Why Nick At Nite UK Didn't Launch In 1994?

## Introduction

Hailed as the biggest thing to hit the satellite (and also cable) television industry since the first Astra satellite launch (Astra 1A, 19.2°E) in 1988, 1st September 1993 saw the introduction of "Sky Multi-Channels", a collection of new channels and also existing channels now tailored to a UK audience behind a subscription paywall. Before September 1993, Sky (or corporately known back then as BSkyB, British Sky Broadcasting, following its merger with BSB, British Satellite Broadcasting) was largely a pan-European network of channels which included channels such as Sky One, Sky News, Sky Sports, and Sky Movies.

Included in the new batch of subscription channels was the UK version of the U.S. children's TV channel - Nickelodeon, it was to be the very first international version of Nickelodeon outside the United States, operated as a 50/50 joint venture between Viacom and BSkyB. News about Nickelodeon joining the proposed Sky Multichannel line-up was announced in January 1993.

As part of Sky's and Viacom's plan, Nickelodeon was to launch first, which it did on 1st September 1993 (followed by free-to-air rival Cartoon Network 16 days later), and then launch Nick at Nite in early 1994. However, the Nick at Nite channel never launched, it's occasionally discussed on internet forums, but a lazy answer such as "It became The Paramount Channel/Paramount Comedy Channel" is often given with no effort and with no research or any proof, whilst that statement is partly true (The Paramount Channel had a different format to Nick at Nite), it doesn't explain why there was a large gap of time between April 1994 and November 1995 where no such channel existed, because without any circumstances, Nick at Nite could've launched with no problems.

Nick at Nite was supposed to be a 12-hour per day channel that airs immediately after Nickelodeon finishes for the day (on Astra 1C, Transponder 46, 11.156 GHz, Vertical Polarization), dedicated to older programming of a bygone era that may appeal to younger audiences. It's essentially a clone of UK Gold, but mostly focusing on U.S. programming and skewing to a younger demographic combined with family viewing, whilst grabbing for older audience that are nostalgic for this kind of programming. Another way to explain it, is that it's basically a live-action version of Boomerang. The original U.S. version of Nick at Nite launched on 1st July 1985, as Nickelodeon programmers needed to find a way to fill the empty space left by A&E (Arts and Entertainment Network), which used to timeshare with Nickelodeon at night-time before becoming a 24-hour channel in its own right.

This article will explain why Nick At Nite UK didn't launch and aims to solve one of the biggest (and one of the earliest) mysteries of multichannel children's television in the UK.

## The Three Reasons Why Nick At Nite UK Didn't Launch

There are three reasons why Nick at Nite didn't launch in 1994, they are programming rights, Viacom's merger with Paramount, and as a consequence of the previous two reasons, missed opportunities for open transponder slots on the Astra satellite system as soon as they come available.

### Programming Rights

According to Satellite TV Enthusiasts newsletter, Skyguide (not affiliated with Sky) on Usenet (within the alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup) on 6th February 1994, Nick At Nite's was pushed back later in the year. It was understood that the problem centred around the availability of programming, as a number of classic shows the channel intended to show have been sold to other Multi-channel broadcasters and UK terrestrial channels. This included Bravo, and the newly launched The Family Channel (launched on 1st September 1993, the same day as Nickelodeon UK, and the rest of the Sky Multichannels). The UK version of Family Channel was owned by IFE (International Family Entertainment) and Flextech, IFE acquired the assets of TVS (Television South), which was the old ITV franchise holder for the South and South East of England, which was replaced by Meridian on 1st January 1993, included in the assets was the MTM (Mary Tyler Moore) Enterprises archive which was part of Nick at Nite's programming in the U.S.

On 6th March 1994, Skyguide said that there were unconfirmed reports that the Nick at Nite channel was cancelled, Skyguide also said that it was likely that the Travel Channel, which at the time was already broadcasting on Intelsat 601 (27.5°W) will be offered time on Astra and will join the multi-channels package to replace Nick at Nite. Then on 6th September 1994, it was reported that the channel is still going ahead, as there was confirmation from Sky, it was said the channel would launch that Autumn, possibly October.

