87-655: Nicktoons is a collective 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 (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global ) in their copyright bylines. Since its launch in the late 1970s, Nickelodeon's schedule incorporated animation produced by other companies. The channel did not invest in its own original cartoon series until 1989 when producer Vanessa Coffey visited Los Angeles to accept pitches from local animators. Geraldine Laybourne ,
174-572: A full series . Sanjay and Craig premiered first, on May 25, 2013. After its debut, Los Angeles Times critic Robert Lloyd optimistically compared the show to the Nicktoons of the 1990s, writing that "the goofy and delightful series ... represents a positive step back for the network to where it once belonged." In the late 2010s, Nickelodeon revived three existing Nicktoons IP as one-off movies, including Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie , Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling , and Invader Zim: Enter
261-403: A "consistent look like Disney", specifically searching for projects that had completely different styles from each other. Of the pitches she accepted, Coffey decided to approve eight six-minute pilots at a cost of $ 100,000 each. Laybourne would eventually select three pilots to expand into full series, meant to fill a programming block of an hour and a half. The first Nicktoon that Coffey approved
348-466: A "studio model" that provides content for third-party companies. The decision was made based on the sharp decline of cable viewership due to the rise of streaming services . As part of this strategy, Nickelodeon announced that the series Pinky Malinky would release on Netflix as "the first straight-to-Netflix Nicktoon". The series premiered on the platform on January 1, 2019. On November 13, 2019, Nickelodeon expanded their relationship with Netflix with
435-670: A 40% profit margin and explosive growth every year. By the time she left Nickelodeon in 1996, it was an $ 8 billion business. Laybourne left Nickelodeon in 1996 to become president of Disney–ABC Cable Networks , guiding the growth and overseeing the programming of the Disney Channel and represented the corporate interests in Lifetime , A&E , E!, and The History Channel . She led the development of two projects that did not come to fruition: ABC 24 Hour News cable channel and ABZ, an innovative education channel. Laybourne played
522-476: A Teenage Robot . 1998 also marked the release of the first feature film based on a Nicktoon: The Rugrats Movie , which became the first non-Disney animated film to gross over $ 100 million at the North American box office. On December 8, Nickelodeon's movie division greenlit theatrical adaptations of Hey Arnold! and The Wild Thornberrys , less than a month after Rugrats opened in theaters. At
609-495: A decade later, when animator Ralph Bakshi pitched an original animated series called Tattertown . In 1988, a half-hour pilot episode was produced, overseen by Debby Beece (Nickelodeon's senior vice president of programming). Nickelodeon declined to pick up a full series, and the pilot " Christmas in Tattertown " premiered on December 21, 1988, as a standalone Christmas special. The network's next attempt at an original animation
696-561: 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. Nick Jr. Channel (sometimes shortened to Nick Jr. ) is a pay television network aimed mainly at children between 2 and 6 years of age. It features
783-418: 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. 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
870-399: A mix of current and former preschool-oriented programs from Nickelodeon, as well as some shows that are exclusive to the channel. The Nick Jr. Channel launched on September 28, 2009, as a spin-off of Nickelodeon's preschool programming block of the same name , which had aired since January 4, 1988. The channel replaced Noggin , which was relaunched as a streaming service in 2015 and acts as
957-531: A mix of newer live-action and animated shows from Nickelodeon such as Henry Danger , The Fairly OddParents , The Loud House , SpongeBob SquarePants , and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles alongside original series airing exclusively on Nicktoons. TeenNick is a pay television network that is aimed at adolescents and young adults, named after the TEENick block that aired on Nickelodeon from March 2001 to February 2009. The channel merged programming from
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#17327802063361044-402: A new Nicktoons studio. Nickelodeon's new facility, named Nickelodeon Animation Studio, would eventually open on March 4, 1998; Hecht said, "For me, this building is the physical manifestation of a personal dream, which is that when people think of cartoons, they'll say Nicktoons." In June 1997, Nickelodeon began a five-year, $ 350 million investment into original animation. As part of this effort,
