Nickelodeon (commonly shortened to Nick) is a British

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

network. It launched on 1 September 1993, as a localised version of the American channel of the same name in the United Kingdom and launched in Ireland in 2004. In the United Kingdom, the channel is available on

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...

, and

TalkTalk Plus TV TalkTalk TV is a UK-based consumer television and video on demand service, operated by the TalkTalk Group. It originally launched in 2000. In September 2012, the current TalkTalk TV was launched in partnership with YouView. Its television and ...

. In Ireland, the channel is available on

Virgin Media Ireland Virgin Media Ireland is Liberty Global's telecommunications operation in Ireland. It is the largest digital cable television provider within the country. the company offers broadband internet, digital television digital (VoIP) telephony and ...

, Eir TV and

Sky Ireland Sky Ireland Limited is a subsidiary of Comcast-owned Sky UK and supplies television, internet and telephony services in Ireland. Its corporate headquarters are in Dublin which were opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny on 18 January 2013. Sky Irelan ...

. It is the first Nickelodeon feed launched overseas.

History

Nickelodeon was launched in the UK on 1 September 1993, exclusively on

as part of the

Sky Multichannels Sky Multichannels was a package of analogue television services offered by BSkyB on the Astra satellites at 19.2° east from 1 September 1993 to 27 September 2001, which started off with 15 channels before expanding to over 40. History Overv ...

package, originally airing for 12 hours from 7am to 7pm. and showing both cartoons and live action series for children. The first cartoon air on the channel was ''

James the Cat ''James the Cat'' is a 1984 British animated children's series created by Kate Canning and produced by Jan Clayton with Grampian Television. It chronicles the many events which take place at the Cornerhouse (number 104) between James and his new ...

''.

Nick@Nite Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite since 2009) is an American nighttime programming block on Nickelodeon. The block's programming broadcasts from prime time to late night, with the airtime varying depending on the night. The block initially c ...

was also planned to launch in early 1994 but never implemented; off-air Nickelodeon would air static logos, schedule information and

teletext Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipped television sets. Teletext sends data in the broadcast signal, hidden in the invisible vertical blanking interval area at the to ...

. In November 1995, it started to timeshare with

Paramount Channel Paramount Network is an international television channel brand owned and operated by the Paramount International Networks division of Paramount Global that showcase its selected television productions and the film catalogue of its filming divi ...

. The British version of

Nick Jr. 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 ...

also launched on the channel's first day, broadcasting during school hours. Live presentation followed in 1994, branded as ''Nick Alive!'', which was soon moved into its own studio in the

London Trocadero The London Trocadero was an entertainment complex on Coventry Street, with a rear entrance in Shaftesbury Avenue, London. It was originally built in 1896 as a restaurant, which closed in 1965. In 1984, the complex reopened as an exhibition and ...

, and relocated to the station's new headquarters on Rathbone Place in 1995. In 1996, Nickelodeon reached an agreement with

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

to show a block of CBBC programmes for one hour before and one hour after Nick Jr., called ''CBBC on Nickelodeon''. This block lasted until 1999, when Nick Jr. was removed from the main channel in July 2000, after launching its own channel the year before, and the increase of subscribers to Sky Digital and cable. In August 1997, Nickelodeon began broadcasting an hour earlier, signing on at 6am. When Sky Digital was launched in 1998, it was in the original channel line-up on

Astra 2A Astra 2A is one of the Astra communications satellites owned by SES. Launched in 1998 into the 28.2° East orbital position, half its expected end-of-life capacity of 28 transponders were pre-booked by BSkyB, who utilised it to launch their ne ...

. On 1 September 1999, two sister channels were launched, Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon Replay (a +1 hour timeshift). On the same day, Nickelodeon broadcasting from 6 am until 10pm. However, analogue satellite and analogue cable services continued to shutdown the channel at 7pm each day until Nickelodeon closed on analogue satellite on 30 April 2001.

Nicktoons Nicktoons is the brand name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Paramount Global) in their copyright bylines. Since ...

was launched in the UK and Ireland in July 2002. In December 2004,

Telewest Telewest (previously Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications) was a cable internet, broadband internet, telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also ...

failed to reach an agreement to broadcast Nickelodeon, Nicktoons and Nick Jr. on their services after 2005 and the channels were removed from Telewest on 17 December, leading to many Telewest customers leaving for Sky and NTL, while Telewest offered either a free upgrade to

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

or to

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on ...

to prevent losing any customers. By the next year, however, Nickelodeon successfully reached an agreement with Telewest and the channels were restored. Nickelodeon 2017 logo

In February 2010, Nickelodeon adopted the worldwide rebrand. The TeenNick block also adopted the identity of the channel programs. In April 2010, Nicktoons and Nick Jr. were rebranded as well. Nickelodeon HD was launched in October 2010 on Sky. Later, it became available on

. On 1 January 2019, it started broadcasting 24 hours a day. On 31 October 2022, Sky sold its stake in Nickelodeon UK, including Nickelodeon, to Paramount, in an attempt to launch Sky Kids, as owning Nickelodeon UK would have restricted Sky from launching the channel. On 24 July 2023, Nickelodeon UK rebranded to its 2023 splat logo, just four months and 21 days after

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

's rebrand.

