NickToons Network
Encyclopedia
Nicktoons is an American
digital cable
and satellite
television network
owned by Viacom
. It is a sister service of the Nickelodeon
cable channel. The network broadcasts Nickelodeon's animated series, Nicktoons
, along with other original animated series and foreign animation from other Nickelodeon networks overseas 24 hours a day. The current network slogan is "Big Stars, Animated."
DirecTV
and Dish Network
. The network was originally marketed as commercial free, with comedic promos involving Nickelodeon Animation Studios, two-minute cartoon shorts from foreign markets, and former program promotions which had previously been used on Nickelodeon taking up commercial time. By September 23, 2005, as the network's distribution increased, the network began airing regular advertising.
The network rebranded itself as Nicktoons in 2003, but as part of the launch on satellite services, the network was renamed Nicktoons Network on September 23, 2005. A new logo with the familiar Nickelodeon "Splat" fanning onto a globe
shape was used, along with the new slogan of "Animation Capital of the World" and a promotion theme consisting of the characters being placed in a celebrity setting.
On September 28, 2009, the network's logo changed as part of Nickelodeon's universal rebranding effort that also saw Nickelodeon's first logo change in 25 years, and name changes for sister networks: The N to TeenNick
and Noggin to Nick Jr.
In conjunction with this, the "Network" identifier was dropped, leaving the network to be rebranded as Nicktoons for the second time in its history.
, My Life as a Teenage Robot
, ChalkZone
, Danny Phantom
, Avatar: The Last Airbender
, All Grown Up!
, Invader Zim
, Tak and the Power of Juju
, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
, and The Mighty B!
. Current Nickelodeon animated series airing on Nicktoons include Nickelodeon's flagship series, along with SpongeBob SquarePants
, Fanboy and Chum Chum
, The Fairly OddParents
, Back at the Barnyard
, The Penguins of Madagascar
, two of the newest shows that air on Nickelodeon T.U.F.F. Puppy
and Planet Sheen
, along with Nick at Nite
animated series Glenn Martin, DDS
.
Animated series that have never aired on Nickelodeon and are exclusive to Nicktoons include Dragonball Z Kai, Voltron Force
, Wolverine and the X-Men, Iron Man: Armored Adventures
, Making Fiends
, Three Delivery
, Zevo-3
, Speed Racer: The Next Generation
a production between Nickelodeon and the National Football League
. The channel also airs a series of animated shorts produced under the name Random! Cartoons. Nicktoons also airs some live-action programming such as The Troop
, Power Rangers Samurai
and Supah Ninjas
. Since March 2011, Nicktoons airs a daily three-hour morning program block called the "Nicktoons Comedy Breakfast", running daily from 6-9 a.m. ET; the block currently consists of double-episode airings of current Nickelodeon live-action series The Troop
, Power Rangers Samurai
and Supah Ninjas
, and former Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh
and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
.
Between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. ET, Nicktoons utilizes a network generic closing credit format (similar to that used by Nickelodeon, TeenNick and most of the other MTV Networks channels) to allow promotion of its programming and includes traditional commercial advertising during breaks within each program; at other times, the current program's regular production closing credits are shown at the end of a program, while commercial breaks exclusively consist of promos for Nicktoons and Nickelodeon programming, along with three-minute clips of Nicktoon series under the banner "Rockin' Nicktoons Moments", with little to no traditional advertising.
