A Look At "Nicktoons TV" -- The Channel "Nicktoons TV, a brand new channel from Nickelodeon! It's a new digital cable channel that shows nothing but Nicktoons 24 hours a day, bringing you the very best toons in town... not just cartoons, they're Nicktoons! It's the place to see EVERY Nicktoon that's ever been made, from the toons that started it all to your favorite new toons... tune in and check it out whenever you want. Its always on, and they'll make your day in a toon way!" -- Quote from a mixture of the descriptions of the US & UK Nicktoons TV channels (Left: Some of the Nicktoons that you'll see on Nicktoons TV. From Nick.Com; ©2002 Viacom.)

(Above: Some more of the Nicktoons that you'll see on Nicktoons TV. From Nick UK; ©2002 Viacom.)

New Nicktoons TV to Offer New and Classic Favorites
from Nickelodeon's Premier Animation Library

New Channel Launches Wednesday May 1, 2002, as Part of Expanded Digital Suite from MTV Networks

New York, NY -- May 1, 2002 -- Nickelodeon's new, all Nicktoons digital channel, Nicktoons TV, launches Wednesday, May 1, showcasing a wide variety of favorites from Nickelodeon's vast library of more than 2,200 hours of animated programming. Mark Offitzer, who currently heads up the Nickelodeon Games & Sports (GAS) digital channel, also will oversee Nicktoons TV as Vice-President & General Manager. In his new position, Offitzer will oversee the day-to-day production and operation of the network, reporting to Cyma Zarghami, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Nickelodeon.

Nicktoons TV offers animation fans an ongoing marathon of Nicktoon classics such as Ren and Stimpy, Doug, Rugrats and Real Monsters, mixed with current favorites including SpongeBob , The Fairly OddParents, Thornberrys and Ginger. In addition, Nicktoons TV will feature acquired Warner Bros. contemporary classics such as Pinky and the Brain, Tiny Toons and Animaniacs. The new channel will showcase vignettes, shorts and music videos featuring Nicktoon characters and animation developed by various Nickelodeon international channels. Reflecting the multi-media entertainment world that today's kids live in, Nicktoons TV will also experiment with new technologies such as web-to-air animation.

Nicktoons TV will debut on Cablevision and Charter systems across the country on May 1, including major markets such as Los Angeles, CA., St. Louis. MO, Miami Beach, FL, Long Island, NY, and suburban Atlanta, GA.

Nicktoons TV is part of the MTV Networks expanded suite of channels available for digital distribution. The new channels include MTV Hits, MTV Jams, and VH1 Mega Hits, expanding and strengthening MTV Networks' digital offerings to thirteen services.

(Press release © 2002 by Viacom. Source: The Nickdisk Forum.)

Subscribers of AT&T's cable systems will also be able to get Nicktoons TV, starting in July:

NEW YORK, May 28, 2002 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T Broadband plans to launch Nicktoons TV on AT&T Digital Cable's new Variety Tier, the companies said today. Nicktoons TV, the 24-hour network dedicated to Nickelodeon animation, will join AT&T Broadband's digital lineup beginning July 1, 2002.

"Ask families with children, and they'll tell you that Nickelodeon is a mainstay in their homes," said Allan Singer, senior vice president of Programming for AT&T Broadband. "Nicktoons TV follows in Nickelodeon's tradition of providing quality children's programming that entertains and educates. So, we are pleased to be able to add Nicktoons TV to our digital line-up."

"We are thrilled that AT&T Broadband has decided to launch Nicktoons TV," said Mark Offitzer, Vice President and General Manager, Nicktoons TV and Nickelodeon GAS: Games and Sports. "It shows that they really believe in providing their kid audience with more choices of quality and innovative programming."

What's On Nicktoons TV?

In the US, Nicktoons TV currently carries the Nicktoons and non-Nicktoons that are in their library, except for the newest entries, such as Tiny Toons, Speed Racer or Jimmy Neutron. Here's their latest schedule, as of 9/1/2003. All times Eastern; as this is the only feed, the actual times in your area may vary from one hour later (Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands during standard time) to three hours earlier (Pacific Time), to six hours earlier (Hawaii during Daylight Savings). Some episodes may be repeats from earlier in the day. Also, I don't know what episodes they are showing, as none of the online sources include episode details for the new channel. However, it's been reported that all episodes of Nicktoons seen on Nicktoons TV are seen in production order. (Source: alt.tv.nickelodeon newsgroup & the Nickdisk forum)

Weekdays

6AM: Doug
6:30AM: Real Monsters
7AM: Oh Yeah!
7:30AM: Kablam!
8AM: Angry Beavers
8:30AM: Rocko's Modern Life
9AM: CatDog
9:30AM: Wild Thornberrys
10AM: Rugrats
10:30AM: Hey Arnold!
11AM: Doug
11:30AM: Rocket Power
12PM: Oh Yeah!
12:30PM: Kablam!
1PM: Real Monsters (1 hour)
2PM: Angry Beavers (1 hour)
3PM: Rocko's Modern Life (1 hour)
4PM: Wild Thornberrys (1 hour)
5PM: Rocket Power (1 hour)
6PM: Rugrats (1 hour)
7PM: Animaniacs
7:30PM: Pinky and the Brain