1131-430: A new action-adventure cartoon after commissioning several anime -inspired pilots that "didn't go anywhere", according to a New York Times article. By 2002, Nickelodeon had rejected multiple Japanese series, considering them derivative or too mature for the channel's target audience. In response, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino pitched Avatar: The Last Airbender , and Nickelodeon ordered six episodes of
1218-529: A new nationwide audience on April 1, 1979, with Pinwheel as its inaugural program. The network was initially commercial-free and remained without advertising until 1984. Nickelodeon gained a new facelift regarding programming and image that fall, and its ensuing success led to it and its sister networks MTV and VH1 being sold to Viacom in 1985. Nickelodeon has expanded its franchise through several sister channels and programming blocks. Nick Jr. launched as preschool morning block on January 4, 1988, and
1305-564: A program shared with TeenNick , was cancelled in mid-2018. In electronic program listings, the titles of each 'block' merely delineate an hour in those listings and outside those titles denoting video theming, have no on-air mention. The network's specific theming to younger pop artists has also been underplayed as of 2024, due to various cuts at Paramount Global and the network's complete disassociation from further developing "triple threat" stars due to personnel and industry changes. Nickelodeon Animation Studio (formerly Games Productions, Inc. )
1392-515: A rented office complex in Studio City, California . Production moved to an individual building in nearby Burbank on March 4, 1998. Among the first shows produced at this new facility was SpongeBob SquarePants , which by 2004 had become the most profitable program in Nickelodeon history. In 2002, a cable channel also called Nicktoons was launched, followed by multiple international versions. Several original shows have premiered new episodes on
1479-523: A role in the creation and management of ABC 's Saturday morning children's programming schedule, with the successful launch of One Saturday Morning . In 1998, Laybourne left Disney and partnered with Oprah Winfrey and Carsey-Werner Productions to create Oxygen Media , a cable TV company dedicated to creating television and Internet programming for women. She also purchased three women-oriented online services from her former MTV boss, Robert W. Pittman . On February 2, 2000 (a date which plays off
1566-464: A separate sister brand. Noggin's programming is distinct from the Nick Jr. channel's; it mainly carried preteen-oriented programs at its launch, and its 2015 streaming service features a variety of exclusive series. On October 1, 2012, the Nick Jr. Channel introduced NickMom , a four-hour nighttime block aimed at parents, which ran until September 28, 2015. While traditional advertising appeared on
1653-407: 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 . Since 2021, Nickelodeon has aired at least one live National Football League game a year, produced by corporate sibling CBS Sports and incorporating elements unique to Nickelodeon into the broadcast such as green slime in
1740-402: A sluggish magazine industry. A new version of the magazine was published by Papercutz from June 2015 to mid-2016. 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
1827-619: A teacher at Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts . Then from 1974 to 1976, Laybourne worked as a festival coordinator of the New York American Film Festival. In 1974, she co-founded the Media Center for Children, which she was involved with until 1977. Laybourne said she founded the Media Center for Children because she was concerned about the media her children were watching. From 1978 to 1980, she
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#17327802063361914-420: 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
2001-581: Is a production firm with two main locations (one in Burbank, California , and the other in New York City ). They serve as the animation facilities for many of the network's Nicktoons and Nick Jr. series. Nickelodeon Productions is a production studio in New York, that provides original sitcoms, animated shows and game-related programs for Nickelodeon. Despite this, the studio's logo is also seen at
2088-615: Is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through Paramount Media Networks ' subdivision, Nickelodeon Group . Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children , the channel is primarily aimed at children and adolescents aged 2 to 17, along with a broader family audience through its program blocks . The channel began life as a test broadcast on December 1, 1977, as part of QUBE , an early cable television system broadcast locally in Columbus, Ohio . The channel, now named Nickelodeon, launched to
2175-650: Is an American entrepreneur and former TV executive. She worked at Nickelodeon from 1980 until 1996, when she became the president of Disney-ABC Cable Networks (including Disney Channel ). She is also the co-founder of Oxygen Media and a tech startup called Katapult. In 2020, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame . Laybourne was raised in Martinsville , a rural community of about 400 in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey . She
