Universal Kids

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Universal Kids
TypeCable Channel
Country
AvailabilityNational
HeadquartersArlington, Virginia, U.S.
OwnerHiT Entertainment, Sesame Workshop, Jim Henson, Comcast, American Public Television & PBS
Key people
Paula Kerger (PBS Media's President and CEO)
Sandy Wax (Vicepresident of PBS Media)
Launch date
September 26, 2005; 18 years ago (2005-09-26)
Official website
www.universalkids.com

Universal Kids is a U.S. cable and satellite channel and children's public television channel affiliated with public television stations. It was launched on September 26, 2005. On Until to November 12, 2013, PBS Kids Sprout announced their new products and tv programs of the new way. It's one of PBS Kids sister channels.

History[change | change source]

PBS KIDS Sprout launch[change | change source]

Development and launch[change | change source]

On August 20, 2001, PBS announced that it had entered into a partnership with American Public Television, the cable provider Comcast and production companies Jim Henson, HiT Entertainment and Sesame Workshop to launch a 24-hour cable network aimed at preschool children. Created to “strengthen the competitive positions” of all of the parties, PBS Vice-President of digital ventures Deron Triff noted that the content would be consistent with PBS’s values and meet certain curricular objectives and have been tested for educational efficacy. On March 4, 2002, PBS, American Public Television and Comcast announced that the network would be known as PBS KIDS Sprout, one of PBS children's television channels like PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go!. The service would soft launch as a branded video on-demand (VOD) service. PBS KIDS Sprout launched its 24-hour cable channel on April 7, 2002, with a reach of around 16 million viewers across the Comcast and Insight cable systems.

On June 1, 2002, both PBS Kids and PBS KIDS Sprout together they began to produce the first educational children's programming block for Telemundo, NBCUniversal's Spanish language television network, branded as "Mi Telemundo" respectively. "Mi Telemundo" is Telemundo's very known children's programming block aimed at preschoolers and children from 7 to 12 years old that aires on Saturday and Sunday mornings and replace Telemundo Kids schedule to Wednesday mornings.

The multi-platform approach was designed to appeal to different viewing habits; the PBS KIDS Sprout channel featured dayparted programming blocks, with hosted segments such as activities, features, and promotions for supplemental content on PBS KIDS Sprout's website. To increase the variety of its schedule, Sprout did not repackage short-form series into half-hour episodes with interstitial segments, as had usually been the case for series imported for U.S. broadcast. The channel only carried advertising between programs, which were aimed towards parents and caregivers.

A high-definition simulcast launched in September 2010.

Acquisition by PBS and American Public Television[change | change source]

PBS acquired a 51% majority stake in its own company from General Electric in January 2011, and would assume full ownership of the company in 2013. As a result, PBS media's interest in PBS Kids Sprout was turned over to the company. Apax Partners sold HIT Entertainment to Mattel on October 24, 2011; the sale did not include HIT's stake in PBS KIDS Sprout, which was retained by Apax Partners. On July 10, 2010, both PBS Kids Sprout and PBS Kids together began to produce the second educational children's programming block for NBC, branded as "NBC Kids" respectively. The block replaced Qubo (a previous joint venture between NBCUniversal, Ion Media, Corus Entertainment, Scholastic, and Classic Media), which had been airing on NBC and Telemundo since September 2006.

In December 2012, Sesame Workshop sold its interest in PBS Kids Sprout to American Public Television. On March 19, 2013, American Public Television acquired the remaining 49% of PBS Media it did not already own, and concurrently acquired Apax's stake in PBS KIDS Sprout. American Public Television then acquired it's sister partner PBS's share in PBS KIDS Sprout on November 13, 2013, giving it full ownership. As a result, the network's operations were brought under the PBS Media Group, and the "PBS KIDS" branding is still not removed (thus officially still has its name of "PBS KIDS Sprout").

Under PBS Media ownership, PBS Kids Sprout began to increase its investments in original programming to better compete with Disney Junior and the Nick Jr. Channel, with a goal to double its original series output to at least 30% of its schedule by the end of 2015, and displace older and non-exclusive library content in favor of original series and acquisitions exclusive to the channel. PBS Kids Sprout programs such as The Chica Show also earned increased visibility airing on NBC as part of the NBC Kids block.

On April 7, 2015, PBS KIDS Sprout underwent a brand refresh to mark the tenth anniversary of its launch, with new on-air imaging inspired by modern technology and mobile devices, a new tiny house-inspired studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for its hosted morning block The Sunny Side Up Show, as well as the premiere of Nina's World—an original animated series spun off from its evening block The Good Night Show. Actress Alyssa Milano began to make appearances in interstitial segments as PBS KIDS Sprout's "Mom-bassador", with a particular focus on the channel's public service campaign "Kindness Counts".

The network's heads Paula Kerger and Sandy Wax stated that PBS KIDS Sprout also planned to experiment with more half-hour programs, and commission programming with more "complex stories" that can appeal better to older preschool audiences.

Other websites[change | change source]