KidsCo

KidsCo was an international children's entertainment brand founded by Canadian broadcaster Corus Entertainment's Nelvana, American-based producer DIC Entertainment, and European broadcaster Sparrowhawk Media Group in April 2007.[1] By the end of 2007, Sparrowhawk was purchased by media conglomerate NBC Universal, thus giving the company its share in the brand.[2] In June 2008, DiC Entertainment was acquired by Cookie Jar Group, thus also having a stake.[3] In May 2012, Cookie Jar's minority shares in KidsCo were brought by NBCUniversal and Corus, which saw NBCUniversal become majority shareholder with a 51% share while Corus obtained a 43.8% share.[4][5]

KidsCo
CountryEurope, Asia, Africa and Australia
Programming
Language(s)available in 18 languages
Picture format480i (SDTV)
576i (SDTV)
Ownership
OwnerNBCUniversal (51%)
Corus Entertainment (43.8%)
History
LaunchedSeptember 7, 2007 (Central and Eastern Europe, Western Asia)
January 1, 2008 (Philippines and the Middle East)
March 20, 2008 (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and South Korea)
November 15, 2009 (Australia)
November 27, 2009 (Greece)
May 1, 2010 (South Africa)
June 1, 2012 (Malaysia)
Closed5 May 2013 (Poland)
31 December 2013 (Europe)
February 13, 2014 (Southeast Asia and Australia)
2014 (all countries)

KidsCo was closed down worldwide on early 2014 by its owners, in light of NBCUniversal's acquisition of US children's network Sprout and "growing challenges in the international children's television industry.[6] The network was based in London at the time of its closure.[7]

History

The first KidsCo networks were launched in Poland, Romania and Turkey on September 7, 2007. The channel also launched in Hungary, and Russia.[8]

On January 1, 2008, KidsCo launched in the Philippines on SkyCable and in the Arab World on Orbit Showtime[9] on March 20, 2008. On the first trimester of 2009 the channel was launched in Portugal on Optimus Clix. The channel become available also on Vodafone Casa TV platform on July 25, 2010.[10]

KidsCo original logo used from 2007 to 2012

On November 15, 2009, KidsCo launched in Australia on Foxtel.[11]

In November 2009, Kidsco launched in Greece on Conn-x TV[12] and in Cyprus on CytaVision.[13] In November 2010 KidsCo became carried via Greece's IPTV On Telecoms platform.[14] On May 1, 2010 Kidsco launched in South Africa on TopTV[15] and on DStv on July 12, 2010.[16]

[17] In 2008 KidsCo suggested that it intended to launch throughout France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States that year, but this did not transpire.[8] Despite numerous claims of an imminent UK launch since 2007,[18][19][20][21][22] the channel never had presence in the country because as of 2011 market conditions mean a launch isn't commercially viable.[8][23]

On January 8, 2013, KidsCo began broadcasting from Corus Quay in Toronto - a state-of-the-art facility that will broadcast the channel to over 100 territories in 18 languages.[24] A refreshed logo, on-air look and website was also launched.[25]

On April 30, 2013, KidsCo was closed in cable networks in Poland, and on other on May 5.[26][27]

Citing growing challenges in the international children's television industry, and the addition of the competing USA channel Sprout to NBC's portfolio due to its recent acquisition by Comcast, KidsCo announced that it would shut down in early 2014.[6]

The first KidsCo feed to close was in Europe and Turkey on January 1 (New Year's Day 2014). The main KidsCo feeds in Southeast Asia and Australia closed down soon after on February 13. In Voo, the channel was replaced by Piwi+.

References
  1. SPARROWHAWK MEDIA, DIC ENTERTAINMENT AND CORUS ENTERTAINMENT PARTNER TO LAUNCH KIDSCO, A BRANDED GLOBAL CHANNEL FOR CHILDREN Archived 2008-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Haycock, Gavin (28 August 2007). "NBC Universal agrees to buy Sparrowhawk Media". Reuters. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  3. Dickson, Jeremy (14 May 2012). "NBCUniversal, Corus up their stakes in KidsCo". Kids Screen. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  4. Szalai, Georg (14 May 2012). "NBCUniversal International Raises Stakes in Children's Channel KidsCo". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  5. Vlessing, Etan (November 18, 2013). "NBCUniversal, Corus to Shutter KidsCo Network in Early 2014". The Hollywood Reporter.
  6. "TV KidsCo". LSC. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  7. "About NBC Universal Global Networks". Terms of Service. NBC Universal. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  8. "New channel on SHOWTIME". Showtimearabia.com. December 31, 2007. Archived from the original on January 2, 2008.
  9. "C21Media". C21Media. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  10. "FOXTEL NEXT GENERATION - Giving Viewers What They Want When They Want it" (Press release). Foxtel. November 13, 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  11. "KidsCo to Launch in Greece". Animation World Network. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  12. "Cyta: TV". cytavision.com.cy. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  13. "KidsCo launches on Greek IPTV". Latest News. Digital TVEurope.net. 8 November 2010. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  14. "Welcome to TopTV". Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  15. Chris Forrester (6 July 2010). "KidsCo gets DStv feed". RapidTVNews. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  16. Jane Muirhead (8 January 2008). "KidsCo expands to Asia, South Africa and Middle East". Press. NBC Universal Global Networks. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  17. "NBC Universal kids' channel seeks brand sponsorships". Brand Republic. March 26, 2008.
  18. "Licence Details for KIDSCO". Ofcom. October 19, 2007. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009.
  19. "KidsCo signs three-year deal with the BBC". Broadcastnow. September 2, 2008.
  20. "KidsCo expands into five new markets". Media Week. September 3, 2009.
  21. "KidsCo eyes 2010 launch". Broadcastnow. October 6, 2009.
  22. "Cost hurdles block KidsCo UK launch". C21 Media. July 8, 2011.
  23. "corusent.com". Corus Entertainment. January 7, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  24. Knox, David (September 27, 2012). "KidsCo to refresh with Zuzu TV Tonight". TV Tonight. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  25. "Kanał KidsCo kończy nadawanie w Polsce | Polonica". SATKurier.pl. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  26. "KidsCo kończy nadawanie w Polsce 5 maja | Polonica". SATKurier.pl. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
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