American television channel
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Also known as: Nick, Pinwheel
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
- Also known as:
- Nick
- Date:
- December 1, 1977 - present
- Areas Of Involvement:
- broadcasting
- cable television
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Nickelodeon, American-based cable television channel, focused on children’s programming. It is among the top-rated networks in the history of cable television.
The channel launched as Pinwheel on December 1, 1977, originally airing educational fare from around the world for 12 hours a day, without commercials. Rebranded as Nickelodeon in 1979, the channel expanded its lineup of original programming, which eventually included the sketch-comedy show You Can’t Do That on Television. The Canadian-produced series, which had first aired on a local station in Ottawa, is notable for originating the channel’s iconic and frequent use of green slime in its early years.
Though that show became a modest success in the early 1980s, Nickelodeon as a whole suffered from dismal ratings and was largely unprofitable, which prompted the network to reinvent itself once more. In 1983 it began airing commercials, and the following year it embarked on a campaign to shed its image as a family-friendly educational network and promote itself instead as an entertainment channel devoted to the actual interests of children. Within months, Nickelodeon had gained its footing and, with the popularity of cheerfully unsophisticated programs such as the kids’ game show Double Dare, it soon became the top-rated American children’s television station. At the same time, it introduced a block of evening programming called Nick at Nite, which aired reruns of classic TV shows favoured by older viewers. By the early 1990s, the network boasted a production facility at the Universal Studios Florida theme park as well as its own magazine.
In 1991 Nickelodeon began to air original cartoons, namely, Doug (1991–94), The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991–96), and Rugrats (1991–2004). By the mid-1990s the network had become the number one cable channel as measured by total daily viewers, and later programs, such as the animated SpongeBob SquarePants (1999– ) and the live-action sitcom iCarly (2007–12), frequently ranked among the highest-rated cable programs in the United States. Nickelodeon’s offerings aimed at preschoolers, a key element of its success, included Blue’s Clues (1996–2006), Dora the Explorer (2000–14, 2019), and Go, Diego, Go! (2005–11).
Several networks have been spun off from Nickelodeon, including TV Land (launched 1996), which, like Nick at Nite, aired old broadcast-network programs; Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids (1999–2007; revived as Nick Games in 2019); Noggin (1999), for younger viewers; Nicktoons (2002), which showed current and older animated series; and the N (2002), for adolescent viewers. In 2009 Noggin and the N were renamed Nick Jr. and TeenNick, respectively, after long-running programming blocks on the parent network. Nickelodeon has also lent its name and concept to numerous international versions.
Since 1995 Nickelodeon Movies has produced children’s films, many of which have been adaptations either of popular books or of the network’s television series. The Rugrats Movie (1998) became the first non-Disney animated movie to gross more than $100 million, and Rango (2011) earned an Academy Award for best animated feature film. In addition, a Broadway musical based on SpongeBob SquarePants ran from 2017 to 2018.
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by René Ostberg.
