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Revision as of 17:38, 4 December 2022 view source FilmandTVFan28 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users65,640 edits Restored revision 1125548430 by Lithopsian (talk)Tags: Twinkle New redirect Undo RevertedNext edit → |
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#REDIRECT ] |
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{{Redirect category shell| |
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Sprout is an ] ] and ] ] that is owned by the ] |
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{{R from former name}} |
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subsidiary of ], all owned by ]. The channel launched on September 26, 2005 as '''PBS Kids Sprout''' replaced the ] channel on some cable and satellite providers. The network, which also maintains a complimentary ] (VOD) service and ], features a mix of ]-oriented ] acquired from the Public Broadcasting Service (]) and original programming exclusive to the network. The network's live programming and wraparound segments are produced at ] at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. The channel's operations relocated from to the full name ''']''' was removed. On November 13, 2013 The channel launched as '''Sprout''' under a ] made up of ], ], ], and ]. |
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As of January 2016, Sprout is available to approximately 56 million pay television households (48.2% of households with television) in the United States. |
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== Background == |
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See also: ] |
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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 ] and its sister network ] (which now shares its name with the Nick Jr. block). Because the cable rights to the ] 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 ], a long staple of PBS' children's programming lineup. The CTW-produced ], which premiered on the same day as the launch of the PBS Kids Channel, was the only exception to this. |
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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 in 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. |
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On October 20, 2004, ] announced that it had entered into a joint partnership with cable provider ], and production companies ] and ] to launch a then-unnamed cable and satellite television channel aimed at preschool children. On April 4, 2005, Comcast announced that the network's video on demand service, which would be named '''] Sprout''', would launch that day, and that the linear television network would launch later on September 1, 2005; the launch date for the television service was later delayed three weeks to September 26. When Sprout launched on September 26, it replaced the ] channel on some providers – helping give it an initial reach of 16.5 million pay television subscribers; the first program to be broadcast on the network was '']'', airing at 6:00 a.m. ]. |
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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 NBCUniversal. When ] sold ] to ] on October 24, 2011, HIT's ownership interest in Sprout was not included in the deal and was retained by Apax Partners. On November 13, 2013, Comcast acquired Apax and PBS's shares in the network, giving the company full ownership of the network, with its operations being merged into its ] subsidiary. As a result, the "]" branding was dropped from the network's name, leaving it as simply '''Sprout'''. |
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== Programming == |
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Sprout's current schedule consists of three programs carried by PBS ('']'', '']'', and '']''), acquired programming (such as '']'', '']'', and '']''), and originally produced programming (such as '']'', '']'', and '']''). From its launch until 2015, Sprout aired programs (which are packaged into two 11-minute segments) that only lasted one segment. Sprout also airs programming blocks that fill most of the network's schedule, except between 12:00 and 6:00 p.m. and 3:00 and 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time (3:00 and 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time only on weekends). |
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In July 2012, Sprout began to produce a ] for ] aimed at preschoolers, ] (along with MiTelemundo, a Spanish-dubbed version of the block airing on sister network ] that airs on both Saturdays and Sundays), which replaced a similarly formatted block – which itself was produced in conjunction with NBCUniversal – called ], which had been airing on NBC and Telemundo since September 2006 (Qubo continues to exist as a Friday morning block for ], which is now aired on Sunday mornings and now called the Qubo Kids Corner, whose parent ] now wholly owns the block's companion digital multicast network). With NBC Kids being replaced with ]'s ] E/I block on NBC by September 25, 2016, MiTelemundo retained on television with the same programming from the former NBC Kids block. |
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Since NBCUniversal took over management of Sprout in 2011, following its acquisition by the network's original managing partner Comcast, Sprout has evolved from its initial intent to serve as a home for archived content produced by the partners and has invested more heavily in original programming, in order to better compete with fellow preschool-oriented cable networks, ] and ]. Under NBCUniversal, programs seen on the network such as ''The Chica Show'' have gained increased visibility airing on NBC as part of the NBC Kids block. |
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Despite PBS' divestiture of the channel in 2013, Sprout continued to air several ] programs until their contract with PBS expired on the channel's 10th anniversary, September 26, 2015. As of 2017, ''The Berenstain Bears'', ''Caillou'', and '']'' remain on the schedule from the PBS era. |
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=== Programming blocks === |
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Current blocks |
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* '''''Family Movie Night''''' - ''Sprout Family Movie Night'' is the network's movie showcase block. |
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* ''''']''''' – ''Sunny Side Up'' is the network's late morning block, airing from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It features a puppet character named Chica the Chicken, who is also the focus of the spinoff series '']''. |
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* ''''']''''' – ''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 2017. |
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==== Former blocks ==== |
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* '''''The Let's Go Show''''' – afternoon music and science block |
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* ''''']''''' – morning music block that features Coo, a ], teaching kids to sing. |
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* ''''']''''' with ] (Sam, Murray, Anthony, Jeff) |
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* '''''Sprout Diner''''' |
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* ''''']''''' |
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* '''''The Super Sproutlet Show''''' |
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== Related services == |
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=== Sprout HD === |
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Sprout HD is a ] simulcast feed of the Sprout channel that was first announced in May 2010 and began broadcasting on September 1, 2010. All programs filmed in HD are presented in 16:9 widescreen, whereas programs that are not filmed in high definition are presented in a ] ] format. It is currently available on ], ], ], ], and ]. |
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=== Sprout On Demand === |
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Sprout On Demand is the channel's video-on-demand service which launched on April 4, 2005 on ], six months prior to launch of the linear Sprout channel. The service offers 50 hours of programs a month, with 25% of the programs updated every two weeks. |
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