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It has been suggested that this article be merged into Universal Kids. (Discuss)

Sprout is a current program block on the newly-launched Universal Kids and was previously an American television network. It is owned by the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group subsidiary of NBCUniversal (and by Comcast all together). The block, which also maintains a section of programs on Universal Kids' complimentary video-on-demand (VOD) service and website, features a mix of preschool-oriented children's programs.

The network was originally launched in 2005 as PBS Kids Sprout—a joint venture between PBS, Comcast, Sesame Workshop, and HiT Entertainment. Following Comcast's purchase of NBC Universal, the company gradually bought out the remaining owners' shares in the channel, reaching full ownership in 2014. The channel's operations were subsequently relocated from Philadelphia to New York City.

Background

Sprout traces its origins to the PBS Kids network (referred to as PBS Kids Channel in press materials), which launched on September 6, 1999 coinciding with PBS Kids' rebrand that day. The PBS Kids feed was available on digital cable and satellite television, and was also offered to PBS member stations for use on a "cablecast" service (a cable-only local channel provided by the member station) or for use on the member station's over-the-air analog channel to provide a portion of the daytime PBS Kids programming on the station. Participating stations were required to pay an annual fee of $1,000 to use the feed. At launch, 32 PBS member stations had signed up to use the service. The channel was created, in part, to compete against Nick Jr. and its sister network Noggin (which now shares its name with the Nick Jr. block). Because the cable rights to the Children's Television Workshop's program library were owned by Noggin (which CTW owned a 50% interest in at the time), the channel did not broadcast any CTW programming, including Sesame Street, a long staple of PBS' children's programming lineup. The CTW-produced Dragon Tales, which premiered on the same day as the launch of the PBS Kids Channel, was the only exception to this.

The channel was not successful and had only reached 9 million households as of 2002, compared to Noggin's 23.3 million households at the time. Once the channel shut down, many member stations which had been using the PBS Kids channel on their cablecast channels or over-the-air digital subchannels continued to operate their children's channels as local services scheduled independently of a satellite feed, while other member stations shut down their kids channels entirely and redirected viewers of those channels to the newly launched PBS Kids Sprout. PBS later revived the PBS Kids Channel on January 16, 2017, this time with an online streaming option in addition to utilizing largely the same distribution methods that had been used for the original channel.

History

On October 20, 2004, PBS announced that it had entered into a joint partnership with cable provider Comcast, and production companies HIT Entertainment and Sesame Workshop to launch a then-unnamed cable and satellite television channel aimed at preschool children. On April 4, 2005, Comcast announced that the network would be known as PBS Kids Sprout, launching initially as a branded video on-demand service before launching as a linear television channel later in the year.

The linear network officially launched on September 26, 2005, with a reach of around 16 million viewers across Comcast and Insight cable. The multi-platform approach was designed to appeal to different viewing habits, with the linear channel focused on variety, and the on-demand services focused on instantaneous access to specific programs. The linear service was designed around dayparted programming blocks, featuring activities and other feature segments presented by on-air hosts. Some of these segments were designed to promote supplemental content (including activities and interactive features) on Sprout's website. Andrew Beecham, a former director of worldwide programming strategy for the Playhouse Disney brand, stated that the Sprout would eschew the U.S. convention of combining multiple short episodes of a series into a single half-hour episode with interstitial segments for U.S. broadcast, in favor of airing individual shorts. Beecham explained that with this practice, "you get to sample a huge variety of material. You'll get all these smaller shows that translate into something bigger." The network would be advertising-supported, but ads would only air between programs in small quantities, and would be aimed towards parents and caregivers.

Effects of Comcast/NBC merger

Comcast acquired a 51% majority stake of NBC Universal in January 2011, and would assume full ownership of the company on March 19, 2013. As a result, Comcast's interest in Sprout was turned over to the company. When Apax Partners sold HIT Entertainment to Mattel on October 24, 2011, HIT's ownership interest in Sprout was not included in the deal and was retained by Apax Partners. In 2012, Sesame Workshop sold its interest in Sprout to NBCUniversal. On November 13, 2013, NBCUniversal acquired Apax and PBS's shares in the network, giving Comcast full ownership. Its operations were then merged into its NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group subsidiary, and the "PBS Kids" branding was dropped from the network's name, leaving it as simply Sprout.

In January 2017, Deirdre Brennan, formerly of Corus Entertainment, was named the new president of Sprout.

Universal Kids

On May 1, 2017, it was announced that Sprout would be re-launched as Universal Kids on September 9, 2017. The re-branded network will revamp its evening and primetime programming to target youth and family viewing, with plans to incorporate new original series targeting the demographic (such as Top Chef Junior), as well as other international imports (such as the Australian series Nowhere Boys and the Canadian series The Next Step). The remainder of the network's programming will continue to consist of preschool programming under the Sprout brand, occupying 15 hours per-day of programming from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.

