Nick Jr. (TV Programming Block)

Nick Jr. (sometimes disambiguated as Nick Jr. on Nickelodeon or Nick Jr. on Nick, and sometimes referred to as Nick, Jr.) is an American morning programming block that airs on Nickelodeon every weekday. It was launched on January 4, 1988. Nick Jr. features a lineup of shows aimed at children aged 2 through 8.

In 2009, Nickelodeon launched a separate channel named after the Nick Jr. block as a replacement for the original Noggin cable channel. The channel is known on air as the " Nick Jr. Channel" to differentiate the two services.

History

Early years (1988–93)

Since its launch on April 1, 1979, and throughout the 1980s, Nickelodeon aired programs for preschoolers (most prominently '' Pinwheel'' and '' Today's Special'') on weekdays from 8:00 am – 2:00 pm and weekend mornings. After Nickelodeon's preschool block premiered a slew of new shows in 1987, it began using the Nick Junior branding on , coinciding with the premiere of the Spanish program '' The World of David the Gnome''. A new rebrand for the block that abbreviated its name to ''Nick Jr.'' was gradually rolled out from September 5, 1988 to the summer of 1989. Nick Jr.'s new logo was orange for 'Nick' and blue for 'Jr.', and it varied in the shape or species (e.g.: two gears, trains, robots, planets, insects, comets, or elephants). Like with Nickelodeon, Nick Jr.'s network IDs featured the block's logo in different shapes and styles. At launch, the block aired from 8:30 am – 2:30 pm. On weekends, preschool programs aired at earlier hours of the day, and in the case of ''Eureeka's Castle'' went unbranded.

Until June 29, 1990, '' Pinwheel'' was featured, originally for three hours (two in the morning and one at noon), then for one hour starting in spring 1989. When Nick Jr.'s original series '' Eureeka's Castle'' premiered in September, ''Pinwheel'' was split into two separate half hours in the morning and afternoon, where it remained until June 29, 1990, after which the block was truncated to run from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm on July 2, 1990, another solidified timing from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm on June 15, 1992, and lastly from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm on October 5. Much of Nick Jr.'s other programs at the time were of Japanese or otherwise foreign origin (including '' Fred Penner's Place'', '' Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show'', '' Adventures of the Little Koala'', '' Noozles'', ''Maya the Bee'', and '' The Littl' Bits'').

Grow, Learn, and Play (1993–94)

On , Nick Jr. premiered a new series, '' Cappelli & Company'', and received a new rebrand which prominently featured a new logo consisting of an orange parent and a blue child, and the slogan ''Grow, Learn, and Play''. Several Nick Jr. bumpers featured kids playing near a Nick Jr. logo and a theme song with the slogan sung to the melody of ''London Bridge'', and interstitials were created featuring ''Cappelli & Company'' host Frank Cappelli on the set. Nick Jr. also started using a female announcer (who was replaced by a different one) in its promos and bumpers. Nick Jr. began to invest more into producing original interstitial series (including 1994's ''Muppet Time'', forty two-minute shorts from The Jim Henson Company) in order to stay within a self-imposed limit of five minutes of commercials per hour.

On April 4, 1994, the "Jim Henson's Muppet Hour" sub-block was created by pairing '' Muppet Babies'' reruns with the new acquisition ''The Muppet Show''. Due to Nick Jr.'s declining ratings as well as competition from PBS' children's programs and TLC's Ready Set Learn block, Nickelodeon spent $30 million revamping the Nick Jr. block over the next three years. On June 13, older-skewing Nickelodeon series ''Rugrats'', '' The Alvin Show'', '' Dennis the Menace'', and '' Lassie'' joined Nick Jr.'s lineup, as the block's branding was temporarily de-emphasized in favor of regular Nickelodeon branding until October 21.

Just for Me/Play to Learn (1994–2003)

On , the Nick Jr. block returned with new on-air branding and premiered two new original series, '' Gullah Gullah Island'' and ''Allegra's Window'', resulting in 50% rating gains for the block. Nick Jr. also introduced Face, an animated mascot that introduced shows and interstitials and led into commercial breaks. In the context of his segments, Face was capable of materializing objects such as an astronaut, a robot, a clown, a window, a traffic light, stars, and even wood. He was also capable of creating a number of Foley sound effects and voices including an iconic signature three-note trumpet noise usually following the name "Nick Jr." at the end of almost every bumper. Also, he changed colors, moods, and feelings. Face was voiced by Chris Phillips, who also narrated several Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. promos.

In 1995, Nick Jr. acquired broadcast rights to '' The Busy World of Richard Scarry'' from sister network Showtime, and later premiered '' Rupert'' on September 11 and '' Little Bear'' on November 6 (both were produced by the Canadian animation studio Nelvana).