The network in recent times seems to be shifting focus away from comedic
programming and towards action-centered programming. Archival comedy shows are currently relegated to overnights on the Nicktoons lineup; in 2009 and early 2010, most of the 1990s Nicktoons did not air at all, other than an hour very early on Sunday mornings, but in summer 2010, Nicktoons began airing multi-hour marathon
blocks of shows such as The Ren & Stimpy Show, CatDog
and Rocko's Modern Life
in the overnight weeknight hours. According to promotions, these shows are expected to migrate to the new The '90s Are All That
block on sister network TeenNick
; the two blocks ran concurrently for at least the first month.
audio is available via SAP
with some cable and satellite providers offering the Spanish feed as a separate channel. Nicktoons was launched in the United Kingdom
on 22 July 2002, although, unlike the United States
version, it has been ad-supported since it launched. Also unlike the US version, it does not broadcast 24 hours a day. There are also other Nicktoons channels in Flanders
, Germany
, the Netherlands
, and Spain
replacing Nick Premium.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
and satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
owned by Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
. It is a sister service of the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
cable channel. The network broadcasts Nickelodeon's animated series, Nicktoons
Nicktoons
Nicktoons are animated television shows that are produced by and aired on the children's television channel Nickelodeon. Prior to 1991, Nickelodeon aired mostly foreign made animated series. The idea for Nicktoons was formed in 1989 and on Sunday, August 11, 1991, the first Nicktoon, Doug, was...
, along with other original animated series and foreign animation from other Nickelodeon networks overseas 24 hours a day. The current network slogan is "Big Stars, Animated."
History
Nicktoons was launched on May 1, 2002 as Nicktoons TV, part of the digital cable-exclusive MTV Digital Suite, in order to entice cable operators to pick up the network and give them a marketing advantage over satellite services. However, by early 2004, Nickelodeon management changed course and offered it to digital satellite servicesDigital Satellite Service
Digital Satellite Service is the assumed initialism expansion of the DSS digital satellite television transmission system used by DirecTV...
DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
. The network was originally marketed as commercial free, with comedic promos involving Nickelodeon Animation Studios, two-minute cartoon shorts from foreign markets, and former program promotions which had previously been used on Nickelodeon taking up commercial time. By September 23, 2005, as the network's distribution increased, the network began airing regular advertising.
The network rebranded itself as Nicktoons in 2003, but as part of the launch on satellite services, the network was renamed Nicktoons Network on September 23, 2005. A new logo with the familiar Nickelodeon "Splat" fanning onto a globe
Globe
A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
shape was used, along with the new slogan of "Animation Capital of the World" and a promotion theme consisting of the characters being placed in a celebrity setting.
On September 28, 2009, the network's logo changed as part of Nickelodeon's universal rebranding effort that also saw Nickelodeon's first logo change in 25 years, and name changes for sister networks: The N to TeenNick
TeenNick
TeenNick, formerly The N, is an American television network aimed at the teenage market. TeenNick is owned by the MTV Networks subsidiary, Viacom. The channel was originally known as The N from its April 1, 2002 launch until September 28, 2009....
and Noggin to Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.
Nick Jr. was a programming block on the Nickelodeon television channel, seen on Nickelodeon weekday mornings. It was aimed at a preschool-age audience ages 6 and under. On September 28, 2009, Nick Jr. became its own official channel, replacing Noggin...
In conjunction with this, the "Network" identifier was dropped, leaving the network to be rebranded as Nicktoons for the second time in its history.
Programming
Current programming seen on Nicktoons includes former Nickelodeon animated series such as El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny RiveraEl Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera
El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera is Nickelodeon's first ever flash animation series produced for Nickelodeon and Nicktoons Network. The first screening of the show was on January 19, 2007 in the first ever Nickelodeon Creative Summit held in San Juan, Puerto Rico as a special treat for the...
, My Life as a Teenage Robot
My Life as a Teenage Robot
My Life as a Teenage Robot is an American animated television series, created by Rob Renzetti for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of XJ-9, better known as Jenny Wakeman, a female robot designed to protect Earth, who is excessively addicted to teen-related activities, which are almost...
, ChalkZone
ChalkZone
ChalkZone is an American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon. It was created by Bill Burnett and Larry Huber, and produced by Frederator Studios for the Nickelodeon TV channel...
