Universal Kids

Former logo used as PBS Kids Sprout from September 26, 2005 to November 12, 2013.

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 (formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop) to launch a then-unnamed subscription-based channel aimed at preschool children.[4]

On April 4, 2005, Comcast announced that the network would be known as PBS Kids Sprout, launching. initially as a branded video on-demand (VOD) service before launching its linear pay-TV channel. The network would be ad-supported, but ads would only air between programs in small quantities, and would be aimed towards parents and caregivers.[5]

The linear network officially launched on September 26, 2005, with a reach of around 16 million viewers across Comcast and Insight cable providers.[5] 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.[5]

Sprout chose to not follow the convention of bundling short-form series into half-hour episodes with interstitial segments for U.S. broadcast, electing to air such programs individually in their original format. Andrew Beecham, a former director of worldwide programming strategy for the Playhouse Disney brand, stated 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."

A high-definition simulcast feed launched in September 2010 on Comcast's default 1080i resolution format. Currently, the network's entire original programming roster post-2010 is carried in high definition, along with most airings of films. Available on the vast majority of pay television providers, it is downscaled at the provider headend level to provide a standard definition equivalent for those systems.[6]

Final Sprout logo used from November 13, 2013 to September 8, 2017. However, between 2009 and 2013, this logo was previously used in tandem with the original PBS Kids Sprout logo.

Comcast acquired a 51% majority stake of NBCUniversal from General Electric (GE) in January 2011, and would assume full ownership of the company in 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 never included in the deal and was retained by Apax Partners.[7] In December 2012, Sesame Workshop sold its interest in Sprout to NBCUniversal, which in turn later acquired Apax and PBS's shares in the network on March 19, 2013 and November 13, 2013 respectively, therefore giving Comcast full ownership. Its operations were then merged into its NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group subsidiary.[8] As a result of Comcast earning full ownership of the brand, the "PBS Kids" branding was dropped from the network's name (leaving the network as simply Sprout), and operations were moved from Philadelphia to New York City.[9][10][11][12]

On July 7, 2012, Sprout began to produce a Saturday morning block for NBC aimed at preschoolers, NBC Kids, along with MiTelemundo, a Spanish-dubbed version of the block airing on sister network Telemundo that airs on weekend mornings, which replaced Qubo (a previous joint venture between NBCUniversal, Ion Media, Corus Entertainment, Scholastic, and Classic Media, which was later acquired by DreamWorks Animation and is now, in turn, owned by NBCUniversal),[13][14] which had been airing on NBC and Telemundo since September 2006.[15][16] On Sprout's 10th anniversary on September 26, 2015, the network received a rebrand and shifted focus towards original shows, such as Nina's World, and removed older acquired shows such as Barney & Friends (which later returned to the network on December 17, 2018 and then got removed once again on January 25, 2020), Thomas & Friends and Super Why! due to the network's licenses for these shows expiring and were replaced with newer acquired shows such as Maya the Bee, Me Too! and Sydney Sailboat.[17] Only two shows that have been on the channel since its launch, Caillou and The Berenstain Bears, remained on the network. Caillou continued to air on the network until March 31, 2019, while The Berenstain Bears continued to air on the network until the channel rebranded into Universal Kids. On October 8, 2016 on NBC and on January 6, 2018 on Telemundo, NBC Kids was replaced with Litton Entertainment's The More You Know educational block oriented towards teenagers 13–16 years old.

Under NBCUniversal ownership, the channel began to shift away from its original focus on library content, and invested more heavily in original programming to displace older, licensed content to better compete with fellow preschool-oriented pay-TV networks Disney Junior (part of Disney-ABC) and Nick Jr. (part of Viacom, now known as Paramount Global). Under NBCUniversal, programs seen on the network such as The Chica Show earned increased visibility airing on NBC as part of the NBC Kids block.[18][19]

In mid-2016, it was announced that Sandy Wax would be leaving NBCUniversal at the end of the year. Deirdre Brennan, formerly of Corus Entertainment, was named the new president of Sprout in January 2017.[20]

First Universal Kids logo used from September 9, 2017 to April 11, 2019.