Universal Pictures' recent acquisition of DreamWorks Animation will also be leveraged by Universal Kids to bolster its programming; critics felt that the DWA purchase and the launch of Universal Kids were meant to help NBCUniversal establish a viable multi-platform presence in children's media, and a competitor to other major children's brands such as Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon.

Programming

Programming blocks

Current blocks

• Sprout House – the network's late-morning block; it debuted on August 14, 2017 as a replacement for Sunny Side Up, and is hosted by Carly Ciarrocchi and the new character Snug, a talking dog, through 90-second segments throughout the block. The program was designed to be more flexible to produce than its predecessor, with a varied "tiny house" set with additional areas and camera options. Unlike Sunny Side Up, its segments are pre-recorded rather than broadcast live; supervising producer Vinny Steves felt that the live format was too "limiting", and stated that the new format was also designed to enable the segments to be distributed on digital platforms such as social media. With the launch of Sprout House, the network began to downplay its long-time mascot, Chica, although she will remain in pre-taped segments under the title "Chica at School".

Former blocks

• The Let's Go Show – afternoon music and science block
• Musical Mornings with Coo – morning music block that features Coo, a cuckoo, teaching kids to sing.
• Sprout's Wiggly Waffle with The Wiggles (Sam, Murray, Anthony, Jeff)
• The Sprout Sharing Show
• The Super Sproutlet Show
• The Good Night Show – The Good Night Show was the network's evening block, airing daily from 6 PM to 9 PM Eastern Time, with repeats throughout the night, hosted by Nina (Michele Lepe) and Star (Stacia Newcomb). It featured Hush the Goldfish and Lucy the Firefly. In 2007, Lucy, Light the Way, an animated guessing game, began with the block's 2007 season. The block ran from the day the channel was launched up until March 31, 2017.
• Sunny Side Up – Sunny Side Up was the network's late morning block, airing from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It featured a puppet character named Chica the Chicken, who was also the focus of the spinoff series The Chica Show. On August 11, 2017, the show was replaced by Sprout House.

References

1. "Governor Cuomo Announces that NBCUniversal's Sprout the First 24-Hour Preschool Network Will Relocate to New York City". Retrieved October 26, 2014.
2. "Sprouting her wings". Philadelphia Inquirer. June 8, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
3. "Multi-purpose PBS Kids takes flight next week". Current.org. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
4. "PBS launches kids network". Variety. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
5. "Sesame quits Noggin network". Current.org. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
6. Evans, Greg (February 23, 2016). "PBS To Launch PBS Kids – A 24/7 Children's Channel And Live Stream". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
7. "Comcast, HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop Announce Plans to Launch Ground-breaking 24-hour Preschool Children's Television Channel" (Press release). Arlington, VA: PBS. 2004-10-20. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
8. "Comcast, PBS Plan New Service". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
9. ^ "Saluting Sprout's Launch: PBS Sprouts a Kids Triumph". TVWeek. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
10. Braude, Jonathan (October 24, 2011). "Apax sells Hit Entertainment to Mattel". The Deal. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
11. Jensen, Elizabeth. "NBCUniversal Takes Full Ownership of Sprout Cable Network". New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
12. Nordyke, Kimberly (November 13, 2013). "NBCUniversal Acquires Ownership of Kids' Channel Sprout". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
13. Hagey, Keach (November 13, 2013). "NBCUniversal Buys Remainder of Sprout Network". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
14. ^ Getzler, Wendy (May 1, 2017). "A new age: Sprout to become Universal Kids". Kidscreen. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
15. ^ Steinberg, Brian (2017-08-10). "NBCUniversal Builds 'Sprout House,' Hopes Kids Will Visit". Variety. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
16. ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 1, 2017). "NBCU's Sprout Grows Up: Universal Kids to Debut in September". Variety. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
17. Barnes, Brooke (April 30, 2017). "NBCUniversal is Building Its Own Children's Channel". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
18. "NBCU EVP Duccio Donati Takes on DreamWorks Channel". Animation Magazine. August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
19. "Duccio Donati tapped for new kids role at NBCUniversal". Kidscreen. August 4, 2017.
20. ^ Ball, Ryan (October 8, 2007). "New Blocks for PBS KIDS Sprout". Animation Magazine. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
21. "Michele Lepe NBCUniversal Media Village". NBCUniversal.
22. "The Chica Show cast". Screener.

External links

• Official website

• Television programming blocks in the United States