Nick Jr. (British and Irish TV channel)

History[edit]

Nick Jr. was first broadcast in the UK and Ireland on 1 September 1993 during the daytime hours from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on weekdays on Nickelodeon,^[2] though these hours varied over time, particularly when Nick Jr. aired in a breakfast slot in the school holidays (mostly summer time). Its programming was a mix of shows from the US version of Nick Jr and other imported shows. Later in the block's existence, syndicated British children's programmes would be a main focus of the channel as well. By the late 1990s, it was mostly broadcast between 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.


On 10 June 1999, it was announced that the block would be spun off into a channel, and its new branding was being finalised.^[3] The channel launched on 1 September 1999 as the world's first dedicated preschoolers' channel.^[4] On the Astra 1B satellite of Sky's analogue satellite service, the new channel timeshared with Sky Sports 3 and broadcast between 6 am and 10 am, although this schedule would sometimes be altered if sports were being covered in the early morning. On digital satellite and cable, Nick Jr. aired from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.^[5] A spinoff of the recently-launched American Noggin channel was proposed to timeshare with Nick Jr., but this never materialised.^[6]


The Nick Jr. block on Nickelodeon continued until July 2000, before it was closed due to the high uptake of Sky Digital. On 31 August 2000, Nick Jr ceased broadcasting on analogue satellite.^[7]


On 3 September 2001, MTV Dance started broadcasting during Nick Jr's downtime hours after it was spun off from MTV Extra.


The channel refreshed on 4 February 2002 – Dora the Explorer, The Hoobs and the channel's first homegrown produced series "You Do Too" had their premieres the same day of the rebrand.


On 19 July 2002, the channel moved its EPG slot on Sky to make way for the incoming Nicktoons channel.^[8]


On 13 August 2002, MTV Dance acquired its own separate channel. By December, Nick Jr. had gained another hour at the end of the broadcasting day, now operating from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.^[9]


On 31 May 2004, Nick Jr extended its runtime to end at 10 p.m., in order to launch Noggin, a block that showed classic British children's TV programmes from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., causing the exodus of these shows from the main daytime schedule leaving more space for new shows.


On 5 September 2005, the Noggin block was changed to Nick Jr Classics as part of a channel-wide refresh (see Identity). The Backyardigans had its linear UK premiere on the same day of the rebrand.


A version of Nick Jr. for Ireland was launched in 2006. This version, like the Irish version of Nickelodeon, shares the same schedule as the British version of the channel but has Irish adverts.


On 30 January 2006, a spinoff of the American Noggin, as a block showing Nick Jr programmes on a free-to-air sister channel TMF from 7 am to 9 am. It was promoted on Nick Jr.


On 24 April 2006, Nick Jr. 2 was launched, initially as a 1-hour timeshift of the main channel, but a few months later, this format was dropped and it became an alternative channel with a completely new schedule, but with Nick Jr. Classics at the same hours.


On 25 September 2006, TMF rebranded its Noggin block as Nick Jr on TMF.


Following the removal of Nick Jr. Classics from the main Nick Jr. channel on 4 January 2009, normal programming ran from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The block would continue on Nick Jr 2. until July 2010, after which classic British children's shows ceased to be part of the network's library entirely.


In early 2009, TMF reverted its Nick Jr block back to Noggin, and it broadcast until March 2010 before it was shut down permanently, at which point TMF had been replaced by VIVA.


On 2 August 2010, Nick Jr. began broadcasting 24/7, with many old shows from the 2000s being re-added to fill the schedule.^[10]


In July 2011, Nick Jr. 2 briefly shifted its sign-on to 5 a.m., but this was reverted back to a 6 a.m. sign-on a month later.^[11]


A 1-hour timeshift named Nick Jr. +1 launched on 2 October 2012 replacing Nicktoons Replay.


By July 2013, Nick Jr. 2 had begun broadcasting 21 hours from 3 a.m. to 12 a.m., with teleshopping off the air.^[12]


On 3 November 2014, Nick Jr. 2 was renamed Nick Jr. Too and it began broadcasting 24/7.


On 5 July 2016, Nick Jr. HD launched on Sky, replacing MTV Live HD's Sky slot.^[13]


On 31 October 2022, Sky sold its stake in Nickelodeon UK, including Nick Jr., to Paramount.^[1]