Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television network which was launched on December 1, 1977 as the first cable channel for children.^[1] It is owned by Viacom through its Viacom Media Networks division's Nickelodeon Group unit and is based in New York City. It broadcasts usually from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays (the sign off time varies with holidays and special programming), Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Sundays from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific Time). It is primarily aimed at children and adolescents aged 2–17.^[2]

The channel was originally first tested as Pinwheel on December 1, 1977. Pinwheel was at the time only available on QUBE,^[3] which was the first two-way major market interactive cable television system, owned by Warner Cable. Pinwheel relaunched as "Nick" on April 1, 1979, and expanded to other cable providers nationwide.^[4] It was initially commercial-free and remained without advertising until 1984.^[5] Warner sold Nickelodeon, along with its sister networks MTV and VH1, to Viacom in 1986.^[6]

As of September 2018, the channel is available to about 87.167 million households in the United States.^[7]

The channel's name comes from the first five cent movie theaters called nickelodeons. Its history dates back to December 1, 1977, when Warner Cable Communications launched the first two-way interactive cable system, QUBE,^[3] in Columbus, Ohio. Under the name Pinwheel Network, the C-3 cable channel carried Pinwheel daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.^[3][8] Nickelodeon launched on April 1, 1979,initially distributed to Warner Cable systems via satellite on the RCA Satcom-1 transponder (the owner of the satellite, RCA Americom, later became GE Americom as a result of General Electric's acquisition of RCA Americom's parent company, RCA Corporation, before merging with Luxembourg based Société Européenne des Satellites to form SES Global, now SES S.A, which one of the descendants of the Satcom series, the SES and AMC satellite constellations, stil operate, Nickelodeon presently broadcasts on AMC-11).^[9] Originally commercial-free, advertising was introduced in January 1984.^[5]

Nickelodeon's schedule currently consists largely of original series aimed at children, pre-teens and young teenagers, including animated series (such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), to live-action comedy and action series (such as Power Rangers, Henry Danger, Knight Squad, along with the month-long running show Hunter Street), as well as series aimed at preschoolers (such as Top Wing, PAW Patrol, Shimmer and Shine, Blaze and the Monster Machines, and Rusty Rivets). It also airs reruns of select original series that have ended their runs (such as iCarly and The Fairly OddParents), as well as occasional original made-for-TV movies. It also aired bi-monthly special editions of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee,^[10] a news magazine series aimed at children that debuted in 1992 as a weekly series which ended in 2015.^[11]

Nicktoons is the branding for Nickelodeon's original animated television series^[12][13] (although it has seldom been used by the network itself since the 2002 launch of the high-tier subscription channel of the same name). Until 1991, the animated series that aired on Nickelodeon were largely imported from foreign countries, and some original animated specials were also featured on the channel up to that point.^[14][15] Original animated series continue to make up a substantial portion of Nickelodeon's lineup,^[13] with roughly 6 to 7 hours of these programs airing on the weekday schedule and around nine hours on weekends, including a five-hour weekend morning animation block.^[14] Since the late 2000s, after the channel struck a deal with DreamWorks Animation in 2006 to develop the studio's animated films into weekly series,^[16] the network has also begun to incorporate Nicktoons that use three-dimensional computer animation (such as The Penguins of Madagascar, Fanboy & Chum Chum, and Winx Club) in addition to those that are produced through traditional or digital ink and paint. A new Garfield series is in the works for Nickelodeon.

Nickelodeon does not air theatrically released or direct-to-video movies on a regular basis; however, it does produce its own original made-for-TV movies, which usually premiere in weekend evening timeslots or on school holidays.

The channel occasionally airs feature films produced by the network's Nickelodeon Movies film production division (whose films are distributed by sister company Paramount Pictures). Although the film division bears the Nickelodeon brand name, the channel does not have access to most of the movies produced by its film unit. Nickelodeon does have broadcast rights to most feature films based on or that served as the basis for original series produced by it (such as Barnyard: The Original Party Animals); the majority of the live-action feature films produced under the Nickelodeon Movies banner are licensed for broadcast by various free-to-air and pay television outlets within the United States other than Nickelodeon (although the network has aired a few live-action Nickelodeon Movies releases such as Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Good Burger).

