“Pinwheel” was broadcast on the Columbus channel, Ohio, before developing at the national level as part of the new Nickelodeon canal in 1979. Would have been Kavanaugh (who became the first director of Nick’s programming) is the one who came with the name “Nickelodeon”. Interviewed for the book by Mathew Klickstein 2013 “Monged!: An oral story of the golden age of Nickelodeon,” Kavanaugh recalled:
“The first word my daughter has ever read was” Nickelodeon “. She underlined it on a t-shirt and said:” Nickanee! “That’s it for her [during] all his life. “”
One of Nickelodeon’s main innovations was that it was a wired network targeting children. Revenues do not come from advertising, but from paying cabledors to transport the canal – 10 cents each for each household reached. Talk to The New York Times When Nick was launched for the first time in 1979, Horner said that this model would ensure that Nick would favor being adapted to children above being commercial:
“The rhythm is different, slower, softer. [is] Composed of various materials of variable lengths, so that nothing begins or ends on time. I think that like an electronic sandbox to which children can come every time they wish. “”
This probably It doesn’t look like the nickelodeon you know and for a good reason. According to the 2004 book “Nickelodeon Nation: history, politics and economics of the only American television channel for children”, “ The No-Ads model was not financially sustainable, so Nick introduced advertising in 1983 and then commercial spots in 1984. In 1985, Nickelodeon had become profitable; Horner was also gone and the canal had been sold to Viacom. Nickelodeon remains under this corporate umbrella (now called Paramount Global) to date. Geraldine Laybourne, who was president of Nickelodeon from 1984 to 1996, is credited by many (including Horner) for having created modern and stranger Nick.
“”[Laybourne’s] Nickelodeon has an attitude, like Angelica of “Rugrats”, said Horner Forbes In 1999. “I appreciate it, but I myself like a softer program. I am a little old-fashioned. I don’t know if I could have made Nickelodeon such a great success.”
Laybourne’s mandate is when Nickelodeon began to diversify in different programming blocks, and when many of its famous and best named programs (“Rugrats”, “Doug”, etc.) began. Today, original cartoons (“Bob Eponge” in particular) are the backbone of Nickelodeon.
This does not mean that the story of Nickelodeon is all Hunky Dory. See: The 2024 documentary “Quiet on set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.” This doc revealed disgusting details on working conditions on productions of live comedy programs from Nickelodeon (Much created / supervised by producer Dan Schneider) in the 1990s and 2000. Drake Bell, Sitcom star of Schneider “Drake & Josh”, revealed that he had been maintained and sexually assaulted several times by the theater and dialogue coach Brian Peck during this period.
The heritage of Nickelodeon in the memories of children (including those who have since grown up) is undeniable, but it is also important not to forget the unflattering parts of all legendary history.
