Saturday, July 25, 2020
Sprout Pitch Idents (2009)
The Wiggly Waffle theme song looks different, as you can tell from the last still didn't make it to the final opening of the block.
Wait a second, I see something involving Coo the Cuckoo Bird. Maybe this was the planned Musical Mornings opening, although the block is kinda rare.
These were by Daniel Luna, the same guy behind the Good Night Show pitched opening:
https://cargocollective.com/danielluna/following/danielluna/Sprout-Network-pitch
Monday, July 20, 2020
Sprout FAQ
General Questions
What is PBS KIDS Sprout?
How can I get PBS KIDS Sprout in my home?
What types of shows can I find on PBS KIDS Sprout?
What types of shows can I find on Sprout On Demand?
How often is your video on demand programming updated?
Do you offer any Spanish-language programming?
How can I contact PBS KIDS Sprout?
PBS KIDS Sprout
PO Box 9303
Bridgeport, NJ 08014
1-877-6-SPROUT
info@SproutOnline.com
How can I send a craft to Nina and “The Good Night Show?”
I am looking for instructions for a specific craft from “The Good Night Show.”
Is there any Sprout merchandise that I can buy?
Does PBS KIDS Sprout include advertising?
How is PBS KIDS associated with PBS KIDS Sprout?
Account Registration and Management Questions
What are the benefits of registering?
- My Refrigerator — You know how the front of your kitchen refrigerator turns into your family scrapbook? Well, My Refrigerator is your personalized webpage that is based on the same idea. It’s password-protected so you can upload your Sproutlet's pictures and save artwork, send spam-free Sprout Mail, link to your Sproutlet's favorite games, and more.
- Sprout Mail — Every family that joins SproutOnline.com gets their own Sprout Mail account. Sprout Mail is simple for you to use with your child. Messages can only be sent to people who you add to your family’s Contact List, so you can’t accidentally send a Sprout Mail message to someone who’s not on your list. Plus, you can only receive messages from people who you’ve already contacted, so you won’t get any messages from strangers (including spammers).
- Parents Place — This special section is just for parents. In it, you’ll find articles and accompanying discussions on subjects that are of interest to parents of small children – everything from ideas for “together time” to advice on developing good eating habits. Each topic begins with an expert opinion from a Sprout partner, such as KidsHealth or Sesame Workshop, and then really takes off when parents like you contribute your own thoughts and perspectives.
Can my child register at SproutOnline.com?
Why do you want to know the names and ages of my children as part of my account?
Why won’t SproutOnline.com let me register?
I can’t remember my user name and/or password.
How do I change my password?
How do I cancel my account?
Parents Place
What is Parents Place?
What do I do if I see an offensive or inappropriate posting in Parents Place?
Sharing Pictures, Recipes, Games and More
What are the Sharing Galleries?
What can I share?
How do I create a picture to share?
Are there any restrictions?
Do I have to be a registered user to share a picture?
Where do I upload a picture?
Is there an upload size limit?
How do I remove a picture that I’ve uploaded?
Are there picture editing tools available on the site?
Where do I see my pictures after I upload them?
What’s the difference between “The Sprout Sharing Galleries” and “Only on My Refrigerator page”?
How do I share a picture I’ve uploaded?
What do I do if I see an offensive or inappropriate picture in the Sharing Galleries?
My Refrigerator
What is My Refrigerator?
How do I add a Favorite?
Sprout Mail
What is Sprout Mail?
Games, Videos and More
Why won’t SproutOnline.com games play on my computer?
Why won’t SproutOnline.com videos play on my computer?
Why isn’t a SproutOnline.com coloring page or other “printable” viewable on my computer.
Celebrating Birthdays on The Sunny Side Up Show
How do I submit a birthday card to Sprout?
- Include a fun picture of your child
- Draw your family's favorite PBS KIDS Sprout character
- Maybe a family pet wants to wish your child a happy birthday? Everyone can get involved - grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, baby sitters and teachers. The more the merrier!
- Please do not put a last name or address on the front or inside of the card.
- Try to avoid white, orange and pink paper as well as light-colored or very thin markers because they don't show up very well on TV.
- Please do not send in photos or drawings that feature children’s TV characters not featured on Sprout.