Nick Jr. received a new rebrand produced by Pittard Sullivan on . On September 8, the first episode of ''Blue's Clues'' premiered in primetime on Nick at Nite, then aired on Nick Jr. the next day. ''Blue's Clues'' quickly deposed '' Gullah Gullah Island'' as Nick Jr.'s most popular series. ''Rugrats'' was pushed out of Nick Jr.'s lineup after May 2, 1997, to make room for second showings of ''Little Bear'' and ''Blue's Clues''. '' The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss'' replaced '' Papa Beaver's Storytime'' on October 7, 1997, after a series of occasional airings on the block from October 21, 1996, to February 1997. On March 16, 1998, the "nickjr.com" website was launched. Later that year, Nick Jr. rebranded again and introduced the "Just for Me" slogan. A sign-on and sign-off bumper featuring the "Just for Me" slogan was used on Nick Jr. video releases from 2000–04.

In the first quarter of 1999, Nick Jr. premiered three new series based on books, '' Franklin'' on January 11, and '' Kipper'' and '' Maisy'' in February, which helped increase the block's ratings. ''Little Bill'' premiered later in 1999; the series' first episodes premiered on Nickelodeon Sunday nights before airing on Nick Jr. the next day. Nick Jr. briefly aired reruns of '' Shining Time Station'' beginning June 5, 2000 ('' Maggie and the Ferocious Beast'' premiered on the same day) to promote the film ''Thomas and the Magic Railroad'', before replacing it with '' Dora the Explorer'' on August 14, which became one of Nick Jr.'s most successful series.

The US dub of ''Bob the Builder'' premiered on Nickelodeon on January 13, 2001, before airing on Nick Jr. two days later; '' Oswald'' premiered on August 20. On , Nick Jr. received a new rebrand produced by AdamsMorioka (who had previously rebranded Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite) and Editional Effects, intended to have a greater appeal towards parents. In the spring of 2002, Nick Jr. altered the format of its commercial breaks, resulting in the removal of older network IDs dating back to 1994. Beginning on January 10, 2003, '' Dora the Explorer'' and ''Blue's Clues'' were placed in Nick Jr.'s "Play Along Time" sub-block. On April 7, the day that sister network Noggin rebranded and introduced mascots Moose and Zee, Nick Jr. aired some of Noggin's new original series ('' Oobi'', '' Tweenies'', and '' Miffy and Friends'') as a cross-promotion. Nick Jr. continued to air ''Tweenies'' from July to September 25.

On August 29, 2003, the original Face interstitials ended their almost 9-year run.

Play Along (2003–04)

On , Nick Jr. received a rebrand that introduced more than a dozen new logos; British program ''Rubbadubbers'' premiered the next day. A new interstitial series called ''Nick Jr. Play Along'' was introduced, hosted by two live-action hosts: Robin (played by actress Hillary Hawkins) and Zack (played by actor Travis Guba). Along with Robin and Zack were two sock puppets called the Feetbeats. Face was given a brand new look which added eyebrows and a chin and straightened his eyes by inverting their colors from white dots on black eyes to actual-looking eyes, and was voiced by Nick on CBS announcer Babi Floyd. The new Face promos were produced by Virtual Persuasion. Starting the following year in September, Nick Jr. used a new on-screen bug to promote its website until two years later on February 28.

On October 8, 2004, the new Face interstitials ended their 1-year run alongside most of Nick Jr.'s older interstitial series.

Love to Play! (2004–07)

On , Nick Jr. received another rebrand containing interstitials co-produced with Little Airplane Productions featuring the block's new mascot Piper O'Possum (voiced by Ali Brustofski and created by Josh Selig), and the new slogan "Love to Play!". Nick Jr.'s female announcer was replaced with Kobie Powell and Chris Phillips. ''LazyTown'', '' Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends'', ''Blue's Room'', and ''The Backyardigans'' (the latter of which premiering alongside the rebrand) premiered on Nick Jr. Nick Jr.'s commercial limit increased to 8 minutes per hour, and the block began airing more interstitials that were clips from its' shows. ''Dora the Explorer'' spin-off ''Go, Diego, Go!'' premiered, whilst '' Wonder Pets!'' and ''Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!'' debuted the following year. ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' debuted the following year, and was the only Nick Jr. series to premiere that year.

On September 7, 2007, the Piper O'Possum interstitials ended their almost 3-year run.

Play with Us!/Play Date (2007–09)

On , Nick Jr. received another rebrand nicknamed ''Nick Jr. Play Date''. A new slogan, ''Play with Us!'', was also included. The bumpers encouraged preschoolers to play along and featured the Nick Jr. logo in the form of two stop-motion plushies. This marked the first time that Nick Jr. had no mascot since 13 years. 5 months later on February 18, the March '06 on-screen bugs were replaced with three new bugs reflecting the branding. Nick Jr. began its broadcast at 8:30 am starting the following week.

On January 30, 2009, the ''Play Date'' interstitials ended their 1.5-year run.