2262-413: Is animation about kids in school... We want you to put SpongeBob in school." Hillenburg was ready to "walk out" on Nickelodeon and abandon the series, since he wanted SpongeBob to be an adult character. He eventually compromised by adding a new character to the main cast, Mrs. Puff , who is a boat-driving teacher. Hillenburg was happy with the compromise and said, "A positive thing for me that came out of it
2349-416: Is based on an automated "wheel" schedule that was introduced during the early years of MTV2 . A new loop starts at 6 a.m. Eastern Time , and is then repeated at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. Lyric videos are sometimes substituted due to content concerns with the artist's actual music video. The network launched on May 1, 2002 as MTV Hits , with its programming composed entirely of music videos. As with MTV Jams ,
2436-763: Is the second of four children, born to a former radio writer/actress and community organizer and a stock broker. In 1969, Laybourne earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Vassar College . In 1971, she received a Master of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Pennsylvania . After college, Laybourne had various jobs. From 1969 to 1970, Laybourne worked at Wallace, McHarg, Roberts and Todd, an architecture firm in Philadelphia. From 1972 to 1973, she worked as
2523-562: The Chicago Tribune , Nickelodeon believed the Hey Arnold! movie "didn't just fail but actually tarnished one of the company's best selling points: its trustworthy brand name." Aside from SpongeBob SquarePants films, Nickelodeon Movies stopped producing animated theatrical features based on their shows. In February 2005, high ratings from Butch Hartman 's two Nicktoons ( The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom ) convinced
2610-482: The Nicktoons network . In the early 2010s, Nickelodeon debuted the first two Nicktoons based on preexisting TV franchises, as opposed to new characters: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winx Club . These two revamped shows were developed at Nickelodeon Animation Studio following Viacom's purchases of both properties. In 2019, Nick Animation debuted its first streaming-exclusive Nicktoon, Pinky Malinky , which
2697-696: The TeenNick channel in 2009. As of December 2023 , Nickelodeon is available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States, down from its peak of 101 million households in 2011. 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 , in Columbus , Ohio . The C-3 cable channel carried Pinwheel daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and
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2784-448: 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
2871-683: The Florpus . The first aired on the Nickelodeon channel in November 2017, while the latter two premiered in August 2019 on Netflix. Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of Invader Zim , stated in 2019 that the studio's support for the revival films waned due to a shift in management: "We had an immense amount of support throughout most of the production. Things just turn on a dime, people get axed, new people come in." In 2018, Nickelodeon began to shift from focusing only on cable broadcasting to what it describes as
2958-635: The Internet, looking for original ideas. Chris Viscardi , who would later become Nickelodeon Animation's senior vice president, stated that the studio desired to "[get] back to more creator-driven things." Nickelodeon eventually came across two animations they enjoyed: The Forest City Rockers (a short series by Jay Howell and Jim Dirschberger) and Breadwinners (a stand-alone short by Gary DiRaffaele and Steve Borst ). Howell and Dirschberger were recruited to develop Sanjay and Craig while DiRaffaele and Borst were asked to expand their Breadwinners short into
3045-455: The Nickelodeon family by purchasing both franchises. Nickelodeon Animation Studio produced a new CGI-animated Turtles series and new seasons of Winx Club with CGI sequences. TMNT and Winx were both inducted into the Nicktoons franchise after Nickelodeon launched them. The two productions comprised Nickelodeon's strategy to reboot two established brands for new viewers: TMNT was intended to reach an audience of boys aged 6 to 11, and Winx
3132-634: The Power of Juju . 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. 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
3219-556: The TEENick block with The N , a former block on Noggin. 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
3306-781: The ancestors of the Satcom series, the SES and AMC satellite constellations, still operate, Nickelodeon presently broadcasts on AMC-11 ). Originally commercial-free, advertising was introduced in January 1984. Programming seen on Nickelodeon includes animated series (such as SpongeBob SquarePants , The Loud House , Middlemost Post , The Patrick Star Show , Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years , The Smurfs , Rugrats and Monster High ), live-action, scripted series (such as Danger Force , Tyler Perry's Young Dylan and That Girl Lay Lay ), and original made-for-TV movies , while
