How to Watch NickToons Without Cable

I can’t live without NickToons, and I know I’m not alone. The good news is that I don’t need to sign up for a long-term cable or satellite contract to watch it. I can get NickToons contract-free for very little money.

In a hurry? All of the major live TV streaming services make NickToons available. Here are our top choices:

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You’ll have access to local platforms as if you were in the country, meaning you can watch BBC iPlayer as if you were in the UK, CBC Gem as if you were in Canada, plus hundreds more worldwide.

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Hotdog users get three months free at ExpressVPN, so it’s a “no-brainer” for us. Decide for yourself with their 30 day money-back guarantee.

IMPORTANT: Once you’ve installed your VPN and connected to a US server, you’ll still need to subscribe separately to access premium streaming services.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence of NickToons, Nickelodeon’s unique animated series, over the last thirty years. And today, the NickToons channel remains a reliable place to catch reruns of The Fairly OddParents, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House, and more.

What makes NickToons different from other animated series? Read on.

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What Is NickToons

In 1991, emboldened by Fox’s then recent primetime animated hit, The Simpsons, Nickelodeon green-lit three pilots of wholly original, creator-driven series. They offered completely different animation styles that perfectly captured their own individual flavors: Rugrats, Doug, and Ren & Stimpy. The humor was situational and relatable sometimes and scatological and slapstick other times.

Nick opened its own animation studio, producing SpongeBob SquarePants in 1999. In 2002, NickToons got its own spin-off channel, which traded shows back and forth with its parent channel. In 2009, Nick’s parent company Paramount Global bought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the first non-original franchise, and rebooted the animated TV series in 2012.

As streaming services have grown in popularity (and old-fashioned live TV viewers decline), NickToons now mainly airs reruns of Nickelodeon series, mostly animated, many NickToons (and a few live-action, despite the name).

In 2019, Nick released its first “straight-to-Netflix NickToon,” Pinky Malinky, and later the same year, Nickelodeon and Netflix announced a multi-year agreement for the original kids’ network to produce original series and movies for the King of Streaming.

Other franchises, like SpongeBob SquarePants, have moved to Paramount+, Nick’s parent company’s streaming service.

NickToons Shows

Some notable NickToons (there are many):

• Rugrats: A baby’s-eye-view of life from one-year-old Tommy Pickles as he and his friends Chuckie, Phil, and Lil and his three-year-old cousin Angelica try to figure out how stuff works.
• Ren & Stimpy: An uptight chihuahua and his goofy feline roommate/best friend blunder through ordinary situations. Hijinks ensue! Kind of like Seinfeld crossed with The Odd Couple, but with a grade-school sense of (potty) humor.
• SpongeBob SquarePants: A pineapple-dwelling fry cook sponge and his starfish best friend navigate the vagaries of crabby neighbors, crabbier employers, and boating lessons.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012): Anthropomorphic teen turtles, their anthropomorphic rat sensei, and human friend April O’Neil use ninjitsu to protect New York from their nemesis The Shredder and an alien invasion.
• The Loud House: The chaotic life and times of Lincoln Loud, the only boy in a family with 11 kids.

Sister Channels

NickToons is part of the Nickelodeon gang of channels, which also contains the original Nick, Nick Jr, TeenNick, and NickMusic.

All the Nick channels are owned by Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS), which also owns CBS, Paramount Network, MTV (and its spinoffs), Comedy Central, BET (and its sister-channels), TV Land, and the Smithsonian Channel. It also has a few smaller channels like CMT, Dabl, Logo, and POP TV, the premium channel Showtime, and co-owns The CW with WarnerMedia.

Much of the content on these channels can be found on Paramount+.

Alternatives

Other animation options include Cartoon Network and its older, weirder alter-ego Adult Swim, Boomerang, and Kartoon Channel. Obviously these channels are popular with kids, but they also remain guilty (or not-so-guilty) pleasures for grown-ups too.

Other mixed live-action and animation channels for kids are Disney, Disney Junior, Disney XD, and Universal Kids.

Stream NickToons

NickToons is found on every service that has Nickelodeon, which is to say, all of them. 

FuboTV

Even though FuboTV is nominally a sports-focused service, with over 130 live TV channels, it has an excellent lineup for family entertainment for $79.99/month. NickToons, TeenNick, and NickMusic are all included in the Fubo Extra add-on for $7.99/mo more. Or you can get the 170+ channel Elite plan for $89.99/month.