On May 1, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that Sprout would rebrand as Universal Kids on September 9, 2017. With the rebranding, the network revamped its evening and primetime programming to aim preteens aged 8–12. Universal Kids continues to broadcast preschool programming, initially retaining the Sprout brand, occupying 15 hours per-day of programming from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. LT.[21]

Network president Deirdre Brennan claimed that Universal Kids' new programming would be renowned from its competitors, stating that "we're offering something to 2 to 12 year olds that has a slightly different purpose — widening their eyes, opening their minds and celebrating many aspects of being a kid. We have great [shows] for the preschoolers, which is important, but we needed to grow up with the rest of the family." Universal Kids will initially focus on acquired programs and unscripted series (such as Top Chef Junior, a spin-off of the Bravo reality franchise Top Chef), with plans for scripted original programming in the future. NBCUniversal intended to make "significant" investments in original content for Universal Kids over the next three years.[22] The launch lineup included a large number of international acquisitions, particularly from the U.K., Australia, and Canada; Brennan acknowledged that since youth audiences had become "globally aware", the network wanted to showcase foreign series that had not yet aired in the United States.[22]

Universal Pictures' acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016 would also be leveraged by Universal Kids to bolster its programming. Industry observers felt that the integration of DreamWorks IP with Universal Kids would help NBCUniversal establish a viable multi-platform competitor to other major children's networks (such as Paramount Global's Nickelodeon, WarnerMedia's Cartoon Network, Discovery, Inc. and Hasbro's Discovery Family, and Disney Channel).[23][20][24][25][26] Universal Kids would also feature programing produced by the Canadian-based DHX Media (now known as WildBrain) for its Family Channel and its sibling television brands, as well as co-produce several series;[27][28][29][30][31] DHX had also recently entered a content deal with DreamWorks.[32]

The channel has seen a significant decrease in viewership since its relaunch, with IndieWire reporting a 30% decline in 2017, followed by a 73% drop in 2018.[33][34]

Brennan was replaced by Frances Berwick as network president in February 2019.[35] In April of that year, Universal Kids unveiled a new logo and branding designed by the design agency Kill 2 Birds.[36] On June 19, it was reported that Universal Kids had ceased developing new original programming in-favor of acquired content and DreamWorks-related fare. The remaining shows on the network's original production slate (including Powerbirds, Where's Waldo? and Norman Picklestripes) would still air as scheduled.[37][38]

Universal Kids Preschool serves as the channel's daytime block, which runs from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time/3:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time (6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/3:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time on weekends).[21] Up until January 26, 2018, the block utilized the network's former name, Sprout.[21] Deirdre Brennan emphasized that Universal Kids would continue to focus on its preschool programming, stating that "the greatest thing is, there is nothing to fix there. Sprout is a beautiful brand. If anything, we want to invest more in original production. There is more we can explore there."[22]

Prior to the Universal Kids rebranding, the network replaced its long-running morning block Sunny Side Up with Sprout House (renamed Snug's House in 2018), which premiered on August 14, 2017 and is hosted by Carly Ciarrocchi and the new character Snug, a talking dog portrayed by puppeteer Chris Palmieri, through 90-second segments throughout the block. The program was designed to be more flexible to produce than its predecessor, with a different "tiny house" set with additional areas and camera options. Unlike Sunny Side Up, the segments are pre-recorded instead of broadcast live; supervising producer Vinny Steves felt that the live format was too "limiting", and explained 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 longtime mascot, Chica, although she will continue to be featured in certain segments (such as Chica at School).[21]

As of 2022, Masha and the Bear, Remy & Boo, and Cocomelon remain as the only preschool programs on the network.