May 1, 2017

NBCUniversal Launches New Channel: Universal Kids

Comcast/NBCUniversal launches new children's TV channel.

The new channel, Universal Kids, will open on September 9, replacing NBCUni's current toddler channel, Sprout. The target audience for Universal Kids is ages 2-11. Initially, Universal Kids programming will air only after 6 p.m., with Sprout content filling the morning and afternoon hours.

Universal Kids' programming remains largely a mystery, but some of the starting shows will be reruns of DreamWorks Animation's series for Netflix: "All Hail King Julien" and "DreamWorks Dragons: Riders of Berk"; NBCUniversal may air other family-oriented productions that it owns in addition to DreamWorks content, such as Illumination movies and shows related to Universal theme park attractions.

And it is not strictly animation alone. In fact, the network's first original series was the children's reality show Top Chef Junior, a spin-off from a popular cooking competition on Bravo (also an NBCUniversal company).

Veteran TV executive Deirdre Brennan, hired in January as general manager of Sprout, will also lead Universal Kids as general manager. She previously spent three years as director of programming for Nickelodeon Australia, and has also worked for BBC Worldwide Australia, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Corus Entertainment. [Bonnie Hammer, chairman of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, said in an e-mail to The New York Times, which first reported the Universal Kids news yesterday evening, "We are connecting our businesses in ways that have never been done before." .

Hammer also described the channel as a "new strategic business model," which may be a new model but is not necessarily surprising. Writing after NBCUniversal's acquisition of DreamWorks last year, he spoke at length about what he would do with all the new IP, saying, "Comcast is now launching an entirely new kids channel to compete with Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Nick It concludes with the suggestion that "we have enough IP with potential.

When NBCUni acquired DreamWorks, it would own not only the major DreamWorks franchises, but also the DreamWorks Classics portfolio, Peter Cottontail, Postman Pat, VeggieTales, The Lone Ranger, Bolton, Where's Waldo, Baby Huey, Richie Rich, Little Lulu, George of the Jungle, Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dick Tracy, Brenda Star, Gasoline Alley, Broom Hilda, Gumby, Felix the Cat and Underdog, Gerald McBoeing Boeing, and Roger Ramjet, among others.

Add to that Universal's own Woody Woodpecker and The Land Before Time properties, and launching a channel like Universal Kids is almost a foregone conclusion.

The New York Times noted that Universal Kids is launching at a time when other cable children's channels are struggling to keep up with Internet streamers like Netflix and Amazon. Cartoon Network's audience of viewers aged 2-11 fell 15% year over year in the first quarter of 2017, while the Disney Channel and Disney XD plunged 20% and 27%, respectively.

And, of course, there is the cautionary tale of Discovery Communications and Hasbro's short-lived The Hub.

But if Universal Kids can find the magic formula, the children's network could be a very profitable venture. Nickelodeon posted $975 million worth of ad revenue in 2014 alone, and has added billions more over the past decade, driven by the success of the animated epic SpongeBob. With numbers like these, any entertainment conglomerate must be willing to take on the challenge.