The Nickelodeon Network and Its Turbulent History

Nickelodeon is today one of the most successful cable channels in the USA, and might be the most watched children's network in history. On top of that it has also be made into a huge international tv movement, with regional affiliate networks in parts of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Russia, and more. But even though it has currently reached an astounding level of success, "Nick" as it is endearingly referred to as, is a pretty new tv network and its eventful history is quite short.

The network was given the name "Nickelodeon" when Viacom first bought it in 1981. Up until that point it had been known as Pinwheel, whose run lasted from 1977 to 1981. In those days the station only ran for 6 hours a day, since children's programming was limited and viewership was low during school hours. As soon as Viacom bought out the network, they increased the air time from six hours to twelve hours, going from eight AM until eight PM, but leaving the old Pinwheel staff in their positions.

Come 1984, Nickelodeon was dead last amongst cable networks in terms of ratings, and was over $40 million in the hole. The President of MTV Networks, the division of Viacom that ran not only MTV but also other networks like Nickelodeon, replaced the staff and ordered a rebranding of the network, enlisting the aid of some of the masterminds behind MTV's rise to success. The came up with the new "splat logo" that is used widely to promote Nickelodeon to this day; new promotional songs; new network ID segments; and new programming with the aid of new writers, producers, and animators. Six months into Nick's makeover, it had moved up from last place among cable networks to first place. The plan was a success.

Luckily for us fans, Nickelodeon's fortunes were turned around. Because Nickelodeon provides some of the best kids' content around, providing great entertainment with educational value. Their programming always makes my children smile and teaches them something valuable whenever they watch.