Nickelodeon (British and Irish TV channel)

Nick logo for short since 2010.

Nickelodeon was launched in the UK on 1 September 1993 exclusively on Sky, originally airing for 12 hours and showing both cartoons and live action series. The British version of Nick Jr. also launched in the channel's first year, initially for 3 hours from 9 am to 12 noon on weekdays, later becoming 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. Off-air, Nickelodeon would air static logos, schedule information and teletext. Live presentation followed in 1994, branded as Nick Alive!. From October 1995, it started to timeshare with Paramount Channel. In 1996, Nickelodeon reached an agreement with CBBC 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 1998.

When Sky Digital was launched in 1998, Nickelodeon was in the original channel line-up on Astra 2A, and Nickelodeon was aired for three more hours. However, analogue-satellite services continued to shutdown Nickelodeon at 7 pm each day until analogue satellite was discontinued in 2001.

In 1999, Nick Jr. launched as a 14-hour standalone channel on analogue and digital pay TV and subsequently the block was taken off Nickelodeon in July 2000 (but shortly reintroduced in 2005). Nicktoons was launched in the UK and Ireland in 2002.

During the end of 2004, Telewest failed to reach an agreement to broadcast Nickelodeon, Nicktoons and Nick Jr. on the after 2005 and the channels were removed from Telewest on 17 December, leading to many Telewest customers leaving for Sky and NTL, while Telewest customers either received a free upgrade to Disney Channel or to Sky Cinema to prevent customers from leaving Telewest. By the next year, however, Nickelodeon successfully renegotiated with Telewest and the channels were restored.

In February 2010, Nickelodeon adopted the worldwide rebrand.[1][2] The TeenNick block also adopted the American identity.[3] In April 2010, Nicktoons and Nick Jr. took on their rebrand logos.

Nickelodeon HD was launched in October 2010 on Sky.[4] Later, it was picked up by Virgin Media.[5]

The Nickelodeon channels available in the UK and in Ireland are operated through a joint venture with Paramount International Networks (PIN) and Sky Group trading as Nickelodeon UK Ltd. PIN holds majority in shares (60%).

Over the years the network has produced series including Genie in the House (2006–2009), Summer in Transylvania (2010–2012) , Goldie’s Oldies (2021-) and Overlord and the Underwoods (2021-). Apart from local continuity programming including Camp Orange and Nickelodeon Slimefest, Nickelodeon UK mainly airs imported programming from the US network. House of Anubis (2011-2013) and It’s Pony (2020-) were created in the UK, but were produced for the American channel and premiered in the US market first.

Traditionally, the Kids' Choice Awards in the United Kingdom and Ireland before 2007 included only an airing of the original ceremony from the USA. 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. No ceremony or UK-specific awards were held in 2009 after network budget cuts, and since 2010 only a few local categories are voted by children in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which are awarded each year by Nickelodeon presenters as continuity during the airing of the American ceremony on a one-day delay.

Nickelodeon Land is a section of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach resort in Blackpool which is a six-acre (2.4 ha) section of the park featuring themed Nickelodeon attractions and souvenirs. The Nickelodeon Land section of the park opened in April 2011.

• Official website