German children's TV channel
Television channel
Nickelodeon
is a German
free-to-air
television channel
for children, part of the
international
. based on the
U.S. counterpart
. brand originally launched in 1995, and relaunched in 2005, Nickelodeon is based in
Berlin
. The channel is available on subscription services and as an unscrambled, free-to-air (FTA) satellite signal. On 31 March 2010, the channel re-adopted the name
Nickelodeon
on air and online, in addition to the new Nickelodeon logo and graphical package being rolled out internationally at the time. The "Nickelodeon" name was re-adopted once again when it rebranded on 1 August 2023, nearly 5 months after its rebrand in the U.S.
[1]
Since then, the channel is also broadcast in English in addition to German on a secondary audio track. It is aimed at kids between the ages of 6 and 13.
Nicknight
[
edit
]
Nicknight
was a German, Austrian and Swiss programming block operating from 2014 to 2021. On 1 November 2018, Nicknight Germany rebranded into
MTV+
(
Comedy Central +1
since 1 March 2021). Like it was done in Germany, Nicknight stopped broadcasting in Switzerland and Austria on 1 October 2021, and were replaced by
Comedy Central Austria
and 7+ Family respectively.
History
[
edit
]
1995?1998
[
edit
]
The original version of Nickelodeon was launched on 5 July 1995 on the
DFS Kopernikus
satellite and a few cable providers in
North Rhine-Westphalia
. Nickelodeon initially aired for six hours per day from 1.00
pm to 7.00
pm on weekdays and 8.00 am to 1.00pm on weekends; during off-air hours, the channel looped a half-hour special featuring excerpts from its shows. The station was headquartered in
Dusseldorf
where live presentation came from. Starting in October 1995, Nickelodeon aired from 6.00
am until 8.00
pm, and timeshared with
Arte
starting in 1996, truncating its broadcast to 5.00pm, and later 7.00pm.
After
Der Kinderkanal
launched, Nickelodeon lost its valuable slot on many cable providers and started timesharing with
VH-1 Germany
on satellite between 6.00am and 8.00pm. Nickelodeon was a financial failure and lost 150,000,000
Deutsche Mark
due to weak advertising sales and its inability to compete against the more successful Kinderkanal.
[2]
The channel's future had been deliberated since the beginning of 1998 and its closure had been planned months in advance.
[3]
Viacom
announced it with only days of notice given to employees. During the station's final three days, a testcard aired after each programme informing viewers of its impending closure.
During the final three days, the final episode of
Nick Live Club
aired, in which the channel's in-vision presenters thanked viewers for watching before performing a farewell song. This link had actually been filmed on 29 May and was repeated up to and including the final day.
[4]
The channel closed on 31 May 1998 at the regular time of 8.00
pm with a montage (also pre-made)
[3]
thanking viewers and informing them Nickelodeon's programming would soon be available elsewhere, before cutting to VH1 as usual. Its transponder space was occupied with an edited version of the testcard in the following weeks,
[5]
before
MTV
was relocated to the transponder the following year.
Viacom soon thereafter struck a deal with
RTL
owner
CLT-UFA
to broadcast their programming on RTL's own children's channel,
Super RTL
, in addition to a weekend morning
Nicktoons
block on the main RTL channel. After VH-1 Germany shut down in 2001 (and was replaced by a
pan-European feed
on a separate channel), it was replaced with
MTV2 Pop
.
Relaunch, 2005?2010
[
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]
On 7 April 2005, it was announced that Nickelodeon Germany will be relaunched under the name
Nick
as a new channel on 12 September 2005.
[6]
Nick started with a prime-time programming block titled Nick Comedy that aired sitcoms and other comedy shows. Nickelodeon eventually replaced
MTV2 Pop
; since February 2006, in addition to international series, it started airing locally produced shows.
[7]
In October 2007, a special German version of the
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
was produced and broadcast on the channel.
