Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

History

Alan Goodman, Albie Hecht, and Fred Seibert created the awards show after Nickelodeon produced a show called The Big Ballot in 1987, named for the ballots kids voted with. To vote, the viewers would send in ballots and then before the show, the ballots would be counted and the winners would tape a thank you video that would be shown during the program. Goodman, Hecht, and Seibert felt that the network needed a bigger, more exciting platform.

Hecht selected the awards logo from a series of network designs created by original logo designers Tom Corey and Scott Nash (Corey McPherson Nash, Boston), overseen by Goodman and Seibert (Fred/Alan, Inc., New York). The award was configured into the current blimp shape/kaleidoscope in 1990. The only change to the award since that time has been to change the embossed logotype on the side of the trophy for 2010 to fit the network's new logo typeface.

As the Internet came into widespread use, the voting eventually moved from a combination of 900 number telephone voting and ballots either mailed or completed at Pizza Hut locations, to moving exclusively online to the network's website and by 2007, text messaging. Early years of Internet voting had the early adoption complications of ballot stuffing and even adults voting before a new system where only one vote per Nick.com account became the procedure for voting on the awards (although it is probable adults still cast votes via the texting option, which is connected to a phone number only rather than a screenname, or by creating an account with a false age or having their children vote for a chosen subject instead). In 2010, an iPhone application and mobile browser voting was also added.

The 2009 Kids' Choice Awards featured a new award called "The Big Green Help Award" which goes to the celebrity who goes above and beyond to help the Earth. The inaugural award was presented to Leonardo DiCaprio. For the 2010 awards, the "The Big Green Help" award was renamed "The Big Help" award, with First Lady Michelle Obama winning the first award under the rename.

Unlike traditional awards shows, the Kids' Choice Awards uses other items to announce an award winner rather than a traditional envelope. The show sometimes uses balloons, T-shirts, models, giant letters, stickers (1999, where Amanda put a "Kick Me!" sticky on the model's back and somebody else put a sticker showing the winner's name). and even a foot (2008).

Voting for Canadians became available for the 2010 ceremony with the inauguration of Nickelodeon's Canadian service in November 2009.

In June 2010, Nickelodeon Latin America announced a Kids' Choice Awards for Mexico. Other countries with their own Kids' Choice Awards include Brazil, United Kingdom, Australia, and Indonesia, which are either fully original local productions, or inserted as continuity during their broadcast of the American ceremony. The Australian Kids' Choice Awards had its last one in 2012.

In August 2011, Nickelodeon Latin America announced a Kids' Choice Awards for Argentina.

In June 2014, Nickelodeon Latin America announced a Kids' Choice Awards for Colombia.

In July 2014, Nickelodeon presented the Kids' Choice Sports awards, honoring kids' favorite athletes, teams and sports moments from the year. Michael Strahan produced and hosted the ceremony.

Awards

This table shows the awards from the past. An asterisk next to a category indicates an award has been presented in that particular category every year since the inception of the Kids' Choice Awards in 1988.

Locations

The Kids' Choice Awards are typically held in and around Southern California. Previous ceremonies have been held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, the Hollywood Bowl, the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, and Universal Studios in Universal City, California, but mostly at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus. After renovations to Pauley beginning in 2011, the show was moved to the Galen Center at USC; it was expected to be a temporary home, but the network retained Galen for the 2012-14 ceremonies due to the construction of the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference and Guest Center, making it difficult to have the "Orange Carpet"; the smaller Kids' Choice Sports awards had its first ceremony in 2014 at Pauley. For the 2015 and 2016 shows, the ceremony occurred at the remodeled Forum in Inglewood, California. For the 2017 KCAs, Nickelodeon will return to the Galen Center.

Timeslot and lead-out programming

Typically the program airs for approximately 90 minutes and leads into a special presentation of a newly premiering or existing series, the network's equivalent to the post-Super Bowl time slot. Both SpongeBob SquarePants and Victorious are the only series to air on this timeslot twice. Victorious is the only series to air on this timeslot for two consecutive years.

For the 2014 ceremony, a new episode of Instant Mom with guest Cody Simpson (a series made under the now-defunct NickMom banner which received its episode premieres on Nick at Nite) premiered after the ceremony, the first time a Nick at Nite series lead-out of the show (a repeat of the ceremony followed), though promotions for the episode mentioned neither Nickelodeon or Nick at Nite. In addition, an extended Sam & Cat episode and a new SpongeBob SquarePants short combined in an hour timeslot lead into the KCAs.

In 2015, the series premiere of Harvey Beaks aired after the ceremony, which was followed by an encore of the ceremony immediately for the first time. Preceding the ceremony was two new episodes of The Thundermans with a continuing plot intercut with arrivals coverage. The 2015 ceremony was additionally simulcast live on TeenNick, Nicktoons and TV Land for the first time (emulating MTV's awards ceremony simulcasts of late), both to nullify any in-house competition on sister networks and to maximize the ceremony's Nielsen ratings.

In 2017, Part 1 of a two-part Henry Danger aired before the ceremony, with a 'special preview' of the telenovela-formatted Hunter Street after the show not called out within television listings.

The following are list of programs that have aired in the post-KCA timeslot:

Ceremony hosts

The 1987 Big Ballot studio show was unhosted.

Hosts for multiple years

Jack Black hosted in 2006, 2008, and the 2011 shows and so far the first host after Rosie O'Donnell to host the show at least twice. Candace Cameron and Whitney Houston were the first hosts before O'Donnell to host at least twice (Cameron 1990 and 1994, Houston 1995 and 1996).

Special colored awards

These blimps are not orange like the regular blimps and the winners are chosen by the Nickelodeon staff, not the viewers. There is the gold Hall of Fame Award (1991–2000), the silver Wannabe Award (2001–2008), the green Big Green Help Award (2009), the silver glitter Big Help Award (2010–2012), and the Lifetime Achievement Award (2014–present)

The Hall of Fame Award

The Hall of Fame Award (a gold version of the Blimp award) was presented to those whose accomplishments, fame and popularity set them above everyone else. Initially, the award was chosen by the kids from a slate of nominees. Actors, athletes and singers were all eligible for the award, with ballots containing nominees from multiple categories.

The Wannabe Award

The Wannabe Award (a silver version of the Blimp award) is presented to the best celebrity role model or inspiration (or the person whom the kids want to be like). The winner is determined prior to the awards without voter input. As of 2009, the only person to have won the Wannabe award and the Hall of Fame award is Will Smith. These awards replaced the Hall of Fame awards following the show in 2000.

The Big Help Award

The Big Green Help (The Big Help) Award (originally a green-colored trophy, silver in 2012) is presented to a person who goes above and beyond to help the environment.

Lifetime Achievement Award

The Nickelodeon Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a network employee on or off camera that has contributed heavily to the network's success and entertained children with their work.

Slimed celebrities

During a ceremony, sometimes a celebrity might not know when they are going to be slimed onstage or offstage, though it is meant as an honor, rather than the comedic humiliation of where the concept originated, with the early Nickelodeon series You Can't Do That on Television. Hosts have also been slimed, mostly in the finale of the show. Below is a list of all the celebrities that have been slimed over the past years at the Kids' Choice Awards. No celebrity sliming took place in 1992 as the entire audience was slimed instead.

Slime stunts

Started in 2002, the show began its annual World Record Slime Stunts. Olympians, extreme sports stars and daredevils participate in special stunts performed live on national television—often involving landing into the trademark green slime.