Nick Jr. (block)

Nick Jr.

Started	January 4, 1988
Network	Nickelodeon
Time	{{{time}}}
Current Popular Series	Blue's Clues Dora the Explorer Wonder Pets

Nick Jr. is a programming block on Nickelodeon that airs on weekday mornings, aiming at a preschool-age audience. It premiered on January 4, 1988, and runs to this day. Programming during this block is generally seen without commercial interruption, although advertisements do run between the programs.

History

Buildup

Before 1988, many shows that might be associated with a preschool audience were broadcast on Nickelodeon, but were not specifically distinguished in their own programming block. Most preschool programs were shown roughly between the hours of 8 AM and 3 PM Eastern, which approximates the hours in which older children might be in school.^[1]

1988–1994

By the start of 1988, the Nick Jr. brand was in place and in use, with an approximate six hour portion of the Nickelodeon broadcast day, from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. Eastern time.^[2]The logo for the new Nick Jr. brand became a distinctive feature for the block. While Nickelodeon used a completely orange logo, Nick. Jr. used an orange 'Nick' and a light blue 'Jr', with the blue always smaller than the orange. The logo typically depicted a parent, or older sibling, and child, but varied in the shape or species (e.g. two rabbits, two simplified human figures, two trees), which remains in use today.

Until 1989, a former staple of the Nickelodeon lineup, Pinwheel was featured, and eventually replaced by Eureeka's Castle. Much of the remaining time in the lineup, particularly early in this time period, was devoted to animated series, many of which were of foreign origin (David the Gnome, Noozles, The Adventures of the Little Koala, The Little Prince). Programming in the vein of live action and puppeted preschool programming also appeared during this time.

1994–2004

This was the year in which Nick Jr. introduced "Face", an animated, two-dimensional face that changed color throughout his segments and introduced or wrapped up shows and smaller variety pieces. Programming during this period included Allegra's Window, Little Bear, Gullah Gullah Island, and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Face, in the context of its segments, was capable of materializing objects such as beach balls, scuba gear, space ships and stars, and of creating any number of foley sound effects including a signature three note "trumpet" noise used to lead up to the name Nick Jr..

2004–2007

In the U.S., Nick Jr. had a mascot named Piper, a opossum from 2004 to 2007. Piper O'Possum, as the character is known, is also the daytime presenter of the British version of Nick Jr. and Nick Jr. 2. Piper is voiced by Allison Brustofski. On Nick Jr.'s British service, Piper is voiced by a British voice-over actor, with Allison's laugh. Piper was last shown on Nick Jr. September 2007.

There is a CD with music from Nick Jr. shows available titled Dance and Sing: The Best of Nick Jr.

2007–2009

In September 2007, Nick Jr. introduced new graphics, and music. This saw the introduction of Nick Jr.'s Playdate which indicates preschoolers to play and learn with Nick Jr. characters. Nick Jr.'s slogan is "Play With Us." This branding was dropped in February 2009, but the shows and graphics continued, with the Nickelodeon logo in its place. Online, the Nick Jr. branding and logo was still used for these shows.

Launch of the Nick Jr. Channel

On September 28, 2009, Nickelodeon launched the separate Nick Jr. Channel, which replaced Noggin. The Noggin brand would eventually be revived as a streaming app in 2015. To differentiate the new Nick Jr. channel from the also-running block on Nickelodeon, the channel uses a logo reading "Nick Jr. Channel" (as of March 2018).

Cross Programming with other networks

From 2000 to 2002 and from 2004 to 2006, Nick Jr. also ran a Saturday morning children's block for CBS entitled Nick Jr. on CBS, featuring shows from the programming block. Between 2002 and 2004, it was part of the general Nick on CBS block, which also included programming from the main Nickelodeon channel. The block was replaced September 16, 2006, when the DiC-programmed CBS's Secret Saturday Morning Slumber Party began.

Until the fall of 2006, Spanish language US network Telemundo offered Nick Jr. programming in Spanish on Saturday and Sunday mornings, as part of the Nickelodeon en Telemundo block, which featured such shows as Rugrats and Dora the Explorer. In the fall of 2006, Nick programming was replaced with a Spanish-language version of NBC/Ion Television's qubo block.

On April 5, 2008, competing Spanish network Univision added Spanish dubbed versions of Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! to their Saturday morning Planeta U line-up.