Where will my birthday card be seen?
How are cards selected to be shown on TV?
What about the scrolling birthday messages?
Which birthday cards are uploaded to SproutOnline.com?
Can you send me a tape of “The Sunny Side Up Show” or special weekend birthday segments?
How can I submit a Birthday Wish?
Sunday, July 19, 2020
Sprout Channel Cubby
The PBS Kids Playtime Pad is a tablet featuring videos and apps from the #1 trusted kids' network, debuting in 2017.
3 years prior, fellow kids network Sprout also had a tablet, called the Sprout Channel Cubby.
Kids want the same mobile devices we have, and so Big Tent, Sprout’s licensing agent, eMatic, the product manufacturer, and Walmart developed a children's tablet loaded with content from the Sprout Channel. StyleWorks Creative started by creating a landing screen to give eMatic a clear graphic direction. The next step was the tablet naming process. All Sprout employees took part in a naming contest, which yielded over 250 names. The top twenty-five were tested with the Sprout audience, and based on their feedback, we generated even more names and logo treatments. The final three were designed and presented to Walmart.
From Vimeo |
Best of all, the tablet could go with kids anywhere. The Sprout Channel Cubby got discontinued in 2015.
Monday, July 13, 2020
The Good Night Show study
NEW YORK — Some experts say a three-hour bedtime TV show for preschoolers does more to keep kids awake than ease them into sleep.
Harvard University psychologist Susan Linn, who runs the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, asked the PBS Kids Sprout network to get rid of "The Good Night Show," which mixes cartoons and skits with a puppet about getting ready for bed.
Linn said the show seems more designed to keep kids in front of the TV than spend time with their parents.
But PBS Kids Sprout chief Sandy Wax says she lives in the "real world" where families watch television, and is trying to do her best to put on programs that help parents.
"The Good Night Show" has aired from 6 to 9 p.m. since the 2005 start of PBS Kids Sprout, a digital network aimed at children aged 2 to 5 and available in fewer than half of the nation's TV homes. The show features Nina, an actress who portrays a parentlike figure, and a star-shaped puppet named Star.
They appear in between cartoons such as "Caillou," "Thomas & Friends" and "Angelina Ballerina," discussing themes like responsibility. The show was created with the help of pediatric psychologists and is designed for parents to watch with their children as the young ones are getting ready for bed, Wax said.
Linn, who wrote to Wax this week along with the Center for Screen-Time Awareness, questions whether there should be a TV network for preschoolers in the first place. She doesn't object to the cartoons on "The Good Night Show," just how they are marketed.
"Don't pretend that the reason you have programming is to help children go to sleep," she said.On one show in February, Star pleads at 7:12 p.m. for more time to stay up. "We can stay up a little longer, because coming up our Sproutlet friends have something to share with us," Nina replies, telling viewers, "don't go away."
Fifty minutes later, it's still not time for Star to go to bed.
When the show was over, an ad runs encouraging children to visit the network's Web site.
"We want the viewer to know that the show is going to continue on," Wax said. "But it's the parent's decision of when to go to bed."
Jodi Mindell, a psychologist and expert on sleep issues at St. Joseph's University, said that studies show TV viewing at bedtime is detrimental to children. TV is stimulating and engaging, precisely at a time you want children to disengage, she said.
One-third of parents with children aged 6 and lower said their children have televisions in their bedrooms, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Ninety percent of children aged 4 to 6 either spend time on the computer or watch television or videos each day, the group said.
Bedtime, in particular, is an important time for parents to spend with their children, Mindell said. "It's very sad to replace quality parent-child time with television," she said.If the television has to be on, "The Good Night Show" beats cartoons with Ninja warriors, she said.
Wax said the program is designed to promote that time together, for parents to watch while cuddling with their kids on the couch. It's tough enough to be a parent, "let's not take away things that are being helpful," she said.
"We're not about this ideology of what should and shouldn't happen in the home," she said. "We're living in the real world."
