Nickelodeon (Filipino TV channel)


Nickelodeon is a Filipino pay television channel that was launched on 1 April 2011 as a localised variant of American channel Nickelodeon, with programming aimed at children and teenagers. It is owned by ViacomCBS Networks EMEAA in partnership with All Youth Channels. Upon its launch, it replaced the Southeast Asian feed of Nickelodeon in the Philippines, which used to be distributed in the country since its launch in 1998.
On October 11, 2006, Viacom's then subsidiary MTV Networks Asia Pacific set up a new unit to manage Nickelodeon's southeast Asia operations. On April 1, 2011, MTV Networks launched a dedicated Filipino Nickelodeon channel.

History

1998–2011: As part of Nickelodeon Southeast Asia

In October 1998, Nickelodeon decided to reach the popular channel to the Philippines, Japan and Russia as an attempt to bring the popular channel to Asia. One of their shorts were Right Here, Right Now and their ID's were by FRONT. In 2003, it became a part of Nicksplat.
On October 11, 2006, Viacom's subsidiary MTV Networks Asia Pacific set up a new unit to manage Nickelodeon TV based in Singapore. Nickelodeon was launched in Singapore and expanded its services in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Polynesia. Nickelodeon Philippines, Nickelodeon Pakistan, and Nickelodeon India started working independently. They started their new website in 2003.
On March 15, 2010, Nickelodeon revamped their logo same as the United States and worldwide and started broadcasting newer Nickelodeon shows from the United States that represents the new Nickelodeon logo and airs latest episodes of current Nick shows.

2011–present: Nickelodeon Philippines

On April 1, 2011, the Nickelodeon Asia feed was replaced with a dedicated Filipino Nickelodeon channel, although it will still use the Nick-Asia branding used in other countries. On April 11, 2011, the lineup was changed prior to Nickelodeon Southeast Asia. The new schedule will put live-action programs in the primetime slot and will double the Nick Jr. block.
Nickelodeon celebrated the release of the new channel on April 9, 2011 on the Bonifacio Global City, Open Field, Taguig City with the event entitled, "Nick World". The event included mascots of notable Nicktoon characters with storytelling, an animals show, martial arts performances and a world of exciting attractions, booths, and modules for kids.
Starting on May 23, 2011, the lineup of Nickelodeon will once again change where they will cease airing the Nick Jr. block in the afternoon timeslot and will be replaced by live-action shows and miscellaneous NickToons programs. This lineup will double the TeenNick block which only runs in the evening and other animated shows that only airs once a day.
In 2012, Nickelodeon uses new graphics used in the US and UK, but only applies to selected programs' promos and station IDs. The former Nick-Asia graphics is still used.
In 2013, Nickelodeon Philippines introduced Hapon Hangout, a Nickelodeon hour special that starts at 4:00pm to 6:30pm every weekdays.
On July 17, 2017, the channel was rebranded into the US version. It was made by Superestudio, an Argentinian branding agency.

Nickelodeon Philippines Kids Choice Awards

The Philippines Kids Choice Awards is the second setting of the Kids Choice Awards in Asia preceded by Indonesia. The show was first held since 2008 at the Aliw Theater in Pasay and was first hosted by Michael V. with some various Filipino artists. Nickelodeon, an American cable television network, brought Kids' Choice Awards to the Philippines in an effort to strengthen its presence in Asia. According to Amit Jain, executive Vice-President and managing director of MTV Networks India, China and Southeast Asia, "This is a milestone for Nickelodeon's business in Southeast Asia as it will deliver on Nick's commitment of providing global kids-centric shows and properties which are adapted to reflect local tastes and aspirations." The Philippines KCA has been inactive all over the years.

Nickelodeon on free-to-air television

Prior to the launch of Nickelodeon Philippines in the fall of 1998, Nickelodeon first aired in the country as a block of the free-to-air state-owned TV channel PTV until 1992. The block used to air in the mornings and afternoons consisting of mostly drama-related programmes, educational and game shows. Then, it moved to New Vision 9 until 1998, and again from 2003 to 2006 as RPN 9. During that time, GMA Network purchased the rights to air Rugrats and selected Nick Jr. shows from 1998 to 2006.
RPN and GMA lost the broadcasting rights of Nickelodeon shows to ABC in May 2006. Nick shows were later dubbed for the first time to Filipino on August 11, 2008, making it the first national network to do so. Later rebranded as TV5, the channel ended its contract with Nickelodeon on June 30, 2010, months after it was purchased by PLDT's MediaQuest Holdings from the Cojuangco group and Malaysia-based broadcaster Media Prima Berhad which caused a major, permanent reshuffle in the TV5's programming. Yo Gabba Gabba! was the only Nick program retained by TV5, although produced by Nickelodeon, it wasn't dubbed to Filipino as the contract have been already expired. SpongeBob SquarePants was also aired on Q every weekday mornings until February 18, 2011, when the channel was discontinued to relaunch as GMA News TV, a news-oriented channel.
In 2010, ABS-CBN brought the rights to air Nickelodeon shows. The network launched Nick Time on July 26, 2010, airing every weekday mornings. Nickelodeon shows such as Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, and among others are shown during Nick Time, thus continuing the Filipino dub that was started by TV5. However, ABS-CBN's airing of Nickelodeon's shows was criticized for having majority of its episodes edited due to time constraints, heavy advertising gaps, and ABS-CBN's importance to movie and sports programming. Studio 23 launched Nickelodeon on Studio 23 on October 4, 2010. Similar to its mother network ABS-CBN, the programs are dubbed in Tagalog. Studio 23 aired Catscratch which premiered on August 2011. Three years later, the Nickelodeon on Studio 23 block ended on January 16, 2014 to give way for the channel's relaunch as ABS-CBN Sports+Action, a sports-oriented channel. To allow smooth transition of the new channel, Nickelodeon shows were put into ABS-CBN Sports+Action's Action Kids block on January 20, 2014 and all of its programs were reverted to its original English language rather than Filipino-dubbed. The block was cancelled early January 2015 when the launch of ABS-CBN's digital black box was later introduced. Nickelodeon last aired on ABS-CBN on May 3, 2020, two days before the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease-and-desist order due to the expiration of ABS-CBN's legislative license, thus temporarily stopping the free-to-air activities of ABS-CBN and S+A.
On Yey!, a digital channel of ABS-CBN TV Plus, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows are currently airing every morning from Mondays to Sundays. All programs are in Filipino-dubbed audio, with the exception of some shows like Peppa Pig. In 2017, Yey! launched The Loud House and Harvey Beaks for the first time. The next few years, they also aired The Fairly OddParents and The Mighty B!.

Programming

Nickelodeon airs new programs and episodes of current Nick shows every two to seven months after the US broadcast, but sometimes it takes a year. The program lineup is different from the Nick-Asia feed where live-action programs are aired twice in the afternoon and evening and the Nick Jr. block runs longer. Along with the announcement of the dedicated feed, there were several shows announced to be premiering on Nickelodeon this year such as Bubble Guppies, House of Anubis, The Fresh Beat Band, and T.U.F.F. Puppy. Original Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. titles still remains in the channel. Chinese dub for The Loud House is available in Malaysia and Singapore via SAP.

Programming blocks

Current programming in Nickelodeon Philippines has often been segmented into blocks.