3393-474: 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. 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. Roughly, six to seven hours of these programs are seen on
3480-528: The announcement of a multi-year output deal, under which Nickelodeon Animation Studio will produce "original animated feature films and TV series based on both new and existing IP ". On February 21, 2020, Nickelodeon's Glitch Techs premiered on Netflix, becoming the second Nicktoon to receive a digital only release. Note: Animated series made for Nickelodeon's other brands (namely Nick Jr. and Nick at Nite ) are not included in this list. Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (occasionally shortened to Nick )
3567-623: The app will be discontinued. Nickelodeon Movies is a motion picture production unit that was founded in 1995, as a family entertainment arm of Paramount Pictures (owned by Nickelodeon's corporate parent, Paramount Global). The first film released from the studio was the 1996 mystery/comedy Harriet the Spy . 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
Nicktoons - Misplaced Pages Continue
3654-532: The channel during the NickMom block, the network otherwise only runs programming promotions and underwriter-style sponsorships in lieu of regular commercials. Nicktoons is a pay television network that launched on May 1, 2002, as Nicktoons TV ; it was renamed Nicktoons in April 2003 and rebranded as Nicktoons Network in September 2005 before reverting to its previous name in September 2009. The network airs
3741-630: The channel was labelled "Pinwheel" on remote controllers, as it was the only program broadcast. Initially scheduled for a February 1979 launch, 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 , which one of
3828-674: The channel's then-president, greenlit three pitches for full series: Doug , Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show . On August 11, 1991, the three cartoons premiered as part of a 90-minute block, becoming the first branded Nicktoons. In contrast to the merchandise-based cartoons that dominated the 1980s animation industry, Vanessa Coffey and Geraldine Laybourne agreed that the Nicktoons should be creator-driven: based on original characters designed by animators. The first Nicktoons debuted to financial success, convincing Viacom to invest in original animated shows for its other network MTV . Until 1998, Nickelodeon's animation division operated out of
3915-514: The chemical compound of oxygen—O2/O2), the Oxygen Network premiered to 10 million subscribers. LVMH was an early investor, but left in 2001 when Laybourne changed strategy from being an Internet company to a television company. Laybourne initially hired 700 people, but scaled down to 250. The company went on to become profitable in 2004. Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen , who invested in three rounds of Oxygen, forced Oxygen's sale in
4002-441: The company doubled its animation staff and produced many new pilots, including one for SpongeBob SquarePants . Before commissioning SpongeBob SquarePants as a full series, Nickelodeon executives insisted that it would not be popular unless the main character was a child who went to school, with his teacher as a main character. The show's creator, Stephen Hillenburg , recalled in 2012 that Nickelodeon told him, "Our winning formula
4089-499: The country for animators who have great characters living inside them? —Nickelodeon president Geraldine Laybourne Geraldine Laybourne laid out a set of rules for the network's cartoons, most importantly wanting to "put the creator back, front and center." She approached her fellow executive Vanessa Coffey to find artists in Los Angeles interested in pitching original cartoons. Coffey had experience working in animation and
4176-597: The end of animated TV shows. Nickelodeon on Sunset was a studio complex in Hollywood, California which served as the primary production facility for Nickelodeon's series from 1997 until 2017; 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 served as
4263-474: The end zone and SpongeBob SquarePants ' face superimposed on the netting of the goalposts. Nickelodeon also carries the weekly shoulder program NFL Slimetime during the season which includes similar graphics. Nickelodeon offered the first alternate broadcast of a Super Bowl in 2024 when it aired a SpongeBob SquarePants -themed simulcast of CBS' coverage. Nicktoons is the branding for Nickelodeon's original animated television series . Until 1991,
4350-656: 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; though
4437-431: The flagship channel) that have stricter content standards. It also airs some acquired sitcoms and drama series. NickMusic is a pay television network in the United States featuring music videos from arists appealing to Nickelodeon's target audience. It launched on the channel space formerly held by MTV Hits on September 9, 2016. Like its sibling music video -only networks BET Jams, BET Soul , and CMT Music , NickMusic
