacific Announces A New Structure To Advance Its Localization Strategy", Viacom, 11 October 2006
  19. ^ "Nickelodeon Arabia". 2007-10-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  20. ^ "Nickelodeon comes to Canada". CBC News. September 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-29.

Official sites

Channels

Other

Other sites

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