Difficulty obtaining programming rights for the Nick at Nite programming block were already foreseen by Nickelodeon's management, because before Nickelodeon UK even launched, Broadcasting and Cable Magazine (18th January 1993 edition) interviewed Geraldine "Gerry" Laybourne, vice chairman of MTV Networks and president of Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, she said that "There is also interest in offering its (Nickelodeon's) Nick at Nite classic reruns network overseas, although she says MTV Networks' worldwide rights on much of that product are 'uneven.'"

### Viacom's Merger With Paramount

Not long after Viacom's and BSkyB's Nickelodeon UK launched on 17th September 1993, Viacom was in a bidding war to acquire Paramount Pictures versus QVC (the very same QVC as the shopping channel). If QVC would've succeeded in acquiring Paramount, it would put QVC Chairman Barry Diller back at the head of the studio he ran until he left to launch the Fox TV network in 1984. It was also rumoured that Turner Broadcasting System (owners of Cartoon Network and TNT) were also interested in acquiring Paramount.

According to a news report from 6th February 1994 in the Telecompaper archives, there were concerns about Nick At Nite, as it appeared to be more and more doubtful to launch. It was said that Nickelodeon will not launch the service until autumn 1994. According to Heidi Diamond, Nickelodeon's marketing director, the delay is mainly due to the possible result of Viacom's, 50% owner of Nickelodeon UK (with BSkyB), bid for Paramount.

On 4th April 1994, it was reported in Multichannel News (now known as NextTV), that plans to launch Nick at Nite in the UK have gone back to the drawing board, and it was one of the first noticeable effects on the international front from the merger between Viacom Inc. and Paramount Communications Inc.

Viacom originally planned to launch Nick at Nite by early 1994, but acknowledged in January 1994 that the launch had been delayed. According to Geraldine Laybourne, who was vice chairman of MTV Networks and president of Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite at time:

> "The Paramount acquisition enables us to look at the back end of Nickelodeon differently. Their library will help us build our 'after-Nickelodeon,' whether it's Nick at Nite or Paramount or whatever. We don't know exactly what we'll do. We haven't, frankly, figured that out."
>
>

This was the first sign of a possible Paramount branded channel, and a sign of dropping the Nick at Nite idea completely, for a more generalised channel covering Paramount's vast television library.

Nickelodeon's sister channel, and companion channel to MTV, VH1 (Video Hits One) also had a delayed launch, it was also meant to launch in early 1994, but instead launched that October (it was supposed to launch that August, but it was delayed again).

As Nick at Nite failed to launch in Autumn 1994, TBI (Television Business International) magazine made the announcement that the channel has been cancelled.

### Missed Opportunities To Launch on Astra

As Nick at Nite was not ready to launch in April 1994, Viacom missed their opportunity to launch the channel for a least another six months in October that year, as Sky has contracted that transponder timeslot out to TV Asia (now known as Zee TV). If Nick at Nite did launch it would have to launch on a different transponder that had an available timeslot which would be an undesirable launch as it would be separating itself from Nickelodeon away from the channel's viewer base, and then hope for another transponder reshuffle that October. As Nick at Nite didn't launch, it also missed its October timeframe. Due to lack of information of what was going on at BSkyB and Viacom, independent Sky Satellite Installers and Sky themselves still advertised in local newspapers mentioning that Nick at Nite will launch in 1994.

In 1993, there were plans for Sci-Fi Channel to timeshare with Nickelodeon, but they could only guarantee a short-term lease, as Nickelodeon wanted to use the night time airtime for Nick at Nite. In 1994, yet again it was speculated that the Sci-Fi Channel would launch in Nick at Nite's timeslot on Astra rather than Eutelsat, but Sci-Fi and BSkyB were yet to reach an agreement to allow the channel to broadcast on a subleased Astra transponder.

At the time, Sci-Fi Channel was a division of USA Networks which was a joint venture between Viacom and MCA/Universal. As part of the proposals, BSkyB wanted to acquire a stake in the Sci-Fi Channel which Viacom and Universal disagreed with, and as a result, the channel was delayed. Instead, Viacom were actually considering launching a pan-European version of their Showtime movie network, which didn't happen. Sci-Fi Channel eventually launched in the UK on 1st November 1995, but with limited hours on Astra (Sky) on a crowded transponder airing Monday to Wednesday from 8pm to 4am, and airing Thursday to Sunday from 1am to 4am, timesharing with Sky Travel, Sky Soap, The History Channel, and Sky Sports 2, as well as Sky Sports Gold on Sky Sports 2. Sci-Fi Channel had a fulltime service on cable providers (using the Eutelsat feed).

