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For the 24/7 television network, see Nick Jr.
For other uses, see Nick Jr. (around the world).
Television channel
Nick Jr. was a programming block on the Nickelodeon television channel, seen on Nickelodeon weekday mornings. It was aimed at a preschool-age audience ages 5 and under. On September 28, 2009, Nick Jr. became its own official channel, replacing Noggin. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International.
Programming during this block were generally seen without commercial interruption, although advertisements did run between the programs.
History
Buildup
From April 1, 1979 until January 1, 1988, many shows that might be associated with a preschool audience were broadcast on Nickelodeon, but were not specifically distinguished in their own programming block. Most preschool programs were shown roughly between the hours of 7:00am and 3:00pm, which approximates the hours in which older children might be in school.
1988–1994
By the start of 1988, on January 4, the Nick Jr. brand was in place and in use, with an approximate six-hour portion of the Nickelodeon broadcast day, at 9:00am – 3:00pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. The logo for the new Nick Jr. brand became a distinctive feature for the block. At first, the Nick. Jr. logo was orange for "Nick" and blue for "Jr.". The logo varied in the shape or species (e.g. two stars, two trains, two trees, two robots, two balls, two castles, two pigs, two cows, two horses, two brothers, two cats, two dogs). Until May 1991, a former staple of the Nickelodeon lineup, Pinwheel was featured, and eventually replaced by a new timeslot for 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 (The World of David the Gnome, Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show, Noozles, The Adventures of the Little Koala, The Care Bears, The Adventures of the Little Prince, The Littl' Bits, Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics, Maya the Bee, Maple Town, Jim Henson's Muppet Babies). Programming in the vein of live action and puppeted preschool programming also appeared during this time. Many of the Nick Jr. network ID's were produced at VideoWorks Inc. with 2D animation, CGI animation and clay animation.
1994–2004
The final pre-Face program aired on May 27, 1994 and it was The Littl' Bits right before the closing ID of Nick Jr and a handover to Friday's Nickelodeon program schedule. After that, they had an advertisement for Nick Jr.'s upcoming rebrand, also mentioning Face, the block's mascot. On May 30, 1994, proceeding the first network ID, Nick Jr. introduced Face, the animated host that introduced, and wrapped up shows, and smaller variety pieces. More than 400 Face promos were created and produced by Nick Digital (Nickelodeon's in-house animation studio), and later at Data Motion Arts from 1996 to 1999, and then at Napoleon Videographics from 1999-2003. From this point forward, he changed colors, moods, and feelings, also on tuesday a slew of new shows and shorts premiered, including Muppet Time, Gullah Gullah Island, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, and Winky Love. Programming during this period included Little Bear, Gullah Gullah Island, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, Little Big Room, Rupert, Rugrats (re-runs, also aired as part of the original Nickelodeon), Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, The Muppet Show, Eureeka's Castle, David the Gnome, The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth, Bob the Builder, and Blue's Clues. Face, in the context of its segments, was capable of materializing objects such as an astronaut, a robot, a clown, a window, a traffic light, stars, even wood, and of creating any number of foley sound effects including a signature three note "trumpet" noise used to lead up to the slogan Just for me, followed by a nod. Face was voiced by Chris Phillips who also voices Roger Klotz on Disney's Doug and various promos & bumpers for the MTV networks since 1992. From May 30, 1994 until May 31, 1996, Face's eyes were a little small. On October 10, 1994, two alternate versions of his design were introduced, one in which his mouth is a little lower, and another one in which his eyes are sharper. The well-known version of his design, with the eyes and mouth in their same designs from 1994, but being in the same size as in the first alternate design from 1994 was introduced at 9 a.m. ET on June 5, 1995 (this design officially took over most of the block's programming segments featuring him at 9 a.m. ET on May 5, 1997), and two sleeker versions were introduced in 1999 (with his mouth being smoother) and 2001 (with his pupils in his eyes (still oval) now spinning usually). On November 27, 1997 and November 28, 1997, for the first time since its debut, Nick Jr. didn't air at all during Nickelodeon's Non-Stop Nicktoons Weekend (which started in 1993). This two-day practice took place again on November 25, 1999 and November 23, 2000 and is going on for many years to come. On September 1, 2003, Face was given a new look, which added eyebrows and a chin and straightened the eyes by inverting them. Also, his voice turned into a D.J. rapper-like voice. To promote this, a marathon of back-to-back brand new Dora the Explorer episodes were aired, along with a series of new interstitials called The Mad Caps. Also, on that day, a new series of segments called Nick Jr. Playalong debuted and the new segments were hosted by live-action people. The first program ever aired to re-launch was Rubbadubbers. Face and the live Playalong shows were last seen on October 8, 2004. Seven years later, Face made a surprise appearance in his 1994-2004 look on TeenNick during The 90s Are All That on December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2012.
