TeenNick

TeenNick
Launched	April 1, 2002 (2002-04-01) (as The N, timesharing with Noggin) December 31, 2007 (2007-12-31) (as The N, as its own 24/7 channel) September 28, 2009 (2009-09-28) (relaunch, as TeenNick)
Owned by	Viacom Media Networks (Viacom)
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Slogan	Best Time Ever!
Country	United States The Netherlands Belgium India
Language	English
Broadcast area	Nationwide and Mexico[1]
Headquarters	New York City, New York
Formerly called	The N (2002–2009)
Replaced	Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids (1999–2007)
Sister channel(s)	Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite Nick Jr. Nicktoons
Website	www.teennick.com
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV	Channel 303 (SD) Channel 1303 (VOD)
Dish Network	Channel 181
C-Band – H2H/4DTV	AMC 18 – Channel 209
Cable
Verizon FiOS	Channel 255
Cablevision	Channel 124
Avaliable on most cable systems	Check your local listings
IPTV
AT&T U-verse	Channel 322

TeenNick is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the MTV Networks Kids & Family Group, a unit of the Viacom Media Networks division of Viacom. The channel features a mix of original programming, Nickelodeon-produced series, and acquired programs geared towards pre-teens and teenagers.

The channel was originally known as The N from April 1, 2002 (when it originally launched as a program block on Noggin) to September 28, 2009. TeenNick's name was taken from the former "TEENick" program block, which aired on parent channel Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2009.

As of August 2013, TeenNick is available to approximately 73,443,000 pay television households (64.31% of households with television) in the United States.^[2]

Beginning in December 2013 TeenNick started airing less series but showing more airings of their more popular series such as Drake & Josh and Zoey 101.

History

As The N (2002–2009)

The N's "hand" logo, used from April 1, 2002 to October 4, 2007.

The N's "atom" logo, used from October 4, 2007 to September 28, 2009. The "n" in TeenNick's current logo closely resembles the "n" in the logo displayed here.

TeenNick originally debuted on April 1, 2002 as a nighttime programming block on Noggin called The N. Similarly to the shared-time format of Nickelodeon (which had shared channel space with other cable channels since the channel's inception in 1979, including The Movie Channel, BET, the Alpha Repertory Television Service, and its successor A&E) and Nick at Nite, Noggin and The N aired their respective programming over the same channel space and in a block format: The N ran from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. ET, while Noggin ran from 6:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m. ET seven nights a week.

As Viacom increasingly showcased its own programming on Noggin, by 2002 it was clear that they wanted Noggin to compete with PBS Kids, a longtime partner of Noggin part-owner Children's Television Workshop. CTW (by then known as Sesame Workshop) decided to reduce its interest in the channel, partly due to the fact that Noggin's prime time ratings (with "retro programming" designed to appeal to babies and young children) were not as high as expected. With this move, MTV Networks started developing the concept of The N. From its launch, The N targeted an older audience than Noggin (aiming at teenagers, compared to the channel's original pre-teen target audience and its later shift with the launch of The N to a preschooler audience) and was more entertainment-based in nature compared to Noggin's educational format.

In October 2006, Viacom bought the quiz website Quizilla,^[3] and later integrated it with The N's internet properties.

In August 2007, MTV Networks announced that it would shut down sister channel Nickelodeon Games and Sports, which had by then discontinued its original programming and become an automated loop of select lower-profile, archive game shows from Nickelodeon. MTV Networks decided to retain the satellite transponder slot and split Noggin and The N into two separate full-time channels on December 31, 2007, with The N taking over Nickelodeon GAS's channel space.^[4] The last program to air on the timeshare version of The N was the Degrassi episode "Don't You Want Me?, Part 2"; this was followed by the last music video to air on the timeshared version of the channel, "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles.

The split officially occurred at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on December 31, 2007; Noggin became a 24-hour channel (for the first time since 2002) on that date with an episode of 64 Zoo Lane, while The N replaced Nick GAS at the same time, with an airing of the pilot episode of Instant Star (due to technical issues, Dish Network continued to carry Nickelodeon GAS on its usual channel slot, with Noggin continuing to timeshare with The N on the satellite provider until April 2009, when Dish replaced GAS with the Pacific Time Zone feed of Cartoon Network; Dish Network began to carry The N and Noggin as separate channels on May 5, 2009).

