Nickelodeon Israel

Nickelodeon Israel is a locally adapted children’s television service associated with the international Nickelodeon brand. Its programming has combined Hebrew-dubbed foreign shows with productions made for Israeli audiences, and its distribution has included both of Israel’s major subscription television platforms, HOT and yes.[1]

The service has also served as a platform for locally produced children’s and youth series. One such production, The Greenhouse, was selected for broadcast on Nickelodeon in Britain.[2] More recent initiatives have used its channels and digital outlets to reach young audiences with material on emotional coping and Holocaust remembrance.[3][4]

By 2004, Nickelodeon was produced by Ananey Communications and broadcast exclusively on yes. Its summer schedule included Jungle, an original production hosted by Roni Duani and Alon Litvak. Children’s groups from across Israel took part in challenges, dancers demonstrated their skills, and guest stars performed tasks; the program was also sold to Reshet for Saturday broadcasts.[5]

In January 2009, the channel was reported to broadcast around the clock on both yes and HOT. Its nighttime schedule was adapted for young children and included Hebrew-dubbed programs; at the time, Nickelodeon was channel 84 on HOT and channel 47 on yes.[6] That year, the Jerusalem Post characterized Nickelodeon as dominating the local children’s-programming market as Disney Channel prepared to launch in Israel, and cited Drake and Josh and iCarly among its programs.[7]

The channel’s local adaptation required more than simply relaying international programming. In 2010, Ananey Communications executive Orly Atlas described translating and dubbing shows such as SpongeBob and Dora for Israeli audiences, and warned that budget reductions could mean they would be broadcast without dubbing. The same report said that competition from Disney had increased costs and described Nickelodeon as offering both Hebrew dubbing and original productions.[8]

The local slate included Hebrew-language series such as The School and The Kremboys. In 2009, cable and satellite children’s channels were contractually required to broadcast original content.[9] In 2012, HOT launched Nick Jr., a preschool channel for children aged three to seven. Ananey was to produce it, combining Israeli original productions with foreign programs that HOT described as tailored to young children.[10]

In 2016, Nickelodeon was owned globally by Viacom and produced and managed in Israel by Ananey Communications. The channel appeared on both HOT and yes, with different original programs on each service: Shchuna aired on Nickelodeon on HOT, while The Greenhouse was prominent on the yes version. Ananey produced both series. At the time, Nickelodeon had begun original production only in the preceding years, in contrast with the Children’s Channel, which had built a broader original video-on-demand library over a longer period.[1]

The relationship between Viacom and Ananey deepened in stages. Viacom acquired a minority stake in Ananey through Viacom International Media Networks in December 2016, building on their longstanding Israeli partnership around brands including Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.[11][12] The financial terms were not disclosed, and Viacom had an option to acquire a controlling stake.[11] ViacomCBS Networks International completed its acquisition of Ananey Communications Group in April 2020; Ananey had operated local licensed versions of ViacomCBS brands, including Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.[12]

In 2020, Ananey owned 11 original television channels and exclusively operated Viacom brands in Israel, including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and Nick Jr. Its channels reached 78% of Israeli households.[13] In April 2025, Nickelodeon programming was listed for subscribers to both yes and HOT, indicating its availability on both services at that time.[14]

A prominent example of the channel’s locally produced youth drama was The Greenhouse (HaKhamama), created by Giora Chamizer, directed by Roy Florentin, and produced by NUTZ. In 2013, the series was selected for the British Nickelodeon channel. Viacom chose to broadcast the Israeli series with simultaneous English dubbing rather than remake its 50 episodes locally, following market research among British teenagers; it was scheduled in the channel’s 7 p.m. prime-time slot.[2]

The series also figured in the international growth of Ananey’s production work. By 2016, the Israeli teen series had run for three seasons and had won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Kids’ & Youth Drama in each of the preceding two years. Netflix acquired its format before a pilot had been filmed for the American version, which was to be produced by Ananey subsidiary Nutz Productions.[15] The Greenhouse was later described as one of Ananey’s flagship productions and as having delivered record ratings for Nickelodeon in Israel.[11]

Ratings reported for January through October 2016 showed Nickelodeon ahead of the Children’s Channel in average daily viewing among children aged four to nine: about 1.5% compared with 0.7%. Among viewers aged 10–14, Nickelodeon averaged 1.34% and the Children’s Channel 1.27%, although the latter led among girls in that age group. The ratings committee measured both channels even though neither belonged to it. Separate HOT-only figures combining linear and video-on-demand viewing showed the Children’s Channel at 4–5% in June–August, while Nickelodeon was just below 4% in June and July and about 4.5% in August. Viewing varied with flagship shows, including the Children’s Channel’s Galiss.[1]

In 2019, a Jerusalem Post commentary reported that Nickelodeon was creating Spyders in Israel for children. The commentary described the series as following friends who join together in an effort to save the environment and said it would be broadcast around the world.[16] Spyders was described as a dramedy for children aged 9–12. Ananey Communications personnel identified with the project included the company’s CEO and the vice president of content for Viacom channels in Israel.[17]

The Israeli tween science-fiction series Sky was produced by Ananey Communications for TeenNick Israel. Created by Noa Pnini and Giora Chamizer, it was available in 2021 on Teen Nick channels on HOT and yes, on weekdays at 3:30 p.m., as well as through the Israeli Nickelodeon website and YouTube channels. Pnini described the series’ adolescent subtext by saying, “Teens feel like aliens when they are going through adolescence.”[18]

In December 2024, Nickelodeon Israel, identified as part of Ananey Paramount, partnered with NATAL, the Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center, on the “I’ve Got Me” campaign for children and teenagers. Five short videos featured public figures dealing with everyday sources of stress and anxiety, including missile alerts. They offered coping techniques such as guided imagery, talking with friends or family, and counting objects, and were broadcast on Nickelodeon and Teen Nick channels as well as on social media.[4]

For Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2025, Nickelodeon Israel scheduled “I Was a Child in the Holocaust,” a project made with the World Zionist Organization. It paired young people with survivors for age-appropriate conversations and was set to air on HOT channel 84 and yes channel 91, beginning on the evening of April 23 and continuing the following day.[4] One participant, Aharon Barak, recounted that his mother hid him during the children’s Aktion and that they later hid in a Lithuanian farmer’s house. Because he could not go outside for fear of being caught, his mother taught him to engage his mind in different subjects.[4]

An Israel Forever Foundation archive also lists an item titled “Nickelodeon Israel Turns Kids With Disabilities Into Superheroes.” The archive entry gives no further information about the project, its participants, or its date.[19]

In 2011, Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council opened a pre-violation inquiry concerning Nickelodeon and yes after the sitcom The Foxes (HaShualim) aired in daytime slots. The Council’s monitoring division said the program contained sexual material and coarse language, and stated that programs deemed unsuitable for viewers aged 14 and under should not air before 10 p.m.[20]

Nickelodeon said the sitcom was intended for tweens and that its schedule included separate programming blocks for preschoolers, children, and tweens. It also said it had moved the show to evening hours before the Council contacted it, because younger viewers might encounter the language. The reported inquiry was preliminary; the account does not establish a final finding of a violation.[20]