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#17327802063364524-507: The gaming and video streaming options on the website. Nickelodeon released a free mobile app for smartphones and tablet computers operating on the Apple and Android platforms in February 2013. Like Nick.com, a TV Everywhere login code provided by participating subscription providers is required to view individual episodes of the network's series. In December 2023, it was announced
4611-606: The largest indoor theme park in the western hemisphere, unseating the Mall of America's Nickelodeon Universe which had the title from 2008 to 2019. On August 18, 2009, Nickelodeon and Southern Star Amusements announced that it would build a Nickelodeon Universe in New Orleans, Louisiana on the site of the former Six Flags New Orleans by the end of 2010, which was set to be the first outdoor Nickelodeon Universe theme park. On November 9, 2009, Nickelodeon announced that it had ended
4698-590: The late 2007 to NBCUniversal for $ 925 million. At the end of Laybourne's tenure, Oxygen had 270,000 prime-time weekday viewers in 74 million homes. Laybourne started the mentoring program Global Women's Mentoring Walks, which pairs established and emerging women professionals to engage in mentoring partnerships in communities across the globe. In 1970, Laybourne married Kit Laybourne , a television producer, entrepreneur, author, and educator. They have been residents of Montclair, New Jersey and have two children and four grandchildren. Her daughter, Emmy Laybourne ,
4785-550: The licensing agreement with Southern Star Amusements. Current attractions Closed areas 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
4872-433: The network passing on the final 13 episodes of their option for Doug . Jinkins sold Jumbo Pictures to Disney in 1996, moving Doug over to ABC and Toon Disney as a result. Nickelodeon retained the rights to the 52 episodes produced between 1991 and 1994 as a part of the agreement. In 1996, Albie Hecht , then-president of Film and TV Entertainment for Nickelodeon, met with Nickelodeon artists to brainstorm an idea for
4959-449: The network started off when THQ published their Ren & Stimpy game for Nintendo consoles in 1992, followed by a full-fledged console deal in 1998 with several Rugrats titles, and expanded in 2001, when THQ acquired some of the assets from Mattel Interactive , namely the computer publishing rights, and all video game rights to The Wild Thornberrys . Nickelodeon also worked, alongside THQ on an original game concept, Tak and
5046-460: The network to sign a multi-year deal with Hartman. As part of the agreement, Hartman developed original animated and live-action concepts for Nickelodeon and its sister channel, Noggin . In a statement, Hartman said, "Working with everyone at Nickelodeon over the past several years has been hugely satisfying and I look forward to forging the same kind of terrific creative alliances with the folks at Noggin". In October 2006, DreamWorks Animation (who
5133-516: The network was named for a daily program on MTV; in this case, MTV Hits , which was that network's main pop music video program. The network composed of current hit music videos, along with a few older videos from earlier in the year, as well as a few from the late 1990s. As both MTV Hits and NickMusic, the network has maintained a commercial-free format, other than internal promotions for Nickelodeon or MTV and MTV-branded properties. The network has no individual or original programs; TeenNick Top 10 ,
5220-586: The network was uncomfortable with more crude humor. After Kricfalusi and Nickelodeon missed several promised new-episode delivery and air dates, the network—which had purchased the rights to the Ren & Stimpy characters from Kricfalusi—negotiated a settlement with him. Production on Ren & Stimpy moved to Nickelodeon's animation department, Games Animation, and the show was put under the creative supervision of Bob Camp . Coffey soon stepped down as animation vice president for Nickelodeon to pursue her own projects. She
5307-429: 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 , a news magazine series aimed at children that debuted in 1992 as a weekly series and ended in 2015. In June 2020, Nickelodeon announced that they would bring back Nick News in
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#17327802063365394-498: The network, in 1984. Laybourne and her team were responsible for creating and building the Nickelodeon brand, launching Nick at Nite and expanding the network by establishing it in other countries, developing theme parks and creating Nickelodeon magazine, movie, toy and publishing divisions. Under her leadership, Nickelodeon became the top-rated 24-hour cable programming service and won Emmy Awards , Peabody Awards , CableACE Awards and Parents' Choice Awards . The network had