Nickelodeon also advertises hour-long episodes of its original series as movies; though the "TV movie" versions of Nickelodeon's original series differ from traditional television films in that they have shorter running times (approximately 45 minutes, as opposed to 75–100 minute run times that most television movies have), and use a traditional multi-camera setup for regular episodes (unless the program is natively shot in the single-camera setup common of films) with some on-location filming. Nickelodeon also periodically acquires theatrically released feature films for broadcast on the channel including Universal's Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale, several Monster High films, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever (which was later released by Nickelodeon Movies through Paramount for DVD release), with the Barbie and Monster High films usually aired under a brokered format in which Mattel purchases the time in order to promote the release of their films on DVD within a few days of the Nickelodeon premiere, an arrangement possible as Nickelodeon does not have to meet the Federal Communications Commission rules which disallow that arrangement for broadcast channels due to regulations disallowing paid programming to children.

Nick at Nite (stylized as "nick@nite") is Nickelodeon's nighttime programming service,^[18] which debuted on July 1, 1985, and broadcasts Weekdays from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., Saturdays from 9:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and Sundays from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time.

Originally featuring classic sitcoms from the 1950s and 1960s such as The Donna Reed Show,^[18] Mr. Ed and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, programming eventually shifted towards repeats of popular sitcoms from the 1980s to the 2000s such as Home Improvement, The Cosby Show and Roseanne. Nick at Nite has also occasionally incorporated original scripted and competition series, with some in recent years being produced through its parent network's Nickelodeon Productions unit. Programs airing on Nick at Nite as of 2016 include Full House, Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and George Lopez, as well as original series such as See Dad Run and Instant Mom. Since 2004, Nielsen has broken out the television ratings of Nick at Nite and Nickelodeon as two separate networks.^[19]

Nicktoons is a pay television network that launched on May 1, 2002, as Nicktoons TV; it was renamed as Nicktoons in May 2003, before rebranding Nicktoons Network from 2005 until reverting to its previous name in September 2009. The network airs a mix of newer live action & animated shows from Nick (like The Haunted Hathaways, Fanboy & Chum Chum, Robot and Monster, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles along with original series produced exclusively for Nicktoons).

Nick Jr. is a pay television network aimed primarily at children between 2 and 7 years of age, featuring a mix of current and some former preschool-oriented programs from Nickelodeon, and original series exclusive to the channel; it originally launched on February 2, 1999, as Noggin, a joint venture between MTV Networks and the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop), the latter of which sold its stake to Viacom in 2002.

On September 28, 2009, the network was relaunched as Nick Jr., named after the former preschool program block of the same name that aired on Nickelodeon from January 1988 to February 2009. The network debuted Nickmom, a four-hour nightly program block aimed at mothers in September 2012,^[20] which was controversial at its start due to its more lenient content standards (including some profanity, crude humor and suggestive references) than what is otherwise permitted on Nick Jr., particularly as the network operates a singular Eastern Time Zone feed, which results in the Nickmom block airing at the same time in all six U.S. time zones (being broadcast as early as 5:00 p.m. in the Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone).^[21] While traditional advertising appears on the channel during the Nickmom block, the network otherwise only runs programming promotions and underwriter-style sponsorships in lieu of regular commercials.

TeenNick is a pay television network that is aimed at adolescents and young adults, which originated as a nighttime block called "The N" on Noggin (in a similar scheduling structure as Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite) on April 1, 2002, and was spun off into a standalone channel on December 31, 2007, when it took over the satellite transponder of Nickelodeon Games and Sports. On September 28, 2009, the network was rebranded as TeenNick, named after the former TEENick block that aired on Nickelodeon from July 2000 to February 2009. Although TeenNick has more relaxed program standards than the other Nickelodeon channels (save for Nick at Nite and the Nickmom block on Nick Jr.) – allowing for moderate profanity, suggestive dialogue and some violent content – the network has shifted its lineup almost exclusively towards current and former Nickelodeon series (including some that are burned off due to low ratings on the flagship channel) that have stricter content standards. It also airs some acquired sitcoms and drama series (such as Degrassi, which has aired on the network since 2003 as The N) and until the rebrand, also incorporated some original programming.

