Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their copyright bylines.
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| 1977 | Pinwheel broadcasts on Qube |
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| 1979 | Nickelodeon is launched by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment |
| 1984 | Nickelodeon introduces its Balloon font logo |
| 1985 | Nick at Nite is launched |
| 1986 | Double Dare premieres; Viacom gains full ownership of the network |
| 1987 | The Big Ballot (later known as the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards) premieres |
| 1988 | The programming block Nick Jr. is launched |
| 1991 | Nickelodeon debuted their "Nicktoons" brand with Doug, Rugrats and Ren & Stimpy premiering |
| 1992 | The programming block SNICK was launched |
| 1994 | Nickelodeon launches The Big Help |
| 1996 | Nickelodeon released its first feature-length film in theaters, Harriet the Spy |
| 1996 | Blue's Clues premieres on Nick Jr. |
| 1999 | Noggin, a joint venture with Sesame Workshop, is launched |
| 1999 | SpongeBob SquarePants premieres |
| 2000 | Dora the Explorer premieres on Nick Jr. |
| 2001 | TEENick is launched |
| 2002 | The N is launched on Noggin and the Nicktoons channel is launched |
| 2005 | Nickelodeon premieres Avatar: The Last Airbender |
| 2009 | Nickelodeon goes through a major rebrand: TEENick and The N merged to form TeenNick, Noggin was replaced by the Nick Jr. Channel, and Nicktoons Network became Nicktoons |
| 2009 | Nickelodeon acquired the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise |
| 2010 | Nickelodeon began co-producing the Winx Club franchise |
| 2012 | Viacom and DirecTV have a contract dispute, causing Nickelodeon to be taken off the service for several days while an agreement was reached. |
| 2015 | Nickelodeon revived Noggin as a streaming service |
| 2023 | Nickelodeon introduced a new take on their classic splat branding |
| 2024 | Noggin shut down |
Since its launch in the late 1970s, Nickelodeon's schedule incorporated animation produced by other companies. The channel did not invest in its own original cartoon series until 1989 when producer Vanessa Coffey visited Los Angeles to accept pitches from local animators. Geraldine Laybourne, the channel's then-president, greenlit three pitches for full series: Doug, Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show. On August 11, 1991, the three cartoons premiered as part of a 90-minute block, becoming the first branded Nicktoons. In contrast to the merchandise-based cartoons that dominated the 1980s animation industry, Vanessa Coffey and Geraldine Laybourne agreed that the Nicktoons should be creator-driven: based on original characters designed by animators.
The first Nicktoons debuted to financial success, convincing Viacom to invest in original animated shows for its other network MTV. Until 1998, Nickelodeon's animation division operated out of a rented office complex in Studio City, California. Production moved to an individual building in nearby Burbank on March 4, 1998. Among the first shows produced at this new facility was SpongeBob SquarePants, which by 2004 had become the most profitable program in Nickelodeon history. In 2002, a cable channel also called Nicktoons was launched, followed by multiple international versions. Several original shows have premiered new episodes on the Nicktoons network.
In the early 2010s, Nickelodeon debuted the first two Nicktoons based on preexisting TV franchises, as opposed to new characters: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winx Club. These two revamped shows were developed at Nickelodeon Animation Studio following Viacom's purchases of both properties. In 2019, Nick Animation debuted its first streaming-exclusive Nicktoon, Pinky Malinky, which was released on Netflix rather than television. Several months later, the studio announced a multi-year deal to produce animated content for Netflix, including new properties and spin-offs of previous Nicktoons.