5481-472: The opposite of their contemporaries, producing cartoons that would keep their creators in a key creative role rather than prioritizing an efficient "assembly line" process. Everybody else was doing toy-driven stuff and it was garbage. It's hard to create a character out of a toy for a lot of reasons. You have limited time to produce because you have to get the thing out when the product hits the market. How about, instead, we do this radical thing of looking around
5568-504: The park was themed as "Camp Snoopy" and "The Park at MoA." The theme park contains a variety of Nickelodeon-themed rides, including: SpongeBob SquarePants: Rock Bottom Plunge , Fairly Odd Coaster , and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shell Shock . Nickelodeon and Triple Five Group opened a second Nickelodeon Universe theme park in the American Dream Meadowlands complex on October 25, 2019. Upon opening, it became
5655-524: The potential to be its next breakout hit, and their order represented an investment of $ 50 million into the series alone. Stephen Hillenburg was doubtful that his show would last, and he stated in 2009: "I was thinking if we could make a pilot, then we'd have one episode and have accomplished that. Then I thought if it did go to a full season that we'd get twelve chances to write stories and that might be it... that we'd make twelve shows and get canceled." In 1998, Nickelodeon premiered Oh Yeah! Cartoons , which
5742-463: The production facilities for several Nickelodeon series. Nickelodeon Games (formerly Nick Games from 2002 to 2009, from 1997 to 2002, Nickelodeon Software , and from 1993 to 1997, Nickelodeon Interactive ) is the video gaming division of Nickelodeon. It was originally a part of Viacom Consumer Products, with early games being published by Viacom New Media . They started a long-standing relationship with game publisher THQ . THQ's relationship with
5829-479: The show. Avatar premiered in February 2005 to high ratings, after which Nickelodeon increased its order to 13 episodes and again to 20. In the early 2000s, Nickelodeon briefly continued its strategy of adapting Nicktoon franchises into theatrical features. Executives at the company's movie division decided to reconsider this approach after several films ( Hey Arnold!: The Movie and Rugrats Go Wild ) were met with poor financial and critical reception. According to
5916-502: The show. Video Dream Theatre used animation to visualize children's dreams in different styles, such as color Xerox . According to an interview with Laybourne herself, Nickelodeon did not broadcast the show because it was deemed too frightening; she commented, "the trouble with kids' dreams is they're really scary. It's a lot about abandonment, it's a lot about suffocation. They don't make very good stories." The network continued to only broadcast externally-produced animation until almost
6003-400: The three shows to enter development. Between the pilots and series' production, Vanessa Coffey was named Nickelodeon's Vice President of Animation. In fall 1992, Nickelodeon fired John Kricfalusi. Coffey and Laybourne asserted that Kricfalusi was in breach of contract for not delivering on time, creating inappropriate content, and going over budget. Kricfalusi suspected the real reason was that
6090-440: The turn of the millennium, Nickelodeon noticed that a new competitor, Cartoon Network , was attracting some of its 11–15 year old demographic. Desiring a cartoon suited for older viewers, Nickelodeon producer Mary Harrington contacted Jhonen Vasquez for a series pitch after reading his Squee! comic books. Vasquez pitched Invader Zim , which satisfied Nickelodeon's requests for "something 'edgy'." Nickelodeon also sought out
6177-417: The website in conjunction with television programs which increased traffic. 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
6264-500: The weekday schedule, and around nine hours on weekends, including a dedicated weekend morning animation block . 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 ). Since the early 2010s, Nickelodeon Animation Studio has also produced series based on preexisting IP purchased by Paramount, such as Winx Club and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . Nickelodeon has produced
6351-1122: 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, CNBC-e in Turkey and Network 10's localised version of Nickelodeon in Australia . Geraldine Laybourne Geraldine Laybourne ( née Bond ; born May 19, 1947)
6438-567: Was Jim Jinkins ' Doug , followed by Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo 's Rugrats . The final pitch that went to series came from John Kricfalusi , who presented a variety show titled Your Gang with a live-action host presenting different cartoons, each cartoon parodying a different genre. Ren and Stimpy were pets of one of the children in Your Gang . Coffey was dissatisfied with most of the pitch but did like Ren and Stimpy, singling them out for their own series. Both Coffey and Laybourne allowed
6525-618: Was Nick's Thanksgiving Fest , which was composed of two shorts. According to Linda Simensky , the Thanksgiving shorts "gave Nickelodeon executives the confidence they needed to get the animation department started". During the production of Nick's Thanksgiving Fest in 1989, Geraldine Laybourne held a meeting at her house to develop a philosophy for the channel's original cartoons. She played tapes of current animated shows, which her colleagues viewed as merchandise-driven and overly commercial. The group decided that Nickelodeon should aim for