, Danny Phantom
Danny Phantom
Danny Phantom is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, produced by Billionfold Studios. The show was about a teenage half-ghost boy, who frequently saves his town and the world from ghost attacks, while attempting to keep his ghost half a secret...
, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...
, All Grown Up!
All Grown Up!
All Grown Up! is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó. After the success of All Growed Up, the Rugrats 10th anniversary special, Nickelodeon commissioned All Grown Up! as a spin-off series based on the episode.The series ran from April 12, 2003 to August...
, Invader Zim
Invader Zim
Invader Zim is an American animated television series created by Jhonen Vasquez. It was produced by and subsequently aired on Nickelodeon. The series revolves around an extraterrestrial named Zim from the planet Irk, and his ongoing mission to conquer and destroy Earth...
, Tak and the Power of Juju
Tak and the Power of Juju (TV series)
Tak and the Power of Juju is an all CGI-based animated series that premiered on Nickelodeon on August 31, 2007 and on Nicktoons on September 1, 2007. It has been showing on Nicktoons in the United Kingdom since 5 July 2008. Based on the video game of the same name, the show consists of two eleven...
, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, often shortened to just Jimmy Neutron, is an American animated television series, and spin-off of the Academy Award-nominated computer-animated movie, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The series first officially aired on July 20, 2002, on Nickelodeon...
, and The Mighty B!
The Mighty B!
The Mighty B! is an American animated television series co-created by Amy Poehler, Cynthia True and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girlscout that believes she will become a superhero called the Mighty B if she collects every Honeybee badge...
. Current Nickelodeon animated series airing on Nicktoons include Nickelodeon's flagship series, along with SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
, Fanboy and Chum Chum
Fanboy and Chum Chum
Fanboy and Chum Chum is an American CGI animated television series produced by Frederator Studios. It is based on a first episode/short from Frederator's Random! Cartoons called Fanboy...
, The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents is an American-Canadian animated television series created by Butch Hartman about the adventures of Timmy Turner, who is granted fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda. The series started out as cartoon segments that ran from September 4, 1998 to March 23, 2001 on Oh Yeah!...
, Back at the Barnyard
Back at the Barnyard
Back at the Barnyard is a Nickelodeon CGI animated show that is a spin-off of the 2006 film Barnyard. The debut series premiered on September 29, 2007 on Nickelodeon. The show is produced by Omation Animation Studio, in association with Nickelodeon Animation Studios. The show mainly features pop...
, The Penguins of Madagascar
The Penguins of Madagascar
The Penguins of Madagascar is an American CGI animated television series airing on Nickelodeon. It stars nine characters from the DreamWorks Animation animated film Madagascar: The penguins Skipper , Kowalski , Private , and Rico ; the lemurs King Julien , Maurice , and Mort...
, two of the newest shows that air on Nickelodeon T.U.F.F. Puppy
T.U.F.F. Puppy
T.U.F.F. Puppy is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It premiered on October 2, 2010 on Nickelodeon after the premiere of Planet Sheen. The series' main character is a dim-witted but determined dog named Dudley Puppy , who works as a secret agent for an...
and Planet Sheen
Planet Sheen
Planet Sheen is an American CGI animated television series. It is the 2010 spin-off of the 2002 series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius as well as the 2001 Oscar-nominated film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The show was created by John A. Davis, Keith Alcorn and Steve Oedekerk and based on...
, along with Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
animated series Glenn Martin, DDS
Glenn Martin, DDS
Glenn Martin, DDS is an American stop-motion-animated television series that premiered on Nick at Nite on August 17, 2009. The series is produced by Tornante Animation in association with Cuppa Coffee Studio...
.
Animated series that have never aired on Nickelodeon and are exclusive to Nicktoons include Dragonball Z Kai, Voltron Force
Voltron Force
Voltron Force is a new version of the 1980s animated series, Voltron, that was originally scheduled for a release in autumn of 2010. Eventually, the show premiered on June 16, 2011, exclusively on the Nicktoons television network to coincide with the premiere of the second season of Iron Man:...
