Nickelodeon was a Japanese television channel which was targeted mainly at children, teens and adults, operated by ViacomCBS Networks Japan K.K. (a subsidiary of
ViacomCBS Networks EMEAA
Paramount Networks Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia (EMEAA) is a division of Paramount International Networks which is fully owned by Paramount Global. The unit's headquarters are in Berlin, with additional offices in Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, Am ...
division of
ViacomCBS
Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...
). It originally launched in November 1998 as a cable and satellite television channel, but due to declining viewership, the television channel was taken off the air on September 30, 2009. The channel was revived for
OTT media services from January 30, 2018 to January 31, 2022.
History
Nickelodeon launched on
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
channel 272 on November 15, 1998 in Japan. The withdrawal of DirecTV from Japan led to Nickelodeon moving to
SKY PerfecTV!
is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service that provides satellite television, audio programming and interactive television services to households in Japan, owned by parent company SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation.
SKY PerfecTV! is also a direct ...
channel 278 on October 1, 2000. In January 2006, Nickelodeon switched to telecommunications service utilization broadcasting, and moved to channel 751 on SKY PerfecTV! while also being available on select cable providers. The channel was renewed in October 2006.
Nickelodeon stopped broadcasting on September 30, 2009 due to robust domestic and international competition. Viacom continued to distribute select Nickelodeon series to its other networks (including
MTV Japan
MTV Japan (Music Television Japan) is the Japanese version of the cable television network based in Japan. It is a subsidiary of Paramount Networks Japan K.K., and was launched on November 15, 1993. It can be viewed on cable television, SKY Perf ...
),
DTH satellite channels, and terrestrial television networks.
NHK Educational TV, which had already been airing ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...
'', premiered ''
The Penguins of Madagascar
''The Penguins of Madagascar'' is an American computer-animated television series co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon. It stars nine characters from DreamWorks' animated film ''Madagascar'': the penguins Skipper ( Tom McGrath) ...
'' and ''
iCarly
''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...
'' in 2010. Nickelodeon's programs were also broadcast on
Animax
, stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...
in Japan under a television block titled "NickTime", starting with ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...
'' from September 1, 2010. The official Nickelodeon website remained online, with program information, website games and downloadable content.
![NickTime](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/NickTime.svg)
On October 18, 2017, Viacom announced it would re-launch the Nickelodeon channel on dTV (a subscription TV streaming service of
NTT Docomo). Nickelodeon re-launched on dTV and
Hulu Japan on January 30, 2018. An official Facebook account opened on April 20. The Nickelodeon channel launched on
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
on July 3. Nickelodeon was available on music.jp from March 15, 2019 to January 31, 2021. On April 28, 2021,
Rakuten TV
Rakuten TV is a video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service, offering movies and TV series for subscription, rental and purchase. It is owned by the Japanese company Rakuten. Rakuten TV's catalogue includes content from studios around the world, in ...
began offering Nick+, a collection of Nickelodeon programs available for 440 yen per month. On January 31, 2022, the linear Nickelodeon channel was discontinued.
The following day, Nickelodeon renewed its video-on-demand distribution agreement with Amazon Prime Video.
Some of the network's series continue to broadcast through separate syndication deals with Japanese broadcasters.
References
External links
* (In Japanese)
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
Television stations in Japan
Children's television channels in Japan
Television channels and stations established in 1998
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2009
Television channels and stations established in 2018
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2022
Re-established companies
Japanese-language television stations
1998 establishments in Japan
2009 disestablishments in Japan
2018 establishments in Japan
2022 disestablishments in Japan
Hulu Japan
{{Japan-tv-station-stub