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Nickelodeon UK
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Nickelodeon UK, Nick UK for short (known just as Nickelodeon or Nick) is a cable and satellite TV network. The British version, legally known as Nickelodeon UK, was launched on 1 September 1993. Although one of the oldest children's channels in the United Kingdom, it was not the first (the oldest, The Children's Channel, which started in 1984, is now defunct).
ched on September 1 1993, encrypted as part of British Sky Broadcasting's Sky Multichannels package and airing (initially) from 7am to 7pm each day, Nickelodeon shows both cartoons and live action series.
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Encyclopedia
Nickelodeon UK, Nick UK for short (known just as Nickelodeon or Nick) is a cable and satellite TV network. The British version, legally known as Nickelodeon UK, was launched on 1 September 1993. Although one of the oldest children's channels in the United Kingdom, it was not the first (the oldest, The Children's Channel, which started in 1984, is now defunct).
History
Launched on September 1 1993, encrypted as part of British Sky Broadcasting's Sky Multichannels package and airing (initially) from 7am to 7pm each day, Nickelodeon shows both cartoons and live action series. The channel originally had a transponder to itself on the Astra satellite, and whilst off-air would show testcards (which usually had schedule information) or pages from NickText, the channel's teletext service. On cable, it was up to the operator which channel it would timeshare with, which caused problems whenever Nickelodeon extended its hours. The channel timeshared with the Paramount Channel (later Paramount Comedy Channel, now Paramount Comedy 1) after its launch in 1995. The channels are separate on the digital satellite and digital cable platforms, though still share on some analogue cable services.
There was also a segment called "Pirate TV" which had the presenters give the impression that they were going to have a closedown early. They played the closedown ident but about a minute later Nickelodeon was on the air again. There were no live presenters from the channel's launch, but eventually Nick Alive! was introduced, which featured live links between shows, often consisting of just a single presenter and the invitation for viewers to take part in phone-ins. With time, these live links were moved to bigger studios, where people were now invited down to the studios to take part in the live broadcasts, which were given various names over the years.
When Sky Digital launched in 1998, Nickelodeon was in the original channel line-up, and the channel's closedown was moved from 7pm to 10pm for digital satellite viewers. It continues to timeshare on analogue. Nickelodeon was also in the ITV Digital lineup, until the service closed down in 2002.
Nickelodeon Ireland
In 2004 Nickelodeon launched a separate stream for viewers in the Republic of Ireland, which were called Nickelodeon Ireland and Nick Jr Ireland. As with Sky1 & MTV, the only difference is the advertisements; all programming is the same. The Irish stream is also broadcast from the UK, however, and is supplied to all Irish cable operators and to Irish subscribers of Sky Digital.
Nickelodeon availability
Nickelodeon UK is also available on Top Up TV allowing viewers to access programmes range from SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Drake & Josh as well as Dora the Explorer and LazyTown. Nickelodeon Ireland is available through UPC Ireland, Sky Ireland, Magnet Networks and SCTV Digital.
Ownership
The British Nickelodeon channels are operated by Nickelodeon UK Ltd., a private unlimited company that is a 50/50 joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting and Viacom, the ultimate owners of the Nickelodeon branded channels in the USA. Unlike in America, there is little (if any) operational connection to the European MTV channels, which are run by MTV Networks Europe.
From 1995, there was an operational connection to the The Paramount Channel, which was launched by the Paramount UK Partnership, another joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting (25%) and Viacom (75%). The channels shared transponder space as well as offices, though they now they have separate offices and each operate multiple channels that no longer share bandwidth.
Spin-off channels
Nick Jr
On September 1 1999, Nick Jr. was launched on Sky Digital, which shows programming aimed at pre-school children, pre-school programming was previously shown during the daytime on the main channel, but this strand has long since been dropped (though it was reintroduced briefly during 2005).
Nick Replay
On September 1 1999, Nick Replay was launched on Sky Digital. The timeshift service broadcasting the main Nickelodeon channel on a one-hour delay.
Nick Toons
On July 22 2002, Nicktoons TV, now simply Nick Toons, this shows Nicktoons, as well as other cartoons, all day. On October 31 2005, Nickelodeon and Nicktoons extended their hours to 5am-11pm, and Nick Replay extended its hours to 6am-12am. Teleshopping began broadcasting on these channels outside of regular transmission times, as well as on Nick Jr. Prior to this, these channels had shown a test card, logo slide or promo loop during the off-air hours. Nick Jr. originally timeshared with MTV Dance when that channel launched in early 2001, though this ceased some time ago, with MTV Dance having gone 24 hours since then.
Nick Jr. 2
On April 24 2006, Nick Jr. 2 was launched. It broadcasts Nick Jr. shows on a different schedule to the main Nick Jr. channel.
Nick Toonsters
On August 18 2008, NickToonsters was launched. It broadcasts some old Nicktoons such as Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys and Hey Arnold!. Its licence first appeared on the Ofcom website in September 2007 (initially named "NickToons 2", this was changed to NickToonsters in 3 July, 2008).