, Wolverine and the X-Men, Iron Man: Armored Adventures
Iron Man: Armored Adventures
Iron Man: Armored Adventures is a 3D CGI cartoon series based on the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man. It debuted in the USA on the Nicktoons on April 24, 2009, and has already begun airing on Canadian network Teletoon. The series is story edited by showrunner Christopher Yost, who also worked on...
, Making Fiends
Making Fiends
Making Fiends is a Flash cartoon series by Amy Winfrey. It follows the interactions between Vendetta, an evil little girl that regularly makes monsters called fiends, and Charlotte, a cheerful and naive girl who thinks Vendetta is her best friend...
, Three Delivery
Three Delivery
Three Delivery is an American animated sitcom and action adventure, inspired by kung-fu movies. It is created by Larry Schwarz, who also created similar series, Kappa Mikey and Speed Racer: The Next Generation. It is a collaboration between Animation Collective in Manhattan, New York and the...
, Zevo-3
Zevo-3
Zevo-3 is an French-American animated television series that currently airs on Nicktoons. It is based on three characters that previously appeared in Skechers commercials , although they have been redesigned...
, Speed Racer: The Next Generation
Speed Racer: The Next Generation
Speed Racer: The Next Generation is an American animated television series based on the classic Japanese Speed Racer franchise, in which the internal events take place decades after those in the 1967 Japanese series. It is the fourth television adaptation of the franchise, and is executive produced...
a production between Nickelodeon and the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The channel also airs a series of animated shorts produced under the name Random! Cartoons. Nicktoons also airs some live-action programming such as The Troop
The Troop
The Troop is an American-Canadian live-action, single camera comedy-adventure television series about a trio of teenagers who fight and capture monsters and other supernatural phenomena that invade the fictional town of Lakewood...
, Power Rangers Samurai
Power Rangers Samurai
Power Rangers Samurai is the nineteenth season of the American children's television series Power Rangers. With Saban Brands buying back the franchise, the show is produced by SCG Power Rangers and began airing on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons on February 7, 2011...
and Supah Ninjas
Supah Ninjas
Supah Ninjas is an American action-comedy series, created by Leo Chu and Eric Garcia. The series premiered as a special preview on Nickelodeon on January 17, 2011 in the United States and started airing regularly on April 16, 2011.- Premise :...
. Since March 2011, Nicktoons airs a daily three-hour morning program block called the "Nicktoons Comedy Breakfast", running daily from 6-9 a.m. ET; the block currently consists of double-episode airings of current Nickelodeon live-action series The Troop
The Troop
The Troop is an American-Canadian live-action, single camera comedy-adventure television series about a trio of teenagers who fight and capture monsters and other supernatural phenomena that invade the fictional town of Lakewood...
, Power Rangers Samurai
Power Rangers Samurai
Power Rangers Samurai is the nineteenth season of the American children's television series Power Rangers. With Saban Brands buying back the franchise, the show is produced by SCG Power Rangers and began airing on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons on February 7, 2011...
and Supah Ninjas
Supah Ninjas
Supah Ninjas is an American action-comedy series, created by Leo Chu and Eric Garcia. The series premiered as a special preview on Nickelodeon on January 17, 2011 in the United States and started airing regularly on April 16, 2011.- Premise :...
, and former Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh
Drake & Josh
Drake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,...
and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, commonly called Ned's Declassified for short, is an American live-action situation comedy on Nickelodeon that debuted in the channel's Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004. The series' actual pilot episode aired on September 7, 2003...
.
Between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. ET, Nicktoons utilizes a network generic closing credit format (similar to that used by Nickelodeon, TeenNick and most of the other MTV Networks channels) to allow promotion of its programming and includes traditional commercial advertising during breaks within each program; at other times, the current program's regular production closing credits are shown at the end of a program, while commercial breaks exclusively consist of promos for Nicktoons and Nickelodeon programming, along with three-minute clips of Nicktoon series under the banner "Rockin' Nicktoons Moments", with little to no traditional advertising.