## Nick At Nite's Replacement: The Paramount Channel

On the same day as the launch of the Sci-Fi Channel, and after several months of indecision, The Paramount Channel launched on the same transponder as Nickelodeon UK on 1st November 1995. The channel aired everyday from 7pm after Nickelodeon UK finished for the day, airing for ten hours each night. The channel aired a selection of shows from the Paramount library, as well as the daily Hollywood news programme *Entertainment Tonight* (often shortened to ET). A few days before the channel's launch on 29th October 1995, it was reported that there were a few struggles with programming rights and administrative issues, and The Sci-Fi Channel were facing similar problems, despite the issues, both channels launched on schedule.

Even though the idea of such a channel was on the table for several months, the launch of The Paramount Channel was rather rushed, it was announced on 11th September 1995 (Sky first vaguely mentioned it on 5th September 1995), and not much details about it were announced, except the fact that it will air programming from Paramount's library, except for movies, as Sky has broadcasting rights to Paramount's movie library. At the time, the deal was only informally agreed and no deal was actually signed yet, and at the time, the channel didn't even have a name.

Before The Paramount Channel launched, viewers were greeted by the infamous Giant Chicken Crossing The Road Paramount Test Card (dubbed as "Chicken Tonite" which usually aired during the channel's downtime airing between 4am and 6am before Nickelodeon UK starts up in the morning), then when the channel launched, viewers were welcomed by comedian Paul Merton (mostly known for being a panellist on the BBC programme *Have I Got News For You,* and for hosting *Room 101*), followed by the channel's head of programmes Tony Orsten, and then a short introduction informing viewers about the new channel and what shows it will air. The channel's first night schedule included an *Entertainment Tonight* Elton John exclusive (the channel's first show), *I Love Lucy, Bosom Buddies with Tom Hanks*, *Laverne and Shirley*, *Pigsty*, *Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist*, and Frontline. The channel also aired repeats of *Rocky and Bullwinkle* and episodes of Nickelodeon's *Ren and Stimpy*.

In the Satellite TV community, The Paramount Channel was criticised for having a poor launch line-up, airing Entertainment Tonight too frequently (four times a night), and also for repeating other shows. It was mentioned that Star Trek: Voyager launched on UPN (United Paramount Network) in the United States, but not on Paramount or Sci-Fi Channel in the UK, as Sky One already acquired the broadcasting rights. The channel was more much more akin to a UK version of UPN rather than Nick at Nite.

On 3rd February 1997, The Paramount Channel rebranded as The Paramount Comedy Channel, from that point forward and as the name change suggests, the channel only aired comedy programmes. At relaunch, 80% of the scheduled programmes were new to the channel, two thirds of these shows are Paramount produced. For the channel's relaunch, there was a £2 million (GBP) marketing campaign, and the channel aired shows such as *Frasier*, *Roseanne*, *Cheers*, and *Monty Python’s Flying Circus*. The channel also became known as a place to launch the careers of up and coming comedians with Matt Lucas, Scott Capurro, Dominik Diamond, and (Alexander) Armstrong and (Ben) Miller.

In the U.S., Viacom already had a comedy channel called Comedy Central, but at the time it was a joint-venture with Time Warner's HBO (Home Box Office), but Paramount Comedy wasn't called Comedy Central as HBO had no involvement. In April 2003, Viacom acquired Time Warner's half of Comedy Central. Paramount Comedy rebranded as Comedy Central in 2009, and is still known as that name today.