2004–2007
Nick Jr's final pre-Piper program signed off just before 2 p.m. ET on October 8, 2004. The last show to air was Dora the Explorer, followed by the tribute to the 2003-2004 Playalong era and the final goodbye from the 1994-2004 mascot, Face. After that, there was a sneak preview of Nick Jr.'s upcoming rebrand, which mentioned Piper O' Possum, and a handover to Nickelodeon's Friday afternoon schedule. On October 11, 2004 at 10 a.m. ET (after Nicktoons TV (6 a.m.-10 a.m. ET for Columbus Day)), after a decade, Nick Jr. replaced Face by a new host, Piper O'Possum. The first program aired with Piper at the helm was Dora the Explorer. On that day, for one day only, Nick Jr. started as late as 10 a.m. ET and ended as early as 1 p.m. ET. He was also the daytime presenter of the British version of Nick Jr. (UK) and Nick Jr. 2. Piper was voiced by Allison Brutofski. On Nick Jr.'s British service, he was voiced by a British voice-over actor, with Allison's laugh. "Piper" was last seen on September 7, 2007.
2007-2009
On September 10, 2007, Nick Jr. dropped Piper and introduced new graphics and music. This saw the new look, which indicates preschoolers to play and learn with Nick Jr. characters. The first program aired with this look was Dora the Explorer.
2009–present
Main article: Nick Jr.
On February 2, 2009, Nickelodeon removed the Nick Jr. branding from the lineup. Nick Jr. shows continued airing on the slot, but they have the Nickelodeon branding. The final program was Olivia. Seven months later, on September 28, 2009, Nick Jr. received its own 24-hour TV channel (previously called Noggin). Also, they received the "It's Like Preschool on TV" slogan, and the orange-and-blue colors were retained. In other countries, the graphics are the same as Nick's, except it says Nick Jr..
Crossprogramming with other networks
Crossprogramming is a term used in broadcast programming. From 2000 to 2002 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 2002 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 DIC Entertainment (now Cookie Jar Entertainment) started the KOL Secret Slumber Party/KEWLopolis/Cookie Jar TV on CBS.
Until the fall of 2006, Spanish language US network Telemundo offered Nick Jr. programming in Spanish on Saturday and Sunday mornings, as part of the Nickelodeon en Telemundo block, which featured such shows as Rugrats and Dora the Explorer. In the fall of 2006, after the sale of Telemundo to NBC and the CBS/Viacom split, Nick programming was replaced with a Spanish-language version of NBC/Ion Television's qubo block.
On April 5, 2008, competing Spanish network Univision added Spanish dubbed versions of Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! to their Saturday morning Planeta U line-up.
For a brief time in summer 2010, Tr3s (a sister network to Nickelodeon) aired a daily block of Spanish-dubbed Nick Jr. programs under the name Tr3s Jr.. Pistas de Blue (episodes from the Steve Burns era of Blue's Clues) and Wonder Pets were featured in the block.
Face made a cameo appearance during the 2012 New Year edition of The '90s Are All That, TeenNick's 1990s-oriented late night block. Face's appearances consisted of out-of-context clips that make him appear to be drunk or making adult comments (e.g. Yeah, grow a pear!).
Slogans
- Nick Jr. is Here Just for You! (January 4, 1988-January 4, 1991)
- Nick Jr. is Just for You! (September 4, 1989-January 1, 1993)
- Grow, Learn and Play (January 4, 1993-1996)
- We Play to Learn (1994-1996, 1997-1999)
- Ni-Ni-Nick na Nick Jr. (1996-1999)
- Nick Jr. is TV Made Just for Preschoolers (1996-1999)
- Nick Jr. is Just for Me! (1996-2003)
- Nick Jr. Play to Learn (1996-August 29, 2003)
- Nick Jr. Play Along (September 1, 2003-October 8, 2004)
- Nick Jr. Play Along and Learn (October 11, 2004-September 7, 2007)
- Nick Jr. Love to Play! (October 11, 2004-September 7, 2007)
- Nick Jr. Play with Us! (September 10, 2007-February 2, 2009)
- It's Like Preschool on TV! (September 28, 2009-present)
See also
References
- Nickelodeon programming listing from 5/1987
- 1988 Premiere of Nick Jr.
External links
Categories:
