Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which was first tested on December 1, 1977, until it eventually launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is owned by ViacomCBS through its domestic networks division and is based in New York City. Its programming is primarily aimed at children aged 2–17, while some of its program blocks target a broader family audience. As of September 2018, the channel is available to about 87.167 million households in the United States.