Nick Jr.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the U.S. television block of programming on Nickelodeon. For the British channel, see Nick Jr. (UK) and for the Australian channel, see Nick Jr. Australia.
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| Type | Cable network (cartoons), broadcast over Nickelodeon |
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| Country |  United States |
| Availability | National |
| Owner | MTV Networks (Viacom) |
| Launch date | U.S.: 1988 UK: September 1, 1999 Aus: March 17, 2004 |
| Website | http://www.nickjr.com/ |
Nick Jr. is part of the Nickelodeon programming channel, and takes over Nickelodeon every weekday morning. In the United Kingdom, it started out as a block but became a channel in its own right in 1999; it also has a second channel, Nick Jr. 2, which launched April 24, 2006. In Australia, it is also a standalone channel, part of the Foxtel Digital lineup. In all incarnations, it is aimed at a preschool-age audience.
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[edit] History
[edit] Buildup
In the United States, preschool-targeted TV shows were marketed under the Nickelodeon name brand through most of the 1980s. However, as cable TV increased in popularity, a potential association of such shows with Nickelodeon's older-aged content had the potential to damage pre-teen viewership, and because of that, the preschool shows started to be marketed under the Nick Jr. brand in 1988 (an actual founding date was very loose and varies from source to source). Programming generally reserved for a younger audience was already in place in the mid-day by 1998, but possibly not yet branded.
[edit] 1988–1994
The Nick Jr. branding was certainly in place by mid-1989. The block was an approximately four hour portion of the Nickelodeon broadcast day, from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. Eastern time. Until 1989, a former staple of the Nickelodeon lineup, Pinwheel was featured, and eventually replaced by Eureeka's Castle. Much of the remaining time in the lineup, particularly early in this time period, was devoted to animated series, many of which were of foreign origin (David the Gnome, Noozles, The Adventures of the Little Koala, The Little Prince). Programming in the vein of live action and puppeted preschool programming also appeared during this time (Today's Special, Pinwheel, The Elephant Show).
[edit] 1994–2004
In 1994, Nick Jr. introduced "Face", a personified, 2D face that changed color throughout his segments and introduced or wrapped up shows and smaller variety pieces. (Face continues to appear on the Australian Nick Jr. channel.) Programming during this period included Allegra's Window, Bob the Builder, Gullah Gullah Island, and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Face, in the context of its segments, was capable of materializing objects such as beach balls, scuba gear, space ships and stars, and of creating any number of foley sound effects including a signature three note "trumpet" noise used to lead up to the name Nick Jr..
[edit] 2004–present
In the U.S., Nick Jr. has a new mascot named Piper, an opossum.
There is a CD with music from Nick Jr. shows available titled Dance and Sing: The Best of Nick Jr..
[edit] CBS and Telemundo cross programming
From 2000 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2006, Nick Jr. also ran a Saturday morning children's block for CBS entitled Nick Jr. on CBS, featuring shows from the programming block. Between 2001 and 2004, it was part of the general Nick on CBS block, which also included programming from the main Nickelodeon channel. The block was replaced September 16, 2006, when the DiC-programmed CBS's Secret Saturday Morning Slumber Party began.
Similarly on spanish language U.S. network Telemundo, Saturday and Sunday mornings belong to a block titled Nickelodeon en Telemundo, which feature such shows as Rugrats and Dora, la Exploradora, dubbed in spanish.
[edit] Current programs in U.S. block
- Go, Diego, Go!
- Blue's Clues
- Dora the Explorer
- LazyTown
- The Backyardigans
- Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends
- Wonder Pets (US block only)
- Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
[edit] Other programs
These have been featured either as part of the U.S. block, or on the UK or Australian channels.
- The Adventures of the Little Koala
- Allegra's Window
- Angelina Ballerina (Nick Jr. (UK)
- Bob the Builder (Nick Jr. (UK)
- DangerMouse
- David the Gnome
- Doctor Snuggles
- The Elephant Show
- Eureeka's Castle
- Franklin (Noggin)
- Fred Penner's Place
- Gullah Gullah Island
- Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
- Kipper (airs on PBS Kids Sprout)
- Little Bear (airs on Noggin)
- Little Bill
- The Little Prince
- Maisy (Noggin)
- Maple Town
- Maya the Bee
- Maggie and the Ferocious Beast (in UK)
- Mr. Men and Little Miss
- Noozles
- Oobi (currently airs on Noggin)
- Oswald (airs on Noggin)
- Papa Beaver's Storytime
- Peppa Pig (Nick Jr. (UK)
- Pinwheel (no longer airing)
- Rubbadubbers
- Rugrats (Nickelodeon)
- Rupert Bear
- Shining Time Station
- Strawberry Shortcake
- The Busy World of Richard Scarry
- Tikkabilla (CBeebies)
- Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (Nick Jr. (UK)
- TUGS (Coming in 2008)
- Today's Special
The reason Shining Time Station, which was a PBS show, aired on Nick Jr. is that they bought it from PBS. It is produced by WNET, which is New York's local PBS station. Nick Jr. is owned by Nickelodeon, which is located in New York, so it didn't take long for it to get shipped. It only aired in summer 2000. By fall that year, they took it off the air and it wasn't aired on Noggin. (Some of the series, or movies associated with them still air on special occasions on Nick Jr., such as on holidays, or when there are new episodes.)