On July 25, 2011, TeenNick began airing The '90s Are All That, renamed The Splat in October 2015, a block of Nickelodeon's most popular 1990s programming, targeting the network's target demographic from that era.^[22]

Through several name changes the block is now called "NickRewind" and focuses on programming from the 1980s to 2000's and airs nightly from 11PM to 6AM.

NickMusic is a pay television network in the United States mainly featuring music video and music-related programming from younger pop artists that appeal to Nickelodeon's target audience. It launched on the channel space formerly held by MTV Hits on September 9, 2016.

TV Land is a pay television channel that debuted on April 29, 1996.^[23] Based on the Nick at Nite block, it originally aired classic television series from the early 1950s to the 1970s, but beginning in 2004, has broadened its programming inventory to include series from the 1980s and 1990s (and more recently, the 2000s). In 2008, TV Land began producing its own original series: originally these were reality series; however, the network ventured into scripted originals with the 2010 debut of Hot in Cleveland. On December 17, 2006, Viacom's MTV Networks Kids & Family Group division took over operational responsibilities for TV Land from Nick at Nite (concurrent with Nickelodeon taking operational duties for Nick at Nite), though TV Land continues to be operated as part of the company's Viacom Media Networks unit.

Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids (commonly branded as Nickelodeon GAS or Nick GAS), was a pay television network that launched on March 1, 1999, as part of the suite of high-tier channels launched by MTV Networks. It ran a mix of game shows and other competition programs from Nickelodeon (essentially formatted as a children's version of—and Viacom's answer to—the Game Show Network). The channel formally ceased operations on December 31, 2007, with The N taking over its channel space as a separate 24-hour network; however, an automated loop of Nick GAS continued to be carried on Dish Network due to unknown factors until April 23, 2009.

NickMom (stylized as nickmom) was a programming block launched on October 1, 2012, airing in the late night hours on Nick Jr. The block attempted original programming targeted towards young mothers until 2014, then began to carry acquired films and sitcoms, along with the 2010 version of the TV series Parenthood. Due to Viacom's 2015 cutbacks involving acquired programming and low ratings, the NickMom block and associated website were discontinued in the early morning hours of September 28, 2015.^[24]

Nick 2 was the off-air brand for a secondary timeshift channel of Nickelodeon formerly available on the high-tier packages exclusively on cable providers as a compliment to the main Nickelodeon feed, repackaging Nickelodeon's Eastern and Pacific Time Zone feeds for the appropriate timezone – the Pacific feed was distributed to the Eastern and Central Time Zones, and the Eastern feed was distributed to the Pacific and Mountain Time Zones – resulting in the difference in local airtimes for a particular program between two geographic locations being three hours at most, allowing viewers a second chance to watch a program after its initial airing on the Eastern Time Zone feed or to watch the show ahead of its airing on the Pacific Time Zone feed of the main channel (for example, the Nick at Nite block would respectively start at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on Nick 2 Pacific or 5:00 p.m. Pacific weeknights on Nick 2 Eastern). Nick 2 would never broadcast in high definition. The service existed from around 2000 until November 2018, launching as Nick TOO.

The timeshift channel was originally offered as part of the MTV Networks Digital Suite, a slate of channels exclusive to high-tier cable packages (many of the networks also earned satellite carriage over time), and was the only American example of two feeds of a non-premium service being provided to cable and IPTV providers. A Nick TOO logo was used on the channel until 2004, when MTV Networks decided to stop using customized branding on the feed (a logo for Nick 2 was only used for identification purposes on electronic program guides as a placeholder image); most television listings thus showed the additional channel under the brandings "Nickelodeon Pacific/NICKP" or "Nickelodeon Eastern/NICKE".

On another note, DirecTV and Dish Network also offer both Nickelodeon feeds, though they carry both time zone feeds of most of the children's networks that the providers offer by default.

Viacom Media Networks discontinued the Nick 2 digital cable service on November 22, 2018, likely due to video on demand options making timeshift channels for the most part superfluous. Both timezone feeds continue to be offered on satellite providers, unbranded.^[25]

Nick.com is Nickelodeon's main website, which launched in October 1995 as a component of America Online's Kids Only channel before eventually moving to the full World Wide Web.^[27] It provides content, as well as video clips and full episodes of Nickelodeon series available for streaming. The website's popularity grew to the point where in March 1999, Nick.com became the highest rated website among children aged 6–14 years old. Nickelodeon used the website in conjunction with television programs which increased traffic.^[28] 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 were using a high speed connection, which allowed them to expand the gaming and video streaming options on the website.^[29]

Nickelodeon released a free mobile app for smartphones and tablet computers operating on the Apple and Android platforms in February 2013.^[30] Like Nick.com, a TV Everywhere login code provided by participating subscription providers is required to view individual episodes of the network's series.