In the start of 2008, Nick launched a family-oriented programming block named
Nick nach acht
(Nick after eight), which was the local adaptation of US overnight block
Nick at Nite
. It aired documentaries, drama series, films and sitcoms.
[8]
It used an adapted logo of its US counterpart. Most of the block's programming schedule consisted on repeats of
Ren and Stimpy
and
CatDog
.
[9]
On 15 December 2008,
Comedy Central Germany
replaced Nick nach acht on Nickelodeon, taking over its airing time as a timeshared channel starting 8.15pm.
[10]
2010s
[
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]
On 31 March 2010, the channel adopted the new international branding. Nick was renamed
Nickelodeon
, while Nick Premium was rebranded as
Nicktoons
.
[11]
Since 1 June 2011, Nickelodeon Germany started broadcasting in HD.
[12]
A new logo was used from January 2012, as well as a new graphic package.
From 1 October 2014, Nickelodeon Germany turned itself into a 24-hour channel, with Comedy Central leaving Nick's channel slot and moving to
VIVA Germany
. Furthermore, Nickelodeon introduced a new overnight programming block called
Nicknight
, replacing Comedy Central's airing time from 9.00
pm to 5.45
am.
[13]
[14]
Since 28 June 2017, the channel returned to its previous name, Nick.
On 1 November 2018 at 5am, Nicknight was discontinued. At 8.15
pm on that day
MTV+
launched airing from 8.15
pm to 5
am. Nicknight does not exist anymore in Germany, however, the Austrian and Swiss feeds still kept the Nicknight brand until 1 October 2021 with them being replaced by
Comedy Central Austria
and 7+ Family.
2020s
[
edit
]
On 1 March 2021, MTV+ was replaced by
Comedy Central +1
.
[15]
On 1 August 2023, Nickelodeon Germany rebranded on the same date as other international feeds and reverted to the original “Nickelodeon” name.
[16]
On 23 April 2024, it was reported that
Super RTL
, had reached an agreement with
Paramount Global
to acquire Nickelodeon Germany, as Paramount wants to refocus its resources on
Paramount+
and
Pluto TV
. If the deal gets approved, Super RTL will rebrand the channel as Toggo, the same name used for Super RTL's programming block for children, while also having the broadcasting rights for Nickelodeon shows on German TV.
[17]
Other feeds
[
edit
]
Austrian channel
[
edit
]
Since 1 June 2006, an Austrian subfeed of the channel is also being broadcast, initially timesharing with VIVA Austria from 6.00
am to 7.00
pm.
[18]
On 1 January 2011, it starts timesharing with
Comedy Central Austria
. The channel is known on-air as
Nickelodeon Austria
.
From 1 October 2014, Nick Austria starts also to broadcast 24 hours per day with the launch of
NickNight
.
Since 1 October 2021, the channel started timesharing with
Comedy Central Austria
, along with a new licence from
RRtv
, using the European graphics package, its schedule and its original name,
Nickelodeon
. Nick Austria Rebranded into the 2023 Splat, and was changed back to its original name ‘’Nickelodeon”.
Swiss channel
[
edit
]
A Swiss subfeed for German-speaking viewers was launched on 1 April 2009, first timesharing with
VIVA Switzerland
and then with Comedy Central starting in 16 May 2011. For many years, its programming schedule was identical with the main, German feed. Nevertheless, it got its own, separate schedule. The channel is known on-air as
Nick Schweiz
.
From 1 October 2014, Nick Switzerland starts also to broadcast 24 hours per day with the launch of
NickNight
.
Since 1 October 2021, the channel has been run by
CH Media
under license from
Paramount
.
Sister channels
[
edit
]
Nicktoons
[
edit
]
Nicktoons was launched in December 2007 as Nick Premium.
[19]
In 2009, Nickelodeon announced that Nick Premium would be rebranded as Nicktoons.
[20]
The channel airs animated programmes from Nickelodeon.
Nick Jr.
