| Nicktoons | |
| Picture Format: | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Owner: | Paramount Global |
| Parent: | Paramount Media Networks |
| Country: | United States |
| Area: | Nationwide |
| Headquarters: | One Astor Plaza New York, New York, U.S. |
| Online Serv 1: | Affiliated Streaming Service |
| Online Chan 1: | Paramount+ |
| Online Chan 2: | YouTube TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Stream, Philo, Hulu + Live TV |
Nicktoons is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. The channel is geared towards children aged 7 to 11,[1] and broadcasts reruns of original animated series from sister network Nickelodeon (known as Nicktoons) along with some other animated shows and feature films.
, Nicktoons is available to approximately 43,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2013 peak of 69,000,000 households.[2]
Nicktoons was launched as a standalone channel on May 1, 2002, as Nicktoons TV, part of the digital cable-exclusive MTV Digital Suite, in order to entice cable operators to pick up the network and give them a marketing advantage over satellite services. However, by early 2004, Nickelodeon management changed course and offered it to digital satellite services DirecTV and Dish Network. The network was originally marketed as commercial-free, with comedic promos involving Nickelodeon Animation Studios, two-minute cartoon shorts from foreign markets, and former program promotions that had previously been used on Nickelodeon taking up commercial time. By September 23, 2005, as the network's distribution increased, it began to carry regular advertising.
On September 28, 2009, the network's logo changed as part of Nickelodeon's universal rebranding effort.[3] A high-definition feed was launched on August 13, 2013, and is available on several providers.[4] [5] Like Viacom's other HD channels, any programming produced in 4:3 SD is pillarboxed on this feed. As the network blended in more Nickelodeon programming into its schedule, the Nicktoons website went offline in the mid 2010s, recommending viewers go to Nick.com instead before it was fully redirected to the Nick.com domain.
See main article: List of programs broadcast by Nicktoons. Since its inception, Nicktoons has mainly aired programs carried over from the main Nickelodeon channel. Despite its name, the channel does not exclusively air Nicktoons, and has occasionally aired some of Nickelodeon's live-action series, such as The Thundermans and Henry Danger. Due to Nickelodeon moving a lot of newer content to the channel, all the older Nicktoons, such as Hey Arnold! and The Ren & Stimpy Show, were removed from the schedule around 2009 to 2011, with Invader Zim being an occasional exception. However, Rugrats airs on the channel occasionally. As of November 2023, the Nicktoons series that still remain are mostly more modern content, along with reruns of SpongeBob SquarePants and The Loud House, along with their spin-offs.
Since approximately 2006, Nickelodeon has used Nicktoons to burn-off the remaining episodes of under-performing shows. Including shows both acquired and initially created for the Nickelodeon channel. Some first run shows include As Told By Ginger, Back at the Barnyard, Breadwinners, Bunsen Is a Beast, Harvey Beaks, It's Pony, The Mighty B!, Pig Goat Banana Cricket, Planet Sheen, Robot and Monster, T.U.F.F. Puppy, and Welcome to the Wayne. The network also premiered season 10 of The Fairly OddParents.
Some acquired shows that were moved over and finished their runs on the network include Alvinnn!!! and the Chipmunks, Ollie's Pack and Rabbids Invasion (though the series moved to Netflix for its fourth and final season).
On September 3, 2014, a two-hour Wednesday prime time programming block named NickSports was launched on the channel, tying into the Kids' Choice Sports inaugurated that year.[6] The block presented mainly licensed programming focusing on sports, including the Rob Dyrdek-starring Wild Grinders and , along with sports-related feature films such as Bend It Like Beckham, Cool Runnings, and Space Jam.[6] Sometime in 2015, the block was moved to a Friday prime time slot. The block ended in September 2018.
From 2006 until 2009, Nicktoons Network used a robot mascot in bumpers and advertisements for the channel.[7] The mascot, named "ACOW," which stands for Animation Capital of the World, was a complex robot character with a large singular eye, animated using "photo-puppetry."[8] ACOW was prominently featured on the NicktoonsNetwork.com website[9] and was used as part of the "Nicktoons Network: Animation Capital of the World" logo.[10] Several similar-looking eyeball-based characters were seen in promos for the network.