NBC Kids

Last updated
NBC Kids
NBC Kids.svg
Network
LaunchedJuly 7, 2012;11 years ago (2012-07-07)
ClosedSeptember 25, 2016;7 years ago (2016-09-25) (NBC)
December 31, 2017;6 years ago (2017-12-31) (Telemundo)
Country of origin United States
Owner NBCUniversal
Format Saturday morning pre-school block
Running time3 hours (10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.)
Official website nbc.com/nbc-kids (archived link)

NBC Kids was an American Saturday morning children's television programming block that aired on NBC from July 7, 2012 to September 25, 2016. Telemundo also aired a version of the block under the "MiTelemundo" title, which featured a separate lineup of Spanish-dubbed programs until December 31, 2017. NBC Kids, which replaced the Qubo block (as a result of NBCUniversal dropping out of the joint venture, which also included Ion Media Networks), was programmed by the other Sprout preschool cable network, as they were both targeted at children ages 2 to 6. [1]

Contents

The three-hour block featured educational entertainment series for younger children, which met programming requirements defined by the Federal Communications Commission's Children's Television Act. [2] [3]

The block came to an end on September 25, 2016 on NBC (December 31, 2017 on Telemundo), and was replaced the following week with a live-action E/I block from Litton Entertainment named The More You Know, marking the end of traditional Saturday morning children's programming on broadcast television until KidsClick followed up in July 2017.

History

On March 28, 2012, NBC announced that the three-hour children's programming time period allocated by the network on Saturday mornings would be taken over by Sprout (which had become a sister television property to NBC following parent company NBCUniversal's 2010 majority purchase by Comcast; NBC later took full ownership of the network, whose owners previously included Sesame Workshop and HIT Entertainment) and launch a new Saturday morning block called NBC Kids, which was aimed at preschoolers and grade school-aged children ages 2 to 6. [4] [5] Sprout also produced a Spanish-language sister block for Telemundo known as MiTelemundo. [6]

NBC Kids debuted on July 7, 2012, one week after the Qubo block ended its run on both NBC and Telemundo on June 30 (leaving Ion Television as the only network to retain a Qubo-branded children's block, as Ion Media Networks was now sole owner of the Qubo properties including the flagship Qubo Channel television service). [7]

Closure

On February 24, 2016, NBCUniversal announced that NBC Kids would be discontinued and replaced on October 8, 2016 on NBC (January 6, 2018 on Telemundo) by The More You Know, a block produced by Litton Entertainment that would feature live-action documentary and lifestyle programs aimed at pre-teens and teenagers. The move came as part of a shift by broadcast television networks towards using their Saturday morning lineup solely to comply with the educational programming requirements mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), along with the cultural shift towards cable and online video on demand viewing of children's and animated programming. NBC Kids aired for the final time on September 25, 2016 on NBC (December 31, 2017 on Telemundo). [8] [9]

Programming

Final programming

NBC

Original programming
TitlePremiere dateEnd dateSource(s)
Noodle and Doodle July 7, 2012September 25, 2016
Pajanimals January 26, 2014
The Chica Show February 2, 2013September 25, 2016
Astroblast! October 4, 2014July 10, 2016
Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave July 4, 2015September 25, 2016
Nina's World January 2, 2016
Floogals February 6, 2016
Terrific Trucks July 16, 2016
Acquired programming
TitlePremiere dateEnd dateSource(s)
Poppy Cat July 7, 2012September 26, 2015
Justin Time September 27, 2014
LazyTown March 26, 2016
The Wiggles January 26, 2013
Tree Fu Tom June 8, 2013December 26, 2015
Make Way for Noddy October 12, 2013March 29, 2014
Zou April 5, 2014September 27, 2014
Earth to Luna! April 4, 2015January 30, 2016
Clangers October 3, 2015March 26, 2016

See also

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References

  1. Nellie Andreeva (March 28, 2012). "NBC Launches Preschool Saturday Block Programmed By Sprout". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  2. "FCC Form 398 "KidVid" Children's Television Programming Report, 2nd Quarter of 2013 for WTVA, Tupelo, Mississippi" (PDF). WTVA . WTVA, Inc. July 2, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  3. "NBC Will Launch NBC Kids, a New Saturday Morning Preschool Block Programmed by Sprout®, Saturday, July 7". MarketWatch. March 28, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  4. Jon Weisman (March 28, 2012). "NBC to launch Saturday kids block". Variety. Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  5. Lindsay Rubino (March 28, 2012). "NBC, With Assist From Sprout, to Launch Saturday Morning Preschool Block". Multichannel News. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  6. "Telemundo anuncia nuevo bloque infantil "Mi Telemundo!"". Primera Hora . GFR Media LLC. October 24, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  7. "NBC Will Launch NBC Kids, a New Saturday Morning Preschool Block Programmed by Sprout®, Saturday, July 7". MarketWatch . March 28, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  8. Desk, TV News. "Telemundo Kicks Off 2018 with New 'Mi Telemundo' Programming Block" . Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  9. "Litton Entertainment & Telemundo Kick Off 2018 with the new "Mi Telemundo" Kids Programming Block Premiering Jan. 6". Litton Entertainment. Retrieved 2018-02-17.