Nickelodeon (South Korean TV channel)

In South Korea, some of original series from Nickelodeon, like Rugrats, Rocket Power, The Wild Thornberrys, SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer, were shown on what is now EBS1 (operated by public-service broadcaster EBS). Jimmy Neutron was broadcast on MBC. A localisation of Nick Jr.'s Blue's Clues was shown on KBS2 (of public-sector broadcaster KBS). The Korean version of those series were produced by (or for) the broadcasters themselves, but none of them had a Nickelodeon-branded block.

JEI TV (a specialty TV channel owned by JEI Corporation), after making a deal with Viacom, ran a Nickelodeon programming block for years.[1] It started with TV programmes that were not shown on the generalist terrestrial channels. But later, they aired their own Korean dub of what were shown on EBS. Those alternative dubs were produced by Arirang TV Media (a subsidiary of Arirang TV).

DTH satellite television provider SkyLife carried the Southeast Asian version of Nickelodeon from 2003 to 2006. A negotiation between SkyLife and On-Media to extend carriage deal was failed, so SkyLife choose Nickelodeon Southeast Asia to replace Tooniverse (then owned by On-Media) on the platform. Test transmission began in January that year, before the formal launch in March.[2] In 2005, as SkyLife and Sony Pictures Television International reached a deal to launch a South Korean version of Animax, it was announced that Nickelodeon Southeast Asia would be removed from the platform in 2006.[3] SkyLife did not carry the new South Korean version of Nickelodeon until 2014.

Test broadcasts of a dedicated South Korean version of Nickelodeon began on August 1, 2005, before the formal launch in late 2005. This was a result of a deal between On-Media (then owned by Orion Group) and MTV Networks Asia. The channel was initially branded as Nick, and was exclusively available on cable TV providers. A Nickelodeon-branded programming block was also launched on On-Media's Tooniverse around that time.

In November 2008, the channel became a subsidiary of C&M Communication, along with MTV, when On-Media sold a percentage of its shares in On Music Network (which later became MTV Networks Korea). But a Nickelodeon block on Tooniverse continued to go. The channel was officially renamed Nickelodeon in 2010, using the new logo that unveiled months ago in the United States.

In September 2011, SBS, a commercial broadcaster, became the official South Korean partner of VIMN, acquiring shares in MTV Networks Korea from previous South Korean owners and renaming the joint venture SBS Viacom. With this, Nickelodeon became a part of SBS.[4][5]