History

Main article: History of Nickelodeon

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 2-way
interactive cable system, QUBE,[4] in Columbus, Ohio. The C-3 cable channel carried Pinwheel daily
from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time,[4][12] and the channel was labelled "Pinwheel" on remote
controllers, as it was the only program broadcast. Initially scheduled for a February 1979 launch,
[13]
 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 ancestors of the Satcom series, the SES and AMC
satellite constellations, still operate, Nickelodeon presently broadcasts on AMC-11).[14] Originally
commercial-free, advertising was introduced in January 1984. [7]

Programming
Main article: List of programs broadcast by Nickelodeon
Programming seen on Nickelodeon includes animated series (such as SpongeBob
SquarePants, The Loud House, The Casagrandes, Middlemost Post, The Patrick Star Show, Kamp
Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, The Smurfs, and Rugrats), live-action, scripted series (such
as Danger Force, Tyler Perry's Young Dylan and Side Hustle), and original made-for-TV movies,
while the network's daytime schedule is dedicated to shows targeting preschoolers (such as Bubble
Guppies, PAW Patrol, and Blue's Clues & You!).
A re-occurring program was bi-monthly special editions of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee,[15] a news
magazine series aimed at children that debuted in 1992 as a weekly series and ended in 2015. [16] In
June 2020, Nickelodeon announced that they would bring back Nick News in a series of hour-long
specials. The first installment, Kids, Race and Unity: A Nick News Special premiered on June 29,
2020, and was hosted by R&B musician Alicia Keys.[17]

Nicktoons
Main article: Nicktoons
Nicktoons is the branding for Nickelodeon's original animated television series.[18][19] Until 1991, the
animated series that aired on Nickelodeon were largely imported from foreign countries, with some
original animated specials that were also featured on the channel up to that point. [20][21] Though the
Nicktoons branding has infrequently been used by the network itself since the 2002 launch of the
channel of the same name, original animated series continue to make up a substantial portion of
Nickelodeon's lineup.[19] Roughly, six to seven hours of these programs are seen on the weekday
schedule, and around nine hours on weekends, including a dedicated weekend morning
animation block.[20]
In 2006, the channel struck a deal with DreamWorks Animation to develop the studio's animated
films into television series (such as The Penguins of Madagascar).[22] Since the early
2010s, Nickelodeon Animation Studio has also produced series based on preexisting IP purchased
by ViacomCBS, such as Winx Club and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Movies
Main article: List of Nickelodeon original films
Nickelodeon has produced a variety of original made-for-TV movies, which usually premiere in
weekend evening timeslots or on school holidays. Nickelodeon also periodically acquires
theatrically-released feature films for broadcast on the channel.
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. 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; [citation needed] 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 originally shot in the single-camera setup common of films) with some on-location
filming.
In 2002, Nickelodeon entered a long-standing broadcast partnership with Mattel to air films and
specials based on the toy company's Barbie (and later Monster High) dolls. The first Barbie movie to
air on Nickelodeon was Barbie as Rapunzel on November 24, 2002.[23] The Barbie and Monster High
films are 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
banning paid programming to children.

Programming blocks
The network's main programming is usually broadcast 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.
(Eastern and Pacific Time).
Current

 Nick Jr. – Nickelodeon currently broadcasts shows targeted at preschool-aged children on

Monday through Fridays from 7:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time (7:00 to
10:00 a.m. during the summer months, other designated school break periods, and on national
holidays). The block primarily targets audiences of preschool age as Nickelodeon's usual
audience of school-aged children are in school during the block's designated time period.
Programs currently seen in this block include PAW Patrol, Peppa Pig (from the UK), Blaze and
the Monster Machines, Ryan's Mystery Playdate, Blue's Clues & You!, Santiago of the Seas,
and Baby Shark's Big Show!.
 That New Thursday Night – a live-action comedy block airing from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern
and Pacific Time. The schedule features Danger Force, Tyler Perry's Young Dylan, That Girl
Lay Lay, and Warped! (all first-run episodes are cycled on the schedule, giving it a variable
schedule).
 New Friday Night – an animation block airing from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time,
featuring new episodes of a rotating selection of Nickelodeon animated series.