Kermit Channel

Last updated
Kermit Channel
Broadcast area
Programming
Language(s) English
Ownership
Owner Jim Henson Company(50%)
Hallmark Entertainment
Sister channels Hallmark Entertainment Network
Odyssey Network
History
Launched31 August 1998;25 years ago (1998-08-31)
Closed22 December 2002;21 years ago (2002-12-22)

The Kermit Channel was an Asian television channel that was owned by the Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment until 2001, when Hallmark assumed full ownership and renamed the channel. [1] It was a 24-hour cable channel that broadcast reruns of various Muppet productions.

Contents

History

Hallmark Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company started a partnership in May 1998 to launch the Kermit Channel in Asia and Latin America expect to start in September 1998 with distribution handled by Hallmark Entertainment Network. [2] This partnership had grown out of their co-production of Gulliver’s Travels . [3] In 1998, Kermit had extended a license for the Muppet to Wave, a Singapore-based licensing agent, for apparel, toys and games categories in Taiwan and the Philippines. [4]

On August 31, 1998, the channel had a soft launch in Latin America and Asia with a revolving three-hour schedule. The next day, the channel's first general manager, Betsy Bruce, was announced. The Henson Co. and Hallmark were considering renaming the Odyssey Channel to Kermit Channel. A full schedule was put into place on October 1, 1998. [5]

The channel was launched first in Taiwan in January 1999, followed by India, [3] which debuted in the first week in January 1999 with distribution and marketing handled by Modi Entertainment Network. [6] The channel was next rolled out in Indonesia. [3] With uncertain over the market downturn, the Kermit Channel decided to focus on the Asia market. Kermit's launched was delayed until August 1999 in the Philippines. [7] By December 1, 1999, the channel had six million subscribers earlier than projected by its business plan. The next markets the channel was planned to be launched in were Singapore and Malaysia, [3] while considering Japan and China. [4] However by January 2000, Hallmark Entertainment Networks decided to instead to focus on existing markets, India, Malaysia and the Philippines, to build up capacity in distribution and brand awareness. [8]

As part of the reorganization of the Hallmark Entertainment, programming on The Kermit Channel in Asia was transferred in November 2000 to the Hallmark Network. On Hallmark it would initially air as a six-hour-a-day block, but was later shortened to three hours a day. In November 2002, the Asian channel was shut down except in India. The Kermit Channel aired in India, until December 2002. Kermit was shut down due to the decision of Henson owner, EM.TV. Hallmark Entertainment Network and Modi were in discussion to replace the channel with a joint venture family channel. [9]

Programming

Hallmark Entertainment and the Jim Henson Company were contributing their film libraries towards the channel. Additional programming were acquired from Children's Television Workshop (CTW). [3]

Programming blocks
Shows

K2K was a marketing push that included the introduction of additional shows tag with K2K above. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Henson</span> American puppeteer (1936–1990)

James Maury Henson was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sesame Workshop</span> American nonprofit organization and childrens media producer

Sesame Workshop, Inc. (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop, Inc. (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-known, Sesame Street and his International co-productions. Television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and foundation executive Lloyd Morrisett developed the idea to form an organization to produce Sesame Street, a television series which would help children, especially those from low-income families, prepare for school. They spent two years, from 1966 to 1968, researching, developing, and raising money for the new series. Cooney was named as the Workshop's first executive director, which was termed "one of the most important television developments of the decade."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon Network (Canadian TV channel)</span> Canadian TV channel

Cartoon Network is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jim Henson Company</span> American entertainment company

The Jim Henson Company is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field of puppetry, particularly through the creation of Kermit the Frog and the Muppets characters.

Hallmark Media is an American media production company with corporate headquarters located in Studio City, California, and is a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallmark Channel</span> American cable television network

Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse TV</span> Canadian childrens TV channel

Treehouse TV is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel for kids that was launched in 1997. Its name comes from sister network YTV's former kids block, "The Treehouse". The channel is owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Having launched on November 1, 1997, it is the first ever full-day kids-oriented TV channel in Canada and the whole world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Muppets Studio</span> Subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company

The Muppets Studio, LLC is an American entertainment production company and subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, that owns and produces media content for The Muppets franchise. The division was previously formed as The Muppets Holding Company, LLC in 2004 through Disney's acquisition of The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House intellectual properties from The Jim Henson Company.

