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Nickelodeon, Nick for short, is the name of an American cable TV network well known for its innovative children's programming. It is also the first cable channel which shows children's and youth programming in the world. Nickelodeon went on the air in 1979 as Pinwheel and the channel name was used until 1981 and has continued to produce innovative programming, such as Pinwheel, You Can't Do That on Television, Double Dare, Clarissa Explains It All, Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants, Rocket Power, and My Life as a Teenage Robot. Starting with "You Can't Do That On Television", Nickelodeon also became known for its famous variation of synthetic green slime which was also used for Nick's Slime Time, usually shown in the afternoon, but in December 2003, began to be shown in the mornings. It was later replaced by U-Pick Live in late 2002, featuring voting for a show that is from Nickelodeon content.
Shows filled with superheroes and a couple of Japanese animé used to be broadcast on Nickelodeon(Nick)'s Slam, which aired on Sundays Shows between 4PM to 6PM Eastern-Pacific. It was launched in 2002, but was cancelled the following year.
Nickelodeon, owned by Viacom, has also spun off the following cable networks: Nick Too, Nick Games and Sports (Nick GAS), NickToons, and Noggin/The N (originally a joint venture with Sesame Workshop). They also operate language- or culture-specific Nickelodeon channels for various markets in different parts of the world, and have licensed translated versions (except for YTV, an English speaking network which just runs the shows as they were originall produced) of some of their cartoons and other content to TV and cable stations (such as Kinderkanal of Germany, (originally) YTV (Youth TV) of Canada and parts of the North with the exception of some parts of Nunavut, Canal J of France, and Alpha Kids from Greece) in areas not directly served by Nickelodeon.
Nickelodeon began producing its own cartoons, known as Nicktoons, in 1991. Rugrats was among the first Nicktoons ever created (the others were Dougand Ren and Stimpy).
Its website nick.com was launched in 1995. Nick began to introduce info on shows, etc. The myNick service was later introduced in 2001, to allow regular visitors to the website to get personalized info, post on message boards, and collect "e-Collectibles", akin to trading cards (the very first collection commemorated the 10th anniversary of Rugrats). The website features many sections:
Nick also has a magazine named Nick Magazine. It launched in 1993, although they did have a previous short-lived effort 3 years earlier. It contains news, info, stuff, and monthly crosswords.
Every year in April, the Kids Choice Awards is held. It features awards given to casts, and so on. As the title suggests, the winners are chosen by kids.
In the US, Nick's night time schedule is Nick at Nite. It features shows from the history of Paramount and Viacom-owned programs like Dennis the Menace, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and Cheers (plus progams from other companies, such as Dragnet and Roseanne). Nick at Nite later launched TV Land in 1996 or 1997. TV Land later launched to other parts of the globe before the end of the 20th century.
See also: Amanda Bynes, List of Nickelodeon Shows.
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