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8PM:	Jimmy Neutron	CatDog	Oh Yeah!	OddParents	Ginger
8:30PM:	Invader Zim	Angry Beavers	Kablam!	Action League	Thornberrys

9PM: SpongeBob SquarePants
9:30PM: Rugrats
10PM: Animaniacs
10:30PM: Pinky and the Brain
11PM: (repeat of 8PM to 10PM)
1AM: Hey Arnold!
1:30AM: Doug
2AM: (repeat of 8PM to 10PM)
4AM: Hey Arnold! (repeat)
4:30AM: Doug (repeat)
5AM: Real Monsters (1 hour)

The Initial Nicktoons TV Schedule

Here was the inaugural schedule for the Nicktoons TV channel for the week of 5/1/2002.

Color Codes:

Nicktoons TV Now In Britain About a week after Nicktoons TV's launch in the US, Nick's British service has announced plans to start up a British version, which started 7/22/2002. The channel is seen on the Sky satellite service, as well as most digital cable systems throughout Britain and Ireland. It'll be seen on channel 606 on the Sky satellite service, with Nick Jr. moving to ch.624. And on NTL, it'll be seen on ch.828. On other cable systems, check local listings. As with the American channel, the UK version will offer a mixture of Nicktoons and non-Nicktoons, all being shows that Nick already has the rights to. Unique to the British version will be a 2-hour marathon of a different Nicktoon each day, everyday at 12 Noon. Also, the UK Nicktoons TV will be on the air from 6AM to 7PM everyday -- it won't be a round-the-clock operation, like the US version. And, as you see below, not all Nicktoons will be featured at once, though some Nicktoons listed here may be replaced with others as time goes on. In some cases, they may be replaced with other non-Nicktoons -- one of these is Klasky-Csupo's Santo Bugito, which will join the UK NTTV schedule later on. (Left: UK Nicktoons TV channel test card, which was displayed on the Nicktoons TV channel the week before the launch; it also told Nick Jr. viewers on Sky satellite where to go from now on. From The Nickdisk Forum; ©2002 Viacom.)

URLs for Nicktoons TV's future website, http://www.nicktoonstv.co.uk/ and http://www.nicktoons.co.uk/ are active, and about a week before sign on, the sites themselves opened up. In the weeks before the launch, however, they just took you to the main Nick UK site.

It should also be noted that Nick UK is showing ads for NTTV UK on their channels -- in the US, Nick did not show any ads for NTTV. Here are at least two of the UK NTTV ads:

1. An animated Angelica barges into the the office of the boss of Nick UK (played by live-action Matt Brown), telling him that she wants a Nicktoons TV channel, and if one isnt created, she'll send in The Angry Beavers (who are laughing just outside the office).

2. The second ad simply features pictures of various Nicktoons, ending with the number of days before the start of NTTV.

Finally, on the day of the channel's launch, the search was started for a family who will star in the world's first animated reality program, tenatively called "The Nicktoons TV Family". For details, click here.

Here is a press release from Nick UK, released 6/5/2002, describing the new channel:

Your Day in a Toon Way -- Nickelodeon UK Launches Nick Toons Channel

Nickelodeon UK has announced plans to launch Nick Toons -- a brand new channel featuring all of Nickelodeon's best loved cartoons. The channel, which has carriage on Sky Digital and NTL Home, is due to launch on Monday 22nd July.

Nick Toons will feature UK produced promos and idents on air, toons that are exclusive to Nickelodeon in the UK such as Spongebob and Ginger as well as favourites from Nickelodeon UK's vast 500 hour library of animated programming.

The channel will be aimed at kids in the 4-9 age group and will also boast an interactive element. Coupled with Nickelodeon UK's other two channels -- Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon -- the MTV Networks - BskyB joint venture is now in a very strong position to offer commercial partners and platforms a very strong proposition when wanting to connect with kids of all ages.

Nicky Parkinson, Managing Director Nickelodeon UK said:

"After a lot of thought we feel that the time is right for us to launch Nick Toons. We've identified a gap in the current offering to kids in the UK and Nick Toons is ideal to fill that space. Nickelodeon is continuing to grow in a very competitive market despite tough competition.

"We have always prided ourselves on connecting with kids and being the premier kids brand in the UK and the launch of Nick Toons means that we can now offer a dedicated place for kids of all ages in the UK to experience high quality entertainment."

The programming on Nick Toons offers a unique experience within today's animated world in the UK. Many cartoons are simply based around slapstick comedy but Nick's Toons have an anchor of reality in them as well as the comedy element. Subjects like sibling rivalry (CatDog) and friends overcoming obstacles (Hey Arnold) are dealt with in a way that is entertaining for the viewer without being pure fantasy -- there's no running off cliffs and surviving the fall in Nick Toons. Kids are able to see parallels between their own lives and situations and the toon action on screen.

Here is the latest schedule for the UK Nicktoons TV, as of 9/1/2003:

And here is the original schedule, when Nicktoons TV made its debut on 7/22/2002: