context: SpongeBob SquarePants is the most popular animated series on Nickelodeon. Initially this animated cartoon series aired in 1999 in the United States and was created by Stephen Hillenburg, an animator and marine biologist, and published by his company, United Plankton Pictures Inc. This animated cartoon series aired in Malaysia through channels Nickelodeon and TV3, and also through TV9 channels which have been translated into Malay.
question: When was SpongeBob first released?
answers.text: 1999