Sky Kids (TV Channel)
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Sky Kids is a British and Irish
children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...
pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...
channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...
owned and operated by the
Sky Group Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate owned by Comcast and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe's largest media co ...
, a subsidiary of
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
and launched on 13 February 2023 as the first in-house Sky-branded children's network.


History

The concept of a Sky-branded
children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...
channel was first proposed in 1986 as part of
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
's bid to acquire
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting plc (BSB) was a television company, based in London, that provided satellite television, direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. It started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company ...
, a British
direct broadcast satellite Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...
company which merged with
Sky plc Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate owned by Comcast and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe's largest media co ...
to form British Sky Broadcasting (then Sky Limited, now
Sky UK Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), Trade name, trading as Sky, is a British broadcasting, broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone ...
).
The Children's Channel The Children's Channel, also known as TCC, was a British-based pan-European children's television channel in Europe, Asia and Africa, which was owned by Flextech in London, England, UK. It began broadcasting on the original Eutelsat satellite ...
was eventually taken up by BSB after a failed attempt to acquire a 50% stake in TCC, Sky launched
Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized in all caps) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a j ...
in 1996. A stake in the channel, which later rebranded in 2004 as
Jetix Jetix (stylized in all caps) was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action and adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated fr ...
, eventually reduced over time until it was fully acquired by
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, who renamed the channel
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...
in 2009. Sky also previously held a 40% stake in the 1993-launched the British venture of Nickelodeon and carried the networks with brand owner MTV Networks International (''now''
Paramount International Networks Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international division of the Paramount Media Networks subsidiary of Paramount Global that oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of its brands outside of the United States. These brands ...
) having 60% stake. Prior to the launch of Sky Kids, a Sky Kids Magazine was briefly available for subscribers of
Sky Magazine Sky Magazine (or 'Sky Mag') was a magazine distributed to subscribers of the BSkyB satellite service Sky Digital. Availability The magazine was available to subscribers of the Variety Pack or all packs of entertainment. Content The magazine ...
. A Sky Kids app was launched on 30 March 2016 featuring
On Demand On-demand or on demand may refer to: Manufacturing * Build-on-demand * Just-in-time manufacturing, a methodology for production * Print on demand, printing technology and business process in which new copies of a document are not printed until ...
content specifically for children for Sky customers. On 31 October 2022, Sky sold their full stake in Nickelodeon UK Ltd. to
Paramount Networks UK & Australia Paramount Networks UK & Australia, formerly ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia, is a division of Paramount Global launched on 14 January 2020. It is based in London, England, with a local office in Sydney, Australia. Units See also * Plut ...
; the Nickelodeon agreement had contained a
non-compete clause In contract law, a non-compete clause (often NCC), restrictive covenant, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition again ...
that otherwise restricted Sky and Comcast from launching a children's television network while still holding a stake in Nickelodeon UK Ltd. On 22 November 2022, Sky UK announced the launch of a linear and commercial-free Sky Kids channel in February the following year.


Programming

Sky Kids airs both original commissions and acquired shows. Original commissions for the network include the television serial programmes ''Ready, Eddie, Go!'' and ''My Friend Misty'', the latter executive produced by
Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...
, animated specials based on the book series '' Pip and Posy'' and co-productions such as ''Funny Talking Animals'' with BBC Studios Kids & Family. The channel also broadcasts programmes that were already produced for the Sky Kids app such as ''MC Grammar: Wonder Raps'' and ''The Brilliant World of Tom Gates''. Acquired programming on the channel consists of content produced by Comcast-owned
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
such as '' Trolls: TrollsTopia'', ''
Where's Wally? ''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting dozen ...
'', and '' Madagascar: A Little Wild''.. Other programmes on the channel includes content featuring Australian band ''
The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce (entertainer), John Pearce, Caterina Mete ...
'' and '' The Pingu Show''.https://kidscreen.com/2023/07/28/deals-of-the-week-wildbrain-sky-dreamworks/


References

{{Reflist 2023 establishments in the United Kingdom Children's television channels in the United Kingdom Children's television networks Commercial-free television networks English-language television stations in the United Kingdom Sky Group Preschool education television networks Television channels and stations established in 2023 Television channels in the United Kingdom