Availability

Cable

: Channel 712 (HD)

Online

Now TV Now (formerly Now TV and often stylised as NOW) is a subscription over-the-top streaming television service launched in the United Kingdom in 2012. It is operated by Sky Group in Europe, and Xfinity in the US; both owned by the American media ...

Satellite

: Channel 604 (HD), Channel 616 (+1) and Channel 642 (SD)

Terrestrial

* EE : Channel 468 (SD) and Channel 475 (HD)

Ownership

Nickelodeon's UK operations was owned by Nickelodeon UK Ltd., which originally operated as a 50-50 joint venture between

MTV Networks International Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international division of the Paramount Media Networks subsidiary of Paramount Global that oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of its brands outside of the United States. These brands ...

and Kidsprog Ltd., a subsidiary of

BSkyB Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), trading as Sky, is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers ...

formed solely for the launch of the channel. By 2005–2006, the stake was altered so MNA owned 60% and Sky owned 40%. On 31 October 2022, Sky sold its stake in Nickelodeon UK Ltd., to Paramount International Networks, which means they now own full control of the network. The sale of the stake was so Sky could enter the children's market on their own with the launch of a stand-alone

Sky Kids Sky Kids may refer to: * ''Sky Kids'' (magazine), a magazine * Sky Kids (TV channel), a British television channel * ''The Flyboys'' (film), a 2008 film that was released internationally as ''Sky Kids'' See also * '' Sky Kid'' * '' Spy Kids (di ...

network, which they were not allowed to do due to the Nickelodeon joint-venture.

Subsidiary and sister channels

Nick Jr.

Nick Jr. was launched as a block in the UK and Ireland on 1 September 1993, between 9am to 12pm on weekday school days on the main Nickelodeon UK channel. It was later expanded to 10 am to 2:30pm. In July 1999, it was announced Nick Jr would be given its own channel, and was launched as a 14-hour (initially 13) standalone channel on analogue and digital television on 1 September 1999, and subsequently the block was discontinued on Nickelodeon in July 2000 (but shortly reintroduced in 2005). Nick Jr. originally timeshared with

MTV Dance Club MTV, formerly MTV Dance, is a European pay television music channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA that which replaced the British MTV Base on 7 March 2008. The network mainly broadcasts music videos from the electronica and techno genres, a ...

when that channel launched in early 2001, but after several years, MTV Dance started broadcasting for 24 hours, with Nick Jr. itself broadcasting for 24 hours since 2010.

Nick Jr. Too

On 24 April 2006, Nick Jr. Too was launched under the name Nick Jr. 2. It broadcasts Nick Jr. shows on a different schedule from the main Nick Jr. channel. It began broadcasting for 24 hours in 2015. Nick Jr. Too is occasionally used for temporary pop-up channels, including ''Nick Jr. Peppa'' and ''Nick Jr. Paw Patrol''.

Nicktoons

On 22 July 2002,

was launched, airing

, as well as other cartoons, throughout the day. It began broadcasting for 24 hours on 1 January 2019. Similar to Nick Jr. Too, Nicktoons sometimes uses its channel as temporary pop-up channels. In September 2022, the channel was temporarily rebranded as ''Nick SpongeBob'', airing ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

'' and ''

The Patrick Star Show ''The Patrick Star Show'' is an American animated television series that premiered on Nickelodeon on July 9, 2021. It is a spin-off of the series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', which was created by Stephen Hillenburg. It follows Patrick Star as he ...

'', then in October 2022, it became ''Nick Horrid Henry'', only airing ''

Horrid Henry ''Horrid Henry'' is a children's book series by Francesca Simon and illustrated by Anthony Ross. It has been adapted for television, film and theatre. Books The first ''Horrid Henry'' book was written and published in 1994 by Orion Books. ...

