Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American cable channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers ages 2–6. Since 2006, Nickelodeon has been run by MTVN Kids & Family Group President Cyma Zarghami. It is ranked as the #1 cable channel as of 2011,[1] and had been promoted as "The First Kids' Network," as it was the first American television network aimed at children since the Pinwheel days.

Nickelodeon's broadcast day runs on Sundays from 6 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Thursdays from 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Fridays from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. and Saturdays from 6 a.m.-10 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific Time). Since 1985, it shares its channel space with Nick at Nite, a night time channel that airs sitcom reruns during the interim hours. It is treated as a separate channel from Nickelodeon by A.C. Nielsen Co. for ratings purposes.[2][3] The two services are sometimes referred to under the collective name "Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite", due to their association as two individual channels sharing the same channel space.