Nickelodeon Presenters
Current Presenters
- Mark Felgate (January 2005-)
- Sy Thomas (October 2006-)
- Laura Hamilton (October 2006-)
Former Presenters
- Rick Adams
- Mike McClean
- Meliz Serman
- Nigel Mitchell
- Malcolm Bird
- James Gilbey
- Matt Brown
- Lucy Alexander
- Eddie Matthews
- Robin Banks
- Helen Chamberlain
- Simon Amstell (1998)
- Dave Benson Phillips
- Kara Tritton
- Sarah Cawood
- Lisa Brockwell
- Oliver Clark
- Leon Campbell
- Elvis (computer generated puppet)
- Bert the Fish (computer generated puppet)
- Mounya Khamlichi, aka "Moo" (1994 - November 2001)
- Jonathan Thompson (1998)
- Mike Myres (January 2000 - August 2001)
- Dave Berry (November 2000 - November 2002)
- Rude (puppet, left December 2002 but briefly returned during Summer on Nick (2008) for a sketch called 'Big Bother')
- Bogey (puppet, left March 2003, returned for a week in July 2003)
- jade and nakitta ramsey - teen nick presenters
- Rani Khanijau (January 2002 - December 2003)
- Yiolanda Koppel, aka "Yolly" or "Yoo" (1994 - August 2004)
- Michelle Barber (April 2001 - August 2004)
- Aidan Power (March 2003 - August 2004)
- Nigel Clarke (March 2003 - August 2004)
- Rose Omari (March 2003 - August 2004)
- Teressa and Claire (2005)
- Beth Palmer (January 2005 - October 2006)
- Ed Petrie (January 2005 - August 2007)
- Ross Lee (September - December 2008)
Nickelodeon's UK Kids Choice Awards
2007
The 2007 US Awards show was aired on Nick UK on 14 April 2007. The KCA's usually air in the UK shortly after they are broadcast in the US. But for the first time Nick UK made their version of the KCA's. It was broadcast from London's ExCeL Exhibition Centre, Docklands. The awards were held on 20 October 2007 and were shown on Nick UK a week later on 27 October 2007 and were repeated many times during that week. Nickelodeon did a competition where four lucky winners would be able to carry a 'blimp' (the Nickelodeon award) up on stage and present it to a winning celebrity. UK pop band McFly presented the ceremony.
2008
The 2008 UK Kids Choice Awards were held on 13 september 2008 at London's ExCeL Exhibition Centre, Docklands. The awards where shown on the channel a week later on 20 september 2008 with other 4 million votes being cast. The X Factor judge Danni Minogue presented the ceremony.
Nickelodeon Programmes
Nickelodeon Movies
The channel doesn't air movies daily during the school period, unlike its rival kids' channel Disney Channel UK, which does. In the kids' school holidays Nickelodeon normally airs movies with the slot being branded NickMovies.
Programming Blocks
Programming on Nickelodeon UK has often been segmented into blocks. These have included:
Morning blocks
- Rise and Slime -
- Dawn Patrol -
- Get Up! - weekends
- Bedroom Bedlam - weekends
- Nick AM - (?, existed 1996)
- Nicktoons Breakfast Feast -
- Nicktoons TV - (1998-?)
- Nick Jr. - weekday mornings, featured programming for pre-school children, replaced by a dedicated Nick Jr. channel (?-1999, 2005)
- Nick Juice - weekday mornings, 7am to 9am (?-2002)
- Weekend Juice - weekend mornings, 7am/9am to 12pm/2pm (?-2002)
- SLAM! - weekend mornings, 7am to 9am, featured animated action series (2002-2004)
- You're Nicked - weekday mornings, 7am to 9am, featured a presenter & crew 'invading' a viewer's home before school (2002-2004, latterly became a programme in its own right)
- The Crunch - aired weekday mornings, 7am to 9am (January 2005 - 2006) Each day had a different set of children who were called the 'kidcrew', who signed up to be on the show, and played studio games. The programming block aired animated shows / live action series.
- Control Freaks (2005) Children competed in a series of challenges live on air, with the two presenters. Included cartoons such as SpongeBob SquarePants.
- The Crunch - Summer Sizzle - (Summer of 2005)
- ME:TV (2006-2007) Features live presentation, and four kids with their webcams help the presenters to introduce shows, but only one of the four children can do this, so they have to compete with the other children in challenges live on air. This programming block airs on half-term holidays. 'ME:TV' was a big success with UK viewers. Nickelodeon US, later picked up the show's format. The block was originally presented by Ed Petrie and Sy Thomas. 'ME:TV' returned in the lead-up to the first UK Kids Choice Awards (October 2007), and was presented by Mark Felgate, Sy Thomas and Laura Hamilton.
- Slime Across the UK and Ireland (Summer 2007) aired 11am to 1pm, 2nd to the 5th week of the summer holidays, presented by Ed Petrie and Sy Thomas in the studio. With Mark Felgate and Laura Hamilton touring the UK and Ireland.
