Nick at Nite facts for kids
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Logo used since September 18, 2023
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| Network | Nickelodeon |
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| Launched | July 1, 1985 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters | One Astor Plaza New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Sister network | |
| Format | Nighttime programming block |
| Original language(s) | English Spanish (via SAP audio track) |
Nick at Nite (also written as nick@nite) is a special TV block that airs on the Nickelodeon channel in the evenings. It starts in prime time and goes until late at night. The shows are mostly for grown-ups and older teens. When it first started, Nick at Nite showed old TV series and movies from the 1950s to the 1970s. But over time, it began showing more recent sitcoms (funny TV shows) and movies, mainly from the mid-1990s to the 2010s.
Many people, including the company that owns it, Paramount Media Networks, think of Nick at Nite as its own separate channel. This is because it aims for older viewers, unlike Nickelodeon, which is for kids. Since 2004, a company called Nielsen has even counted Nick at Nite's viewers separately from Nickelodeon's.
Contents
History
How Nick at Nite Started
In 1984, a TV executive named Geraldine Laybourne was asked to create new shows for a time slot that was becoming free. She worked with consultants Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert, who had helped make MTV and Nickelodeon popular.
They came up with the idea of the "first oldies TV network." They wanted to make an evening TV block like a radio station that plays "The Greatest Hits of All Time." They called it "Nick at Nite."
Nick at Nite first aired on July 1, 1985, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. It showed old sitcoms, movies, and even some drama series. Some of the first shows included Dennis the Menace and The Donna Reed Show. They also showed a movie every night called the Nick at Nite Movie. As the years went on, Nick at Nite added more shows, including sketch comedy like SNL.
By the early 1990s, Nick at Nite had a full schedule of shows. In 1995, it celebrated its tenth birthday. They showed special episodes from almost every series that had ever aired on Nick at Nite.
Nick at Nite Today
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In 2004, Nielsen, the company that measures TV viewers, started counting Nick at Nite's viewers separately from Nickelodeon's. This was because the two blocks had different shows and different target audiences.
On January 1, 2007, the Nick at Nite logo changed from blue to orange, matching Nickelodeon's colors. Later that year, on September 3, 2007, a new logo was introduced. It looked like Nickelodeon's famous "splat" logo, but the orange splat was shaped like a moon. This was the first time Nick at Nite really connected its look to Nickelodeon's.
On July 5, 2009, Nick at Nite started its shows earlier, at 8 p.m. on most nights. Its start times have changed a few times over the years.
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On September 28, 2009, Nick at Nite updated its look again. The new logo styled the name as "nick@nite" using small letters. The network also stopped showing the full ending credits for most of its shows.
Programming
Nick at Nite mostly shows reruns of funny TV series from the 1990s to the 2010s. It also airs movies. In the past, Nick at Nite even made its own original shows, like See Dad Run.
Because of how TV show contracts work, Nick at Nite doesn't have its own online streaming service like Paramount+. Its shows are usually only available when they air on TV.
Programming History
Nick at Nite was once known as the "first classic TV network." It originally showed older TV programs from the 1950s to the early 1970s. Over the years, the types of shows changed. By the early 2000s, it mainly showed series from the late 1970s to the late 1990s. Later, it added shows from the early and mid-2000s. This success with classic TV shows even led to other channels being created, like Antenna TV and MeTV.
Nick at Nite usually airs its shows in blocks of one or two hours. Often, shows that have been on Nick at Nite for a few years move to the overnight schedule. This makes room for newer shows.
On May 16, 2011, Nick at Nite started a new way of scheduling shows. They would have longer commercial breaks, sometimes up to seven minutes. This allowed them to fit more ads.
On June 25, 2012, Nick at Nite started airing Nickelodeon shows for the first time. They showed reruns of All That and Kenan & Kel. Later, they aired Victorious and the teen drama Hollywood Heights. Now, Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite often share the 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. time slot on weeknights.
Movies
Besides sitcom reruns, Nick at Nite also shows movies. After its first run of the Nick at Nite Movie from 1985 to 1989, movies didn't air again until 2007. Since February 2010, they have been shown more often, usually on Sunday nights.
Sometimes, movies or special shows aired on Nick at Nite even started during Nickelodeon's regular time. This was unusual because some of these shows were for younger kids.