Nickelodeon Movies is a motion picture production unit that was founded in 1995, as a family entertainment arm of Paramount Pictures (owned by Nickelodeon corporate parent Viacom),^[31] which releases the studio's films. The first film released from the studio was the 1996 mystery/comedy Harriet the Spy.^[32] Nickelodeon Movies has produced films based on Nickelodeon animated programs including The Rugrats Movie and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, as well as other adaptations and original live-action and animated projects.

Nickelodeon Magazine was a print magazine that was launched in 1993; the channel had previously published a short-lived magazine effort in 1990. Nickelodeon Magazine incorporated informative non-fiction pieces, humor (including pranks and parodical pieces), interviews, recipes (such as green slime cake), and a comic book section in the center of each issue featuring original comics by leading underground cartoonists as well as strips about popular Nicktoons.^[33] It ceased publication after 16 years in December 2009, citing a sluggish magazine industry.^[34] A new version of the magazine was launched by Papercutz in June 2015.^[35]

Nick Radio was a radio network that launched on September 30, 2013, in a partnership between both the network and iHeartMedia (then called Clear Channel Communications), which distributed the network mainly via its iHeartRadio web platform and mobile app. Its programming was also streamed via the Nick.com website and on New York City radio station WHTZ as a secondary HD channel. Nick Radio focused on Top 40 and pop music (geared towards the network's target audience of children and adolescents, with radio edits of some songs incorporated due to inappropriate content), along with celebrity interview features. In addition to regular on-air DJs, Nick Radio also occasionally featured guest DJ stints by popular artists as well as stars from Nickelodeon's original series.^[36][37][38]

Nick Radio shut down without warning on July 31, 2019 and was replaced by Hit Nation Junior, likely due to the network's general failure to establish any sustained "triple threat" artists/actors throughout the 2010s, along with the general failure of the children's-only radio format in the streaming age. It was also a non-prime asset in Viacom's current 'six prime networks' strategy, leaving it vulnerable to being terminated.

Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America is the largest indoor theme park in the United States. On August 18, 2009, Nickelodeon and Southern Star Amusements announced that it would build a second Nickelodeon Universe in New Orleans, Louisiana on the site of the former Six Flags New Orleans by the end of 2010,^[39] which was set to be the first outdoor Nickelodeon Universe theme park. On November 9, 2009, Nickelodeon announced that it had ended the licensing agreement with Southern Star Amusements.^[40]

Nickelodeon Universe has a second location currently under construction at the American Dream Meadowlands complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with an opening date of October 25, 2019.^[41]

All except three Nickelodeon-themed theme park areas now closed:

Nickelodeon Animation Studio (formerly Games Animation) is a production firm located in Burbank, California, which serves as the animation facilities for many of the network's Nicktoons series. It also houses the headquarters of the Nicktoons channel.

Nickelodeon on Sunset is a studio complex in Hollywood, California, which serves the primary production facilities for Nickelodeon's series; the studio is designated by the National Register for Historic Places as a historical landmark as a result of its prior existence as the Earl Carroll Theater, a prominent dinner theater. It has served as the production facilities for several Nickelodeon series including iCarly (until it moved to Sunset Bronson Studios for its fifth season), All That (from 2002 to 2005, after it moved production from Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida), Victorious and Sam & Cat.

Between 1993 and 1995, Nickelodeon opened international channels in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany; by the later year, the network had provided its programming to broadcasters in 70 countries. Since the mid-1990s and early 2000s, Nickelodeon as a brand has expanded into include language- or culture-specific channels for various other territories in different parts of the world including Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Canada, and has licensed some of its cartoons and other content, in English and local languages, to free-to-air networks and subscription channels such as KI.KA and Super RTL in Germany, RTÉ Two (English language) and TG4 (Irish language) in Ireland, YTV (in English) and Vrak.TV (in French) in Canada, Canal J in France, Alpha Kids in Greece, and CNBC-e in Turkey.