Linn said she was concerned that the involvement of PBS would trick parents into thinking "The Good Night Show" was better for their children than it is. PBS Kids Sprout, however, is a for-profit network with partners that include Comcast, PBS, HIT Entertainment and Sesame Workshop, Wax said
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Kidscreen Interview with Andrew Beecham
Wait-Wait-Wait, did Selig say Barney has been putting him to sleep? Parents hated him in the 1990s because of overbearing niceness and the almost cult-like hold he had on their kids.
This article also explains the writing process of blockisodes of The Sunny Side Up Show. SSU is my favorite programming block, and it's interesting to hear this. But all I really want to see is a behind the scenes pic of the block filming (even though I know there are a few out on the internet).
And finally, Josh and Andrew sing a song about the channel's success to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Dare to sing along, Sproutlets?!
PICMe
Here's the setup! Parents would upload a photo of their child to sproutonline.com, and it would be cropped down to a headshot and affixed on a cartoon body. A few days later, a cartoon of the child would be shown on PICMe, alongside the characters - a giraffe, elephant, crocodile, monkey, lion, and parrot.
The show would be shown a few times on the Sunny Side Up Show.
Big Sister, Little Brother
The History of Sprout: The Second Generation, 2009-2015
Popular children's artists the Wiggles joined Sprout on August 24th, 2009, with their new programming block Wiggly Waffle, airing from 6:00am to 9:00am, where they would tell jokes, sing songs, and play games with viewer submissions.
In 2010, Sprout launched an HD channel simulcasting with its standard-definition counterpart, encouraging preschoolers to watch shows on the channel in HD.
Also in 2010, Sprout started to invest in original programming like Noodle and Doodle, The Chica Show (a 2012 spin-off of The Sunny Side Up Show), and full-length episode versions of Jim Henson's Pajanimals music videos. There were also new shows that have not aired on PBS nor produced by HiT or Sesame (ex: Chloe's Closet and Justin Time)
In 2011, Sprout launched the initiative Kindness Counts, designed to help teach the importance of positive values and social behaviors to younger children. Promos included such characters like Big Bird or Barney.
Comcast acquired a majority stake in NBCUniversal that year, and assume a full ownership of the company in 2013. As a result, Comcast's interest in Sprout was turned over to the company. With Apax Funds (UK) and Mattel (here) acquiring HiT Entertainment, the company decided to quit funding the network, albeit shows like Barney and Thomas still running. Same with Sesame Workshop in December of 2012. As a result, the "PBS Kids" branding was dropped from the channel's name, and operations moved to New York from Pennsylvania.
Sprout also debuted a float called "Daytime, Playtime, Nighttime Too" for the 86th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that year, featuring the presenters of The Sunny Side Up Show and The Good Night Show.
In 2013, Sprout announced a contest based on the Kindness Counts initiative. The winner would become the channel's "Chief Kindness Officer" for a day and visit the set of The Sunny Side Up Show.
Sprout had new graphics introduced for the 10th anniversary, convinced in an effort to compete with PAW Patrol. A few PBS shows were dropped as well. Sesame Street was removed, Barney and Thomas were also removed, although the former would return in December 2018 on Universal Kids. Bob the Builder was disposed of, and Super WHY! was axed.
Saturday, July 11, 2020
The History of Sprout: part 1 - The First Generation, 2005-2009
Over the years, there have been many children's networks just for them in America - PBS Kids, PBS Kids GO!, the long-running Noggin, Nick Jr. (Noggin's rebrand), Playhouse Disney, Disney Junior, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Qubo, The Hub, Discovery Kids, Discovery Family, Universal Kids, and my personal favorite - PBS Kids Sprout - the first 24/7 children's channel of its kind. (before it dumbed down in 2015 in my opinion).
But we're gonna talk about the first generation (2005-2009) and the second generation (2009-2015), which featured many PBS shows like Sesame Street, Barney & Friends, and Caillou.
"We're thrilled to announce this partnership with the leading providers of family-friendly, educational children's programming," said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast.
"This channel will be a resource for parents and caregivers, who will be able to depend on it to always offer age-appropriate viewing options that present positive, enriching messages. We're committed to launching this new channel in a significant number of our markets, and we will work with other cable and satellite companies to reach as many customers as possible.""The new channel brings together a wonderful lineup of children's content that will delight and inspire young children and their families for generations to come," said Peter Orton, Chairman of HIT Entertainment. "This is a transforming deal for HIT as we make our first move into broadcasting. And we are delighted to be in partnership with Comcast, PBS and Sesame Workshop, each of whom brings their own tremendous and unique strengths to this ground-breaking venture.