- Summer on Nick (Summer 2008) aired from 11am to 1pm from the 2nd week of the Summer holidays. It was presented by Sy Thomas, Mark Felgate and Laura Hamilton. All 3 presenters were usually in the studio. Celebrity guests were regularly featured and the main contact with viewers was through the Nickelodon website. Features included 'Dare the Presenters', 'What The Heck are They Talking About', 'Topic of the Day' and more. Programming during this slot was iCarly, Drake and Josh and SpogeBob SquarePants. There was also a parody of Big Brother entitled 'Big Bother'.
- Ross Lee's Ghoulies (28 September - 13 December 2008) 13-part series, airing each Sunday morning from 10am to 12pm. Ross Lee invited viewers to his manor, with spooky tricks and celebrity guests. Included popular Nickelodeon shows such as iCarly.
Afternoon blocks
- NickALive! (1994-1997)
- Lunchtoons - daily, 12pm to 2pm, featured animated series (?-2002)
- SNICK - weekend evenings, 7pm to 10pm (?-2002)
- Nickelozone - weekends, 2pm to 7pm, featured double episodes of mainly live-action shows (1999-2002)
- Nick in the Afternoon -
- Nick PM -
- Nick NOW -
- Nick L8R - weekdays, 3:30-5pm to 7pm, featured live studio presentation (2000-2004)
- Thank Nick It's Friday - Fridays:
- (2000-2004), 3:30pm/4pm to 7pm, featured live studio presentation (2000-2004)
- (2009), Returned January 2009. Airs Fridays from 4pm to 7pm. Features different Nickelodeon Movies such as Drake and Josh Go Hollywood and Goodbye Zoey 101, with episoedes of SpongeBob SquarePants, Just Jordan and The Fairly Odd Parents.
- The 4 til 6 Show - presented by two of the 'Big Nick Pick' presenters Claire & Teresa, in a tiny studio, they introduced shows, however this only lasted one week in the children's half term holidays. The two presenters have never been seen on Nickelodeon since, unlike the other 'Big Nick Pick' presenters (2005)
- The Crunch! - had a short period in the afternoons. Details above, in Morning Blocks (2006)
- NickHeads - (2006-2007) the first series aired for a short period in the 4-6pm slot, presented by Mark Felgate and Laura Hamilton. The second series returned on June 4, at 4-6pm, with Mark and Laura 'back with popular demand' with the run finishing on June 22 (2007).
Changes
In 2004, Nickelodeon cancelled all live presentation. With them saying the programmes are taking a break. All current presenters at that time were axed. With other kids' stations such as Disney Channel UK, CITV and later CBBC, following suit, mainly as a cost-cutting exercise. Later in January 2005, Nickelodeon brought back 'live' programming, but not as much in the past. Currently to today, there is no live presentation apart from in the summer where the Nickelodeon presenters travel to various locations in the UK.
Nickelodeon Specials
Over the years Nick have had many special programmes.
- Red Hot Lobster Tour/Nick on the Road (1996 - 2004) Hosted by the various Nickelodeon presenters over the years, Nickelodeon toured the UK during the summer holidays setting up a large stage at the destinations they visited. They had a large TV screen, broadcasting the Nickelodeon channel with shows such as Saved by the Bell and SpongeBob SquarePants airing. The presenters would interact with the audience of children and play games with them.
- Hall of Fame - During August 2006, Nickelodeon aired classic Nick shows such as Taina, The Brothers Garcia, Pete & Pete,Renford Rejects and Cousin Skeeter for an hour every day. Viewers were also given a chance to vote for their favourites on the Nickelodeon website.
- Paint Your Town Orange - Summer 1995. A series of many short films (around 3 minutes in length), where viewers showed off the best aspects of where they live. Children acted as presenters in this programmes, and also recorded advert bumpers for the network, which were also screen throughout the summer of 2005.
- Coast to Coast - Summer 1996. A series of 30 minute episodes tracking 6 Nickelodeon viewers as they travelled from the east to west coast of the USA. The programme featured 2 Nickelodeon UK viewers, as well as 2 from Germany and 2 from Australia. Involved in the production of the programme was Kate Humble, who now co-presents the BBC show Animal Farm.
- Nick-A-Lottery - 1995-1996. Cable or satellite subscribers were sent a 'Nick-A-Lottery' card, a plastic card with numbers printed on. Presenters regularly gave out numbers which if matched with the numbers on the card would entitle the viewer to win a prize, if they could claim within a very short amount of time. After matching the numbers, the viewer had to immediately call the channel's regular freephone number 0800 801 801. This was often engaged even before the Nick-A-Lottery started, so potential winners had difficulty in claiming a prize.
Nickelodeon: Outta Control
In 1997, Alton Towers opened an attraction in conjunction with Nickelodeon. There were several rooms, each with its own theme. Upon leaving, you were played back a recording of your journey around the attraction. It closed in 1998, due to the attraction not having a suitable throughout for a park of Alton's size..
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