Nickelodeon rebranding (2009–14)

On , the Nick Jr. block rebranded as ''Nickelodeon Play Date'', as part of an effort to unite the Nickelodeon channel's programs under a single brand. The block's commercial limit increased again to 10 minutes per hour. NickJr.com continued to use the Nick Jr. brand name to categorize all of Nickelodeon's preschool programming. The block initially retained the ''Play with Us!'' brand, alongside new branding designed by Melinda Beck, and many bumpers featured drawings, finger puppets or cupcakes. The bumpers' music was a choir of kids vocalizing, and Nicolette Pierini was the announcer of each bumper. The Nickelodeon splat logo was edited onto the block's split-screen credits design and interstitials predating the ''Play with Us!'' brand. Starting on June 29 of that year, the split-screen credits were replaced to match the branding, officially retiring the ''Play with Us!'' branding. On September 28 of that year, the Nick Jr. channel was launched, replacing Noggin. That same day, the block became simply known as ''Nick's Play Date'' or just ''Play Date''. ''Nick's Play Date'' began its broadcast at 7:00 am a year later starting in the summer. The following year, ''Nick's Play Date'' received a new rebrand featuring characters from the block's shows. That same year, ''Nick’s Play Date'' stopped using the branding’s split-screen credits, and started using Nickelodeon’s split-screen credits design. The following year, the ''Play Date'' branding was replaced with a modified version of the Nick Jr. channel's new branding known as ''Nick: The Smart Place to Play'', and the block stopped airing most interstitials. Despite Nickelodeon displaying its shows' credits during the last 30 seconds before it, the branding retained the split-screen credits for Nick Jr. shows airing on the block until .

Return of Nick Jr. branding (2014–23)

On , ''Nick: The Smart Place to Play'' reverted back to the normal Nick Jr. name and began calling itself "Nick Jr. on Nickelodeon" or "Nick Jr. on Nick" while still using a Nickelodeon screen bug. When aired on the Nick Jr. channel, commercials for programs broadcast on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block usually end with "Over on Nick" or "Over on Nickelodeon" to differentiate the titles. On the same day, the Nick Jr. block also began to use Nickelodeon's on-screen credits to include more commercials (now 12 minutes per hour). The following year on June 10, the Nick Jr. website was fully redesigned to match up with the Nick Jr. app.

On , the Nick Jr. block rebranded with new bumpers and curriculum boards. Nick Jr. began its broadcast at 7:00 am once again for the first time since a decade two years later starting in the fall. As of fall two years later, the Nick Jr. block has been extended to sign off at 3:00 pm, but by January 2, it reverted to having a 2 p.m. sign off time.

Return of Nickelodeon branding (2023–present)

On , the Nick Jr. block was rebranded to include a refreshed splat logo and used the Nickelodeon name in the refreshed bumpers, as well as refreshed curriculum boards, while the Nick Jr. channel eventually adopted the full rebrand on September 4.

Programming

Other Nick Jr. blocks for broadcast networks

Nick Jr. programs and interstitial segments appeared as a Saturday morning block on CBS entitled '' Nick Jr. on CBS''. It was part of the general ''Nick on CBS'' block, which also included programming from the main Nickelodeon channel until 2 years later on September 18, when it switched back to its previous format. It ended after Viacom and CBS Corporation were separated (but re-merged in later years) and was replaced by the '' KOL Secret Slumber Party'' block.

Spanish-language US network Telemundo has aired ''Blue's Clues'' (Spanish ''Pistas De Blue'') (as part of the ''Nickelodeon en Telemundo'' block) and '' Dora the Explorer'' (Spanish ''Dora la Exploradora'') (as part of the ''Telemundo Kids'' block) in Spanish. Competing Spanish network Univision added Spanish-dubbed versions of '' Dora the Explorer'' and its spin-off ''Go, Diego, Go!'' to their Saturday morning '' Planeta U'' line-up. A Spanish-dubbed version of ''The Backyardigans'' was later added to the lineup.

Tr3s, a sister network to Nickelodeon, aired a daily block of Spanish-dubbed Nick Jr. programs under the name ''Tr3s Jr.'' to meet E/I requirements for its broadcast affiliates. Shows like ''Pistas de Blue'' (the Spanish version of ''Blue's Clues'') and '' Wonder Pets!'' were featured in the block.

Face's reappearances

The 90s Face made an appearance during the New Year edition of The '90s Are All That, TeenNick's former retro-oriented late-night block. Face's appearances consisted of out-of-context clips that make him appear to be drunk or making adult comments (e.g.: "Yeah, grow a pair!").

For the Halloween/Nick or Treat season, the "Face the Monster" bumper would play on the block as a transition of introducing episodes of ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' on The Splat. The same bumper would be used on the block as an April Fools' Day prank two years later on April 1.

Face also appeared in an Easter promo for The Splat, encouraging viewers to look for the Easter bunny in 90s Nickelodeon shows.

A re-designed Face voiced by Cedric Williams hosted the Nick Jr. show '' Face's Music Party''. Face's original voice actor Chris Phillips continued to narrate promos for Nick Jr.

See also

* '' Dance and Sing! The Best of Nick Jr.''
* Nick Jr. Channel
* Nickelodeon

Notes

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nick Jr. (Tv Programming Block)
Block
Block
Nickelodeon programming blocks
Children's television networks in the United States
Preschool education television networks
Television programming blocks in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 1988