Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids

Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids
Launched	November 9, 1998 (block) March 1, 1999 (channel)
Closed	December 31, 2007 (April 23, 2009 on Dish Network)
Owned by	MTV Networks a division of Viacom
Slogan	Your Games, Your Sports
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Replaced by	The N (full channel)
Sister channel(s)	Nickelodeon Nicktoons Network Noggin The N

Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids (stylized as Nick GAS and commonly known as Nick Gas) was an American cable television network that was part of MTV Networks's suite of digital cable channels. The channel was available to all Digital cable providers and satellite provider Dish Network. With its focus on classic Nickelodeon game shows (all of which had been removed from the parent network by 2000), Nick GAS was essentially a children's version of (and Viacom's answer to) Game Show Network, which launched on December 1, 1994.

The VP/General Manager of the network was Nickelodeon executive Mark Offitzer, producer of numerous Nick specials including the Kids Choice Awards. Summer Sanders was named on-air Commissioner of the network; Dave Aizer (1999-2003) and Vivianne Collins (1999-2003) were the network's original on-air hosts, with Mati Moralejo (2001-2005) joining soon after and later on Nadine (2004).

History and programming

Nick GAS originally launched as a 2-hour block on Nickelodeon on November 9, 1998 featuring game & sports-related shows like Renford Rejects, Double Dare, Nickelodeon GUTS and Figure It Out . It was short-lived; it closed on February 20, 1999 to make way for the new channel.

Nick GAS launched on March 1, 1999 and its programming primarily consisted of children's game shows and sports-related programs from Nickelodeon, its parent network. This included shows such as GUTS, all versions of Double Dare from 1986 onward, and Figure It Out (which ended its run on the parent network nine months after GAS's launch).

Nick GAS also produced its own original programming, such as Play to Z, Gamefarm and Splash TV. Programs were usually grouped together in the blocks Heads Up!, Wild Card, Family Fuel, Extreme GAS (all removed in 2002), Camp GAS, Double Dare Double Play (both removed in 2004), and Pumping GAS (removed in 2005).

In lieu of commercials, Nick GAS aired interstitial segments, some of which were produced at Nickelodeon On Sunset and the defunct Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios Florida. However, in-show advertising (like consolation and grand prizes of the network's shows) were left intact, as it was part of the show itself.

The studio segments often included competitions between families, or interviews with athletes and other celebrities. Other interstitials included "Heroes of the Game", "GAS Grill", "Trade Tricks", "Time Out", "Skill Drill", "MLS Play of the Week", and in the early years of the network "This Day in History".

After November 1, 2005, Nick GAS's programming was fully automated, putting only seven shows on a permanent time slot (GUTS, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Figure It Out, Get the Picture, Double Dare 2000, Nick Arcade and Finders Keepers) and regular segments. In September 2006, Finders Keepers, which aired in 3 a.m., left Nick GAS and for the last year of the network, only 6 shows were on the schedule.

Shutdown

On December 31, 2007, Nick GAS was shutting down as a digital cable and satellite channel after an episode of Figure It Out. It then aired a bumper, but it was cut off halfway through and was replaced by The N, which became a 24-hour channel after splitting from sister station Noggin (now Nick Jr.). The N would eventually see a further re-branding as TeenNick on September 28, 2009. Dish Network kept an automated loop of the network on the air for fifteen months, due to either unknown concerns or satellite bandwidth problems.

On April 23, 2009, it was announced that Dish would drop Nick GAS and replace it with West Coast schedule version of Cartoon Network the following day, and the network loop ended during an episode of Legends of the Hidden Temple.

Afterward, a limited selection of the network's programming remained on Nickelodeon's internet television service TurboNick from January 2008 until that service was discontinued in mid-2009; the current Nick Video portal features a focus on the network's current programming only. In 2011, several of Nick GAS's rerun programs may return as a part of The '90s Are All That, a 1990s-oriented block on TeenNick that began on July 25, 2011.^[1]

Programs

Main article: List of programs broadcast by Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids

Nick GAS aired every game show broadcast on Nick from the parent network's inception onward, as well as non-game programming such as Salute Your Shorts, Speed Racer X, Scaredy Camp, and Rocket Power (all of which mainly involved extreme sports and competition).

The network also aired a one-hour block of video game programming on Saturday nights from 2003-2004 – Play to Z (mainly re-purposed content from the British Game Network) and Nickelodeon Gamefarm (an original series featuring video game news and competitions).

References

1. ^ Davis, Alex (July 13, 2011). TeenNick Brings Back Reruns of “Guts”, “Double Dare” and “Legends” with “The ’90s are All That”. BuzzerBlog. Retrieved July 14, 2011.