[
edit
]
Nick Jr.
is a channel that broadcasts to younger kids. The channel was launched on 12 September 2005 as a block and on 31 March 2009 as a channel. Before the channel launched, some programmes were broadcast on
Super RTL
and
Disney Channel
.
[21]
[22]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"MTV goes global with Nickelodeon"
. Techwatch Tech News ? Rapid TV News. February 22, 2010.
- ^
"Kampf um Kinder"
.
Der Spiegel
(in German). 8 March 1998.
ISSN
2195-1349
. Retrieved
1 January
2023
.
- ^
a
b
Kroetz, Paddy.
"Die Liquidation"
. Archived from
the original
on 9 April 2005
. Retrieved
19 February
2023
.
- ^
"25 Jahre Nickelodeon - Ralf Kuhler: "Das Großte, was ich beruflich je erlebt habe!"
"
.
TV Wunschliste
(in German)
. Retrieved
1 January
2023
.
- ^
Nickelodeon Germany Sendestart Verabschiedung
, retrieved
27 February
2023
- ^
Mantel, Uwe.
"Nickelodeon kehrt als "Nick" nach Deutschland zuruck"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
12 January
2022
.
- ^
Wittmann, Henrik.
"Burger Lars Dietrich wird erster Moderator von Nick"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
12 January
2022
.
- ^
Mantel, Uwe.
"Nick setzt kunftig auf Dokus in der Primetime"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
12 January
2022
.
- ^
Mantel, Uwe.
"Nick zeigt kunftig auch spatabends Cartoons"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
12 January
2022
.
- ^
Luckerath, Thomas.
"Viacom stellt TV-Kanal Comedy Central ein"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
13 February
2022
.
- ^
Voß, Jochen.
"TV-Sender Nick verpasst sich neuen alten Namen"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
24 January
2022
.
- ^
Mantel, Uwe.
"MTV, Viva, Nickelodeon/Comedy Central auch in HD"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
24 January
2022
.
- ^
Mantel, Uwe.
"Kastner dampft Viva ein und baut Nickelodeon aus"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
24 January
2022
.
- ^
"Nickelodeon sendet 24 Stunden, Comedy Central siedelt zu Viva"
. Archived from
the original
on 17 August 2014
. Retrieved
21 July
2014
.
- ^
"ViacomCBS to launch Comedy Central+1 in Germany"
.
Broadband TV News
. 21 January 2021.
- ^
Krei, Alexander (1 August 2023).
"Neues Design, alter Name: Nick wird mal wieder zu Nickelodeon"
.
DWDL
(in German)
. Retrieved
18 February
2024
.
- ^
Luckerath, Thomas (23 April 2024).
"Deal mit Paramount: Super RTL will Nickelodeon ubernehmen"
.
DWDL
(in German)
. Retrieved
23 April
2024
.
- ^
Wittmann, Henrik.
"Viacom-Sender VIVA und NICK ab Juni mit Osterreich-Fenster"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
24 January
2022
.
- ^
Premiere Star: Zwei Mal MTV und Nick Premium
- ^
Voß, Jochen.
"Ab Marz: Aus Nick wird wieder Nickelodeon"
.
DWDL.de
(in German). DWDL de GmbH
. Retrieved
24 January
2022
.
- ^
"MTVNHD & Nick Jr. going Deutsch -- Engadget HD"
. 10 July 2011. Archived from
the original
on 10 July 2011
. Retrieved
24 January
2022
.
- ^
"MTV turns pay in Germany"
.
Broadband TV News
. 5 October 2010
. Retrieved
12 January
2022
.
Notes
[
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]
- ^
The logo's wordmark has been in use since 31 March 2010. Additionally, this logo is a variant meant to be used for white backgrounds; the main variant has a white wordmark in conjunction with a fully orange splat.
External links
[
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]
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Kids and Family Group
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Entertainment and Youth Group
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Premium Network Group
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Other assets
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