On 6th May 1997 issue of Satellite Times, the following was mentioned:

>
> "There have been a number of changes among the Astra analog channels. Several have changed format and name. The Paramount Channel, which was essentially Nick-at-Nite, has changed its name to the Paramount Comedy Channel, to reflect a new direction. This includes daily doses of Monty Python."
>
>

One famous feature of The Paramount Channel/The Paramount Comedy Channel was Mailbox on their Teletext service (called Paramount Text), where the channel's teletext editor post messages from viewers calling in, often with a reply. Viewers usually asked questions about the channel such as shows, what's going on with other TV channels, and what's going on in that moment of time, such as popular culture. All of these messages have been archived on the internet on the newmailbox.co.uk website. During the history of the channel, viewers mentioning Nick at Nite on the Mailbox service became a bit of a running joke, one viewer sent in:

> "Have you seen the Atlantic feed section of this month's What Satellite TV (magazine)? They say you are the same as Nick at Nite."
>
>

The teletext editor from the channel replied:

> "Have they said that AGAIN? Let's examine the evidence, shall we? Nick at Nite in the US shows back to back classic TV - mostly black and white shows from the 50s and 60s. Compare that to us. We show almost entirely new shows (*Pig Sty*, *Home Court*) and relatively recent repeats (*Soap*, etc). We're closer to UPN than Nick at Nite. Honestly!!"
>
>

Another viewer sent in this message:

> "Three points - Can you tell us if Paramount is what we were promised was going to be Nick at Nite? Some of the newer televisions, especially Panasonics, no longer have the alarm clock facility, and my ten year old son would like to ask if all American phone numbers on films start with 555?"
>
>

The editor replied with the following message:

> "Nick at Nite in the US shows classic TV heritage type programmes, whereas we show newer stuff, so we're not very similar. 2) Yes, we know.. Bit of a shame, that. 3) Yes - the 555 code doesn't actually work. (Apart from 555-1212 which is Directory Enquiries)"
>
>

The Paramount Channel had somewhat of a revival on UK television with the free-to-air channel - Paramount Network launching on 4th July 2018, apart from the name and airing shows from the Paramount archive, it had little connection to the original channel that launched in 1995. On 19th January 2022, the channel was rebranded as 5Action, to align the channel more to Paramount's Channel 5.

## Nick At Nite's Eventual Launch In 2016

In 2012, a Nickelodeon viewer sent a tweet to Nickelodeon UK's Twitter account asking whether there's any plans to launch Nick at Nite in the UK, Nickelodeon UK replied that there were "no current plans for Nick at Nite coming to the UK yet, but you'll be the first to know if that changes".

Four years later, in June 2016, the Nick at Nite concept (now branded as Nick@Nite) finally made it to the UK, but not as a channel, but rather as a programming block, the main demographic for the block is at the higher end of Nickelodeon's typical audience age range, ages 11 to 15 years old, which was a demographic the channel was underserving. Just like the cancelled Nick at Nite block that was supposed to launch in 1994, it aired weekday evenings from 7pm. Nick@Nite's content offering was not much different to daytime Nickelodeon, as it aired Nickelodeon shows such as *See Dad Run, Instant Mom* and *True Jackson VP,* also the Australian soap opera - *Neighbours* which typically broadcast on Nickelodeon's sister channel and UK public service broadcaster - Channel 5. The block included a new 90 second entertainment, music and style news bulletin programme called *The Scoop*, which was produced in-house by Nickelodeon UK.

In the 2000s, there were quite a few international experimental launches with the Nick at Nite block most notably Nickelodeon Germany's short-lived Nick nach Acht (Nick After Eight) in 2008, and later Nicknight (when Nick Germany became a 24 hour channel, the channel was timesharing with Comedy Central, which then moved to VIVA), and Nick at Nite is currently available in Australia.

Commenting on the launch of Nick at Nite, Alison Bakunowich, General Manager, Nickelodeon UK & Ireland said:

> "Nick at Nite gives us a huge opportunity to reach older audiences that have felt underserved by the current offering on kids’ networks. From the programming on offer, to the vibrant brand identity, we hope that Nick at Nite will become a destination for tweens and teens, offering them a compelling schedule that reflects their experience and interests."
>
>

From a design point of view, the new Nick at Nite block was inspired by social media and instant messaging in a bid to connect with an audience, who are typically heavily reliant upon these type of services. The block's branding was created in-house by the Nickelodeon UK and Ireland creative team, led by senior graphic designer Yeen Trinh, which included a branding package of interstitials, menus and bumpers, all making use of emojis.

In 2019, the Nick at Nite programming block silently disappeared from existence as the post 7pm schedule reverted to typical Nickelodeon UK branding.

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