Some of the movies Nick at Nite has shown include the Back to the Future movies, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ghostbusters, and Jurassic Park. Movies are now shown almost every week, usually on Sunday evenings.
Original Programming
Nick at Nite has also made its own shows sometimes. In 1987, it held a contest called the Do It Yourself Sitcom Special. Viewers sent in their ideas for sitcoms. In 1988, it aired an animated Christmas special called Christmas in Tattertown. This special aired every Christmas for several years. In 1990, a funny show called On the Television aired briefly. It pretended to be a critic show with strange clips from fake TV shows.
In the early 1990s, Nick at Nite had a special about old TV commercials. This idea later became a part of its spin-off channel, TV Land. Another special was a quiz about TV dads. The host joked about viewers trying to clean magic marker off their screens after following his instructions.
In 1991, Nick at Nite launched its own sitcom called Hi Honey, I'm Home!. It was about a 1950s TV family whose show was canceled. They had to move into a real 1990s neighborhood, which led to funny culture clashes.
In 2008, Nick at Nite planned a family version of the game show GUTS called My Family's Got GUTS. This show ended up premiering on Nickelodeon. On August 17, 2009, Nick at Nite debuted an animated show called Glenn Martin DDS, which ran for two seasons. Scripted shows returned in 2012 with Hollywood Heights and See Dad Run.
In 2017, Nick at Nite also started showing episodes of Nashville after they aired on the CMT channel.
Marathons and Blocks
Programming marathons (showing many episodes of a show back-to-back) were first started by Nick at Nite in 1985. This idea became very popular and led to "binge-watching" today.
When new shows are added to Nick at Nite, they often have a marathon. Sometimes a star from the show even hosts it. For example, when Newhart joined, they showed a marathon of all of Bob Newhart's shows. The debut of The Mary Tyler Moore Show was called the "Marython." When I Love Lucy joined in 1994, there was a week-long marathon called "Nick at Nite Loves Lucy." It showed every sitcom Lucille Ball had been in.
When older shows left the network, Nick at Nite would often have a farewell marathon. For instance, when Mister Ed left in 1993, they had a weekend marathon called "Au Revoir Mister Ed!"
During the summer in the 1990s, Nick at Nite had a block called "Vertivision" (later "Block Party Summer"). A different show would air for three hours each night.
Other special blocks were common for holidays. There were Christmas-themed blocks in December and Thanksgiving blocks in November. Every New Year's Eve from 1989 to 1998, Nick at Nite had a "Rerun Countdown" hosted by radio DJ Casey Kasem. He would count down the 25 "most classic" episodes chosen by viewers.
Another popular block was "A Whole Lotta Lucy" on Saturday nights. It showed I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
Nick at Nite often shows marathons on holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Halloween, and Christmas. For example, on Saint Patrick's Day in 2008, they had the "Luck of the Lopez" marathon for George Lopez. In October 2007 and 2008, they aired the Shocktober marathon with Halloween-themed episodes.
On June 17, 2019, Nick at Nite showed the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards at the same time as other channels. On August 26, it also showed the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. In December 2019, Nick at Nite aired a marathon of Friends to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
On April 18, 2020, Nick at Nite aired One World: Together at Home, a special concert shown on many networks.
Television Specials
Sometimes, episodes of Rugrats and SpongeBob SquarePants have aired on Nick at Nite during special events. This also happens when Nickelodeon shows run into Nick at Nite's time slot. A 30-year reunion special for Double Dare aired on November 23, 2016.
Regular marathons happen on Nick at Nite. When a new show starts, it usually gets an all-night or week-long marathon. Holiday marathons also happen for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
TV Land
On April 29, 1996, Viacom created a separate channel called TV Land. It was first called "Nick at Nite's TV Land." This channel also shows many rerun programs.
In its early years, TV Land showed classic TV series from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2004, it started showing sitcoms from the 1980s and 1990s. While TV Land still shows many older series, it also has some original shows now.
International
There are not many international versions of Nick at Nite, even though it's popular in the United States. Most international Nickelodeon channels either air 24 hours a day or share space with a different channel. For example, Germany used to have a version called "Nicknight," but it was replaced.
As of 2023, Australia is the only country outside the United States that has a Nick at Nite block.
Images for kids
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Logo used since September 18, 2023
See also
In Spanish: Nick at Nite para niños