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Either plan includes unlimited cloud DVR storage, up to 10 screens streaming at a time, all your local stations, 4K UHD where available, and the best international sports coverage around.

Get complete details in our FuboTV review.

Philo

Philo keeps its monthly price down by skimping on the high-priced channels, but it maintains a (relatively) large lineup by getting tons of the lower priced ones — like the Paramount Global channels.

Try Philo for Free

It’s got NickToons, including the rest of the Nicks except NickMusic (which almost no one has), Paramount Network, MTV, Comedy Central, and more. It also has unlimited DVR. Best part: it’s just $28.00/month.

Its plan comes with unlimited cloud DVR and streaming on up to three devices at the same time. See our Philo review for more.

Sling TV

Sling TV is cheaper than most of the other options, but also a little more complicated. Choose a base service from Sling Orange or Blue (Orange has Disney but you can only watch on one screen at a time) for $40.00/month (or both for $55.00/month). Both include AMC, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, BET, and Nick Jr.

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You can add the Kids Extra for $6/mo to get NickToons, TeenNick, and more. There are also a la carte premium channels that you can subscribe to, like Kartoon Channel, which usually cost just a few extra dollars.

All Sling TV plans come with 50 hours of cloud DVR. See our Sling TV review for more information.

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) is committed to making sure you keep all the trappings of cable, while still keeping things flexible. But while they may be on the cheap side for cable, they’re on the pricier side of streaming.

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Still, you do get a lot of the most popular channels — over 130 for $114.99/month in the Choice Package, including Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel, Nick Jr., and NickToons, plus regional sports networks that cover your home MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS games.

All plans come with unlimited cloud DVR storage (online sign-up required) and streaming on unlimited devices at home and away. Check out our DIRECTV STREAM review for more.

Hulu + Live TV

Hulu + Live TV runs at the opposite end of the pricing spectrum from Philo, $82.99/month. But there are three excellent reasons to sign up anyway. It includes (1) Hulu (the original on-demand service), (2) Disney+, and (3) ESPN+.

Get Hulu + Live TV Free

They’re all included with the 85+ live channels you get in the base package, which also contains almost all the Paramount Global channels listed above. Almost all — unfortunately, NickToons and TeenNick are in the Entertainment Add-on, which you can get for an additional $7.99/mo.

The base plan comes with unlimited cloud DVR (9 month storage) and simultaneous streaming on up to two devices. For more, see our Hulu + Live TV review.

YouTube TV 

YouTube TV is $82.99/month, and NickToons is in the base package with 100+ live TV channels, unlimited cloud DVR, and streaming on up to 3 devices.

Other Ways to Stream NickToons

There are other ways to get NickToons content:

• Netflix: Lots of NickToons can be found on Netflix, including the Netflix-exclusive Pinky Malinky. Others are older ones that Nick is licensing to the on-demand streaming service. Either way, though, you can often catch your NickToons faves on Netflix.
• Paramount+: Paramount Global’s own on-demand streaming service has the most comprehensive back-library of Nick shows, including NickToons, available. (Paramount+ review)

Streaming Devices and TVs for NickToons

All the services we’ve discussed support these devices:

They all also support Android TV devices (except DIRECTV STREAM). They support Samsung smart TVs (except Philo). Hulu, Sling, Fubo, and YouTube support Xbox gaming systems. Hulu and YouTube support PlayStation. Hulu alone supports Nintendo Switch gaming units.

For complete information, see our streaming reviews (linked to above).

Wrapping Up

So NickToons, as an institution and an artform, is still going strong — just not on the NickToons channel as much anymore. But if you or your kid are a fan of The Loud House, Fairly OddParents, or SpongeBob SquarePants (or spin-off The Patrick Star Show), you’ll find hours of entertainment on NickToons. Philo is the simplest and cheapest way to get NickToons. Try Philo free for 7 days.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

Alternative Family and Kids Channels to NickToons

Other family and kids channels to watch:

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Alanna Baker

Alanna Baker was the Streaming Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in comprehensive streaming coverage across various genres, with a particular focus on sports and Sling TV offerings. With a background in literature and education, coupled with extensive experience in media and law, Alanna brings a unique perspective to the streaming industry.

Her expertise stems from being an early adopter of various entertainment technologies, from mail-order Netflix to modern streaming platforms. Alanna's in-depth knowledge of Sling TV's modular service and her ability to cover diverse streaming content make her a key expert in navigating the complex landscape of modern streaming options, especially in sports and entertainment.

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