The network in recent times seems to be shifting focus away from comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
programming and towards action-centered programming. Archival comedy shows are currently relegated to overnights on the Nicktoons lineup; in 2009 and early 2010, most of the 1990s Nicktoons did not air at all, other than an hour very early on Sunday mornings, but in summer 2010, Nicktoons began airing multi-hour marathon
Marathon (television)
In television, a marathon is typically the sequential broadcast of a single or a number of related television programs, most notably reflecting a theme....
blocks of shows such as The Ren & Stimpy Show, CatDog
CatDog
CatDog is an American animated television series which premiered on April 4, 1998, and ended with an unaired episode on September 22, 2004. The series was created for Nickelodeon by Peter Hannan. It was also shown as a sneak peek in theaters with The Rugrats Movie...
and Rocko's Modern Life
Rocko's Modern Life
Rocko's Modern Life is an animated series created by Joe Murray. The show aired for four seasons between 1993 and 1996 on Nickelodeon. Rocko's Modern Life is based around the surreal, parodic adventures of an anthropomorphic wallaby named Rocko, and his life in the city of O-Town...
in the overnight weeknight hours. According to promotions, these shows are expected to migrate to the new The '90s Are All That
The '90s Are All That
The '90s Are All That is a programming block that airs on TeenNick. The block shows requested Nickelodeon shows from the 1990s, airing in a two-hour block running every night from midnight to 2 a.m., with an encore from 2 to 4 a.m...
block on sister network TeenNick
TeenNick
TeenNick, formerly The N, is an American television network aimed at the teenage market. TeenNick is owned by the MTV Networks subsidiary, Viacom. The channel was originally known as The N from its April 1, 2002 launch until September 28, 2009....
; the two blocks ran concurrently for at least the first month.
International versions
Since the launch of the channel a Spanish languageSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
audio is available via SAP
Second audio program
Second audio program , also known as secondary audio programming, is an auxiliary audio channel for analog television that can be broadcast or transmitted both over the air and by cable TV.-Usage:...
with some cable and satellite providers offering the Spanish feed as a separate channel. Nicktoons was launched in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 22 July 2002, although, unlike the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
version, it has been ad-supported since it launched. Also unlike the US version, it does not broadcast 24 hours a day. There are also other Nicktoons channels in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
replacing Nick Premium.
See also
- NicktoonsNicktoonsNicktoons are animated television shows that are produced by and aired on the children's television channel Nickelodeon. Prior to 1991, Nickelodeon aired mostly foreign made animated series. The idea for Nicktoons was formed in 1989 and on Sunday, August 11, 1991, the first Nicktoon, Doug, was...
- Nicktoons StudiosNicktoons StudiosThe Nickelodeon Animation Studio is an American animation studio. The studio is owned and operated by Nickelodeon, and the studio produces many of the network's most popular animated series, including SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Planet Sheen, and T.U.F.F. Puppy...
- NickelodeonNickelodeonNickelodeon is a US cable TV channel.Nickelodeon may also refer to:-In television:*Spinoffs of the Nickelodeon channel:** Nickelodeon Magazine, a children's magazine.** Nickelodeon Universe, an amusement park....
- Nick Jr.Nick Jr.Nick Jr. was a programming block on the Nickelodeon television channel, seen on Nickelodeon weekday mornings. It was aimed at a preschool-age audience ages 6 and under. On September 28, 2009, Nick Jr. became its own official channel, replacing Noggin...
- TeenNickTeenNickTeenNick, formerly The N, is an American television network aimed at the teenage market. TeenNick is owned by the MTV Networks subsidiary, Viacom. The channel was originally known as The N from its April 1, 2002 launch until September 28, 2009....