Relaunch as TeenNick (2009–present)

On February 24, 2009, Nickelodeon announced that The N was to be rebranded as TeenNick to bring the channel in line with the Nickelodeon brand identity.^[5] On June 18, 2009, Nickelodeon unveiled the new standardized logo for the channel, that would also be extended to the other Nickelodeon channels, intending to create a unified look that could better be conveyed across the services.^[6]

The channel relaunched as TeenNick on September 28, 2009 at 6 a.m. ET, accompanied by the debut of the new logo (which was designed by New York City-based creative director/designer Eric Zim); former parent network Noggin was relunched as Nick Jr. on that same date. Nick Cannon, who previously starred in the Nickelodeon series All That and The Nick Cannon Show (and was declared in publicity materials as the "Chairman of TeenNick"), has a presence on the channel, appearing in network promotions.^[7] Nearly all of The N's existing program inventory was carried over to the relaunched channel. However, most of the channel's original series (with the exception of The Best Years, Degrassi: The Next Generation,^[8] and The Assistants) were not carried over to TeenNick. Video has surfaced on YouTube of the logo change.

On February 1, 2010, TeenNick began incorporating music videos into its morning and afternoon schedule on a regular basis, airing between certain programs – and effectively reducing commercial breaks within programs where a music video is to be aired afterward – from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET (this had been done periodically for some time prior to that date, usually airing between 6 to 8 a.m. ET, although not every day).

Despite the rebranding, some electronic program guide (EPG) providers identify TeenNick as The N and display its 2007–2009 logo as that of TeenNick's current logo (Nick Jr. has a similar issue, as the former Noggin logo and name is still used by some EPG providers to identify that channel). In July 2011, TeenNick began carrying programs originally filmed for high definition broadcast in a letterboxed format, due to the absence of an HD simulcast feed of the channel.

Programming

The channel features a mix of programs that target older children and pre-teens, such as Zoey 101, Drake & Josh, Big Time Rush, How to Rock, iCarly, The Naked Brothers Band and Victorious, and shows aimed at teenagers and young adults, such as Degrassi, Malcolm in the Middle, and What I Like About You. The longest-running series currently on TeenNick's schedule, the last remaining charter program on the channel and the centerpiece of its program lineup, is Degrassi, the current installment of a long-running Canadian teen drama franchise that has run on the channel since 2002, when the channel originated as The N.

TeenNick has more relaxed programming content standards than the rest of the Nickelodeon channels, except for Nick at Nite and the NickMom block on Nick Jr., whose content standards are both similar to that of TeenNick; however, TeenNick has had increasingly fewer series that feature profanity or sexual content airing as part of its schedule during the 2010s to date, compared to its program inventory prior to the 2009 rebrand (largely due to the increased prevalence of Nickelodeon original series on the schedule) – with shows incorporating such content primarily being limited to certain nighttime slots.

Most of the programs that had been airing on The N remained on TeenNick, with some slight changes for scheduling purposes and possible new future programming, including the re-acquisition of partial cable rights to the early 2000s sitcom, One on One (which had previously aired on The N), and a shift of Full House, which had formerly aired on Nick at Nite and began to air on the channel in August 2009, shortly before the conversion from The N to TeenNick. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a longtime mainstay of The N, moved to TBS and ABC Family in September 2009 upon the expiration of Viacom's rights to the series. On April 20, 2011, TeenNick announced that it had acquired the rights to air Buffy the Vampire Slayer starting that May.^[9]

Several Nickelodeon sitcoms air on TeenNick, such as Victorious, Big Time Rush, and iCarly, however these air in different timeslots than on Nickelodeon; for example, reruns of iCarly currently air infrequently on Nickelodeon as of 2014, but air on TeenNick twice every weekday on TeenNick and on Wednesday nights. The majority of TeenNick's weekday and weekend daytime schedule consists of reruns of current and former Nickelodeon series. Some defunct Nickelodeon series also air regularly during the day, such as Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, Victorious, Unfabulous, and The Naked Brothers Band.

The amount of original programming on TeenNick has fallen drastically since the rebrand, in stark contrast to its former identity as The N (with Degrassi being the only first-run program that the channel maintains a production interest that continues to air on the schedule as of 2014); however, TeenNick has produced one recent original series since the rebrand, the half-hour teen drama Gigantic, which ran from October 2010 to April 22, 2011. First-run episodes of series airing on TeenNick since then have been primarily in the form of Nickelodeon series that are burned off due to low ratings on the flagship channel, such as, in the recent past; Hollywood Heights, House of Anubis, How to Rock, and Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures, and foreign shows acquired by the channel, such as Life with Boys, Dance Academy, H2O: Just Add Water, and Alien Surf Girls.

Programming block

The '90s Are All That

On July 25, 2011, TeenNick began airing The '90s Are All That, a two-hour programming block featuring reruns of Nickelodeon's most popular programs from the 1990s, which is aimed primarily at adults that were within the network's target age demographic (pre-teens and teenagers) during that era. Originally airing on weeknights only until 2012, the block currently airs nightly from 12 to 2 a.m., with an encore from 2 to 4 a.m. ET. Shows featured in the block include Hey Arnold!, CatDog, Rugrats, All That, and Kenan and Kel.

References

External links

• Official website