Disney Branded Television is an American television production company and a unit of Disney General Entertainment Content which oversees development, production and acquisition of content geared towards children, teenagers and families for Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD. The unit also oversees Disney-branded unscripted series, documentaries and specials for Disney+ and the Disney channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohbot Kids Network</span> Former American kids network

Bohbot Kids Network was a children's programming block operated by Bohbot Entertainment that aired on syndicated television stations from 1992 to 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallmark Channel (international)</span> Television channel

Hallmark Channel, formerly Hallmark Entertainment Network, in international markets was owned by several media companies. Over their history, the various channels were operated by Hallmark Entertainment Networks, Inc. (1995–2005), Sparrowhawk Media, Limited (2005–2007) and Universal Networks International (2007–2011). Universal Networks International rebranded or discontinued the channels by July 2011. Hallmark Entertainment Networks, Inc. was owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc. Sparrowhawk Media was owned by venture capital companies and Universal Networks International is owned by NBCUniversal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DreamWorks Channel</span> NBCUniversal-owned TV channel

DreamWorks Channel, commonly known as DreamWorks, is a pay television network owned and operated by the NBCUniversal International Networks division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. First launched in Southeast Asia on 1 August 2015, it expanded to the rest of Asia as well as Europe, Africa and Oceania. Its programming is mainly sourced from DreamWorks Animation.

Kartoon Studios, Inc., formerly known as Genius Brands International (GBI), is an entertainment company headed by Andy Heyward. The company was formed from the merger of Genius Brands International and A Squared Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noggin (brand)</span> Entertainment brand

Noggin is an American edutainment brand launched on February 2, 1999. It was co-founded by MTV Networks and Sesame Workshop. It started out as a cable television channel and a website, both centered around the concepts of imagination, creativity, and education. Since 2015, Noggin has been a streaming service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Kids</span> American childrens television channel

Universal Kids is an American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halla Bol! Kids TV</span> Canadian Hindi-language television channel

Halla Bol! Kids TV is a Canadian Category B-exempt Hindi language specialty channel owned by Channel Zero. Halla Bol! Kids TV broadcasts programming primarily aimed at children in addition to select family-oriented programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fix & Foxi (TV channel)</span> Group of international childrens TV channels

Fix & Foxi is an international children's entertainment brand founded by the German company Your Family Entertainment. Themed around Rolf Kauka's Fix and Foxi characters, the name is used to operate television channels in multiple languages around the world.

WildBrain Family International Limited, operating as WildBrain Spark, is a British multi-channel network owned by Canadian media company WildBrain. It distributes and produces preschool and children's video content for YouTube and other digital platforms. The division officially launched in 2016; it reuses trademarks associated with Wildbrain Entertainment, an animation studio that had been acquired by DHX. It maintains offices in London.

References

  1. ↑ Business Line (June 4, 2001). "Kermit Channel goes off the air". Muppet Central News. Retrieved 7 September 2014.{{cite web}}: |author1= has generic name (help)
  2. ↑ "History of Crown Media Holdings, Inc.". International Directory of Company Histories. Volume 45. St. James Press. 2002. Retrieved December 27, 2017– via FundingUniverse.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fry, Andy (December 1, 1999). "Kermit's hop-about in Asia". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications Ltd. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Dunfield, Allison (December 1, 1999). "Localizing licensing leads to Asian (sic) success". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications Ltd. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  5. ↑ Paxman, Andrew (September 1, 1998). "Kermit taps Bruce G.M." Variety. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mitra, Anjan (December 11, 1998). "Kermit, Hallmark Channels To Debut In January". Business Standard India. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Kermit Channel leaps into Philippines". Ad Age. Crain Communications. August 1999. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  8. ↑ Mazurkewich, Karen (January 1, 2000). "Nick grows in Asia, Hungary and Poland". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications Ltd. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Kermit goes off the air; Hallmark, Modi Entertainment may launch family channel". IndianTelevision.com. 22 December 2002. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Kermit Channel's K2K plans for Y2K". Indian Television Dot Com. 20 February 2000. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.