6612-515: Was [how it brought] in a new character, Mrs. Puff, who I love." According to Nickelodeon writer Micah Wright , the series pickups for both SpongeBob and CatDog were announced on the same day in 1997. Nickelodeon's senior vice president, Kevin Kay , confirmed to the animation studio's creative team that it had greenlit 100 episodes (200 individual segments) of CatDog and six episodes (twelve segments) of SpongeBob . Nickelodeon believed CatDog had
6699-436: Was a partner at Early Bird Special Company in New York. In 1980, Laybourne was hired as a program manager at Nickelodeon , a year-old network with only five employees, where she initiated a focus-group approach to programming. Laybourne was one of the first people to focus on television programming for kids. She spent 15 years at Nickelodeon, taking over the management of the network, and started accepting advertising for
6786-562: 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. It ceased publication after 16 years in December 2009, citing
6873-621: Was aimed at the same age group of girls. In February 2011, Viacom bought out a third of Rainbow SpA , the Italian animation studio that introduced Winx Club . The purchase was valued at 62 million euros (US$ 83 million) and led to new shows being co-developed by Rainbow and Nickelodeon, including Club 57 and a pilot for the Nickelodeon Animated Shorts Program called "Crazy Block". In the early 2010s, Nickelodeon executives searched for independent animations on
6960-615: 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, 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. Nick Radio shut down without warning on July 31, 2019, and
7047-460: Was eventually spun-off into a separate channel in 2009. Nicktoons , based on the flagship brand for original animated series , launched as a standalone channel in 2002. Noggin , an interactive educational brand created in partnership with Sesame Workshop , existed as a channel from 1999 to 2009 and as a mobile streaming service from 2015 to 2024. Two blocks aimed at teenage audiences, Nickelodeon's TEENick and Noggin's The N , were merged to form
7134-425: Was intended as a "character laboratory" to test out cartoon characters. Creator Fred Seibert described the show as an experiment into a seven-minute format that Nickelodeon generally avoided; he said, "they were very willing to try an experiment to see how it would work." The series eventually yielded three half-hour spin-offs based on segments from the show: The Fairly OddParents , ChalkZone , and My Life as
7221-443: Was released on Netflix rather than television. Several months later, the studio announced a multi-year deal to produce animated content for Netflix, including new properties and spin-offs of previous Nicktoons. Nickelodeon's first original animated program, Video Dream Theatre , was left unaired. It was produced over a half-year period in 1979, when the network hired its future president Geraldine Laybourne to make two pilots for
7308-459: 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. Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America is the first indoor Nickelodeon theme park in the United States. Before being re-themed to Nickelodeon in 2007,
7395-595: Was replaced by Mary Harrington, a Nickelodeon producer who moved out from New York to help run the Nicktoons division after Kricfalusi was fired. At the time, the Nicktoons were produced primarily out-of-house at Jumbo Pictures ( Doug ) and Klasky-Csupo ( Rugrats ), with Nickelodeon's executives overseeing development. Hoping to concentrate production under one roof, Nickelodeon greenlit its first fully-in-house series, Rocko's Modern Life , in 1992. A budget freeze in 1995 at Viacom (parent company of Nickelodeon) resulted in Ren & Stimpy being canceled that same year and
7482-469: Was the producer for Nick's Thanksgiving Fest in 1988. Laybourne gave Coffey "pretty much free rein to look for properties". Vanessa Coffey rented an apartment in Los Angeles for two weeks and accepted hourly pitches. She mailed animators a call for submissions, which she summarized as "I'm looking for ideas, I'm looking for concepts. The less developed, the better. I want drawings, not a big pitch." As Coffey accepted pitches, she decided that she did not want
7569-488: Was then in a distribution deal with Nickelodeon's corporate sister Paramount Pictures ) announced that it would partner to co-produce animated shows with the channel. The partnership resulted in three CGI-animated shows based on DreamWorks' character library: The Penguins of Madagascar , Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness , and Monsters vs. Aliens . In October 2009 and September 2010, respectively, Viacom brought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winx Club into
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