'', then changed back to Nicktoons in November 2022. Nicktoons UK mainly airs imported programming from the US network. ''

It's Pony ''It's Pony'' is a British animated television series created by Ant Blades that premiered on Nickelodeon in the United States on January 18, 2020. The series is storyboarded, designed, produced, and animated by Blue Zoo Animation Studio. The fi ...

'' (2020–2022) was created in the UK, but was produced for the American channel and premiered in the US market first.

Nick +1, Nicktoons Replay and Nick Jr. +1

On 1 September 1999, a one-hour time shift of Nickelodeon was initially launched on Sky. It is available on Sky 620,

605 and

713. The channel originally launched as Nick Replay but was rebranded as Nick +1 on 2 October 2012. A one-hour timeshift of Nicktoons, Nicktoons Replay, was also available on Sky channel 630. The timeshift channel replaced the

spin off sister channel

Nicktoonsters Nicktoonsters was a short-lived British and Irish television channel which launched on 18 August 2008. It was a spin-off channel of Nicktoons, targeted to a slightly younger audience. It broadcast twelve hours per day from 7am to 7pm daily, with ...

. Nick Jr. +1 launched on 2 October 2012, replacing Nicktoons Replay, which closed the previous day. The timeshift channel is available on Nicktoons Replay's previous space.

Nickelodeon Ireland

In 2004, The channel launched an Irish advertising feed for Nickelodeon. An Irish feed for Nick Jr. was launched in 2006. On 13 September 2012, it was announced that Sky would be launching an Irish feed of Nicktoons on 16 October 2012. All Nickelodeon channels available in Ireland now broadcast Irish advertising and sponsorship.

Nicktoonsters

On 18 August 2008, Nicktoonsters was launched. Its licence first appeared on the Ofcom website in September 2007 (initially named "Nicktoons 2", and changed to Nicktoonsters on 3 July 2008).Licence Details for Nicktoonsters
The channel closed on 31 July 2009 and the next day was replaced by Nicktoons Replay.

Programming

Over the years the network has produced series including ''

Genie in the House ''Genie in the House'' is a British sitcom broadcast on Nickelodeon UK about a widowed father (Philip) with two teenage daughters (Emma and Sophie) who find a golden lamp while exploring the loft of their new home. A rub of the lamp releases A ...

'' (2006–2009), ''

Summer in Transylvania ''Summer in Transylvania'' is a live action children's television programme that aired on Nickelodeon UK. The programme, originally called ''Freaky Farleys'', was renamed ''Summer in Transylvania'' and was filmed in Hendon, London. It is Nicke ...

'' (2010–2012), ''Goldie's Oldies'' (2021) and ''Overlord and the Underwoods'' (2021). Apart from local continuity programming including ''

Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards UK, also known as the KCAs, was an annual awards show, similar to the US and Australian versions. It originally started as a full ceremony hosted locally, but has recently been reduced to several UK-specific ...

'', ''

Camp Orange ''Camp Orange'' was an Australian children's reality television show broadcast on Nickelodeon. The first season premiered in February 2005. The latest season, Camp Orange: Twisted Siblings, premiered on 27 June 2015. The format has been adapte ...

'' and Nickelodeon Slimefest, Nickelodeon UK mainly airs imported programming from the US network. ''

House of Anubis ''House of Anubis'' is a mystery television series developed for Nickelodeon based on the Dutch–Belgian television series '' Het Huis Anubis''. The series was created by Hans Bourlon and Gert Verhulst and premiered on Nickelodeon on 1 Jan ...

'' (2011–2013) were created in the UK, but were produced for the American channel and premiered in the US market first.

Kids' Choice Awards

Traditionally, the

Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in te ...

in the United Kingdom and Ireland before 2007 included only an airing of the original ceremony from the US. Nickelodeon UK from then on held a full ceremony for two years in 2007 and 2008 which included a fully local slate of categories and was held at the ExCeL London. The UK-specific awards ceremony for 2009 was cancelled due to network budget cuts, and in the 2010s, several local categories were voted by children in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which were awarded each year by Nickelodeon presenters as continuity during the airing of the American ceremony on a one-day delay.

Nickelodeon Land

Nickelodeon Land is a section of the

Blackpool Pleasure Beach Pleasure Beach Resort, best known by its former name Blackpool Pleasure Beach, is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. The park was founded in 1896 by A. W. G. Bean and his p ...

resort in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

which is a section of the park featuring themed Nickelodeon attractions and souvenirs. The Nickelodeon Land section of the park opened in April 2011.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Children's channels in UK & Ireland

UK and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Television channels and stations established in 1993 Children's television channels in the United Kingdom Children's television channels in Ireland Sky television channels 1993 establishments in the United Kingdom 2004 establishments in Ireland