"PBS is committed to maintaining its leadership role in delivering the best educational programming to as many children and parents as possible," said Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of PBS. "This unique public/private partnership not only assures a strong, viable PBS KIDS programming block on PBS stations, available free over-the-air, but also extends PBS' mission into different platforms. We are happy to be in a mutually beneficial partnership with Sesame Workshop, HIT Entertainment and Comcast.
"For 36 years, Sesame Workshop has achieved enormous success in fulfilling its mission to use television and other media to help children reach their highest potential," said Gary E. Knell, President and CEO, of the nonprofit educational organization Sesame Workshop. "We are thrilled to be joining with our primary broadcaster, PBS, and extending our footprint together through this exciting new venture with leading content and distribution partners."
"Children's programming is one of the most popular VOD categories, and now Comcast is offering customers even more of the programs they enjoy anytime they want," said Brian Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast. "Families can depend on PBS KIDS Sprout for the programs kids love and parents trust."
"Bringing together shows children love and parents trust - from Bob the Builder to Barney & Friends to Sesame Street - PBS KIDS Sprout is the ultimate destination for preschoolers and their families," said Charlie Caminada, Chief Operating Officer, HIT Entertainment. "This unprecedented partnership couples quality programming from the leaders in children's content with the leading US cable provider and the most trusted name in children's television, PBS KIDS."
"This partnership provides a second home for the popular, award-winning children's programming block that PBS stations premiere in every home in America, free and over-the-air," added Pat Mitchell, PBS President and CEO. "Delivered locally on cable in association with our stations, and via satellite, the new service extends the access to these programs that children love and parents trust to 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
"Imagine laughing and learning with Elmo, Big Bird and even Oscar any time of day," said Gary E. Knell, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop. "PBS KIDS Sprout offers parents an opportunity to set up a playdate for their kids with some feathered and furry friends, and a chance for a new generation of children to enjoy engaging shows at their convenience."
Unlike the VOD service, the cable channel had different types of programming morning, noon, and night. Morning programming featured shows designed for kids to get ready for the day, late Morning and Afternoon programming featured educational shows for kids staying home from school, Noon programming featured shows aimed at kids returning from school, and evening programming was The Good Night Show.
In summer 2007, Sprout launched The Let's Go Show, a block encouraging viewers to appreciate music and science, airing on weekend mornings and afternoons, and hosted by Miles and puppy puppet Banjo. That was before the end of the beginning in September of that year.
Sprout launched two other new blocks. Musical Mornings with Coo, a block produced by Jim Henson Digital Studios and hosted by a cuckoo bird named Coo (Julianne Buescher) as well as Elizabeth Balzano, who hosted the DTV autism series Bounce, airing from 6:00am to 9:00am.
The other block was The Sunny Side Up Show, presented by none other than Yamada of The Birthday Show, who suggested someone be another presenter - none other than Kelly Vrooman (Sean Roach later joined that year). Yamada and Vrooman were joined by Chica the Chicken, performed by Forrest Harding. The latter block aired live from 9:00am to 12:00pm, and featured material sent in by viewers (similar to the non-Sprout PBS show ZOOM) like birthday cards and weather reports, as well as guest appearances from characters like Big Bird and Barney.
In 2008, Sprout launched The Sprout Sharing Show, which featured puppets (Patty the Pig (Vrooman), Ricky the Rabbit (Yamada), and Curtis E. Owl (Brendan Gawell)). The block aired from 3:00pm to 6:00pm, and, like The Sunny Side Up Show, featured viewer submissions like videos and drawings. PICMe was an Irish show in which children would put their faces into the episodes.
Sprout collaborated with the Pajama Program to launch The Great Sprout Tuck-In, which was a prosocial initiative that extended Sprout's "Good Night" mission and encouraged families to share in the spirit of giving through PSAs appropriate for adult and preschool audiences, nighttime programming and a donation-match program.
Big news!
Madeline Fretz - Hi, Sproutlets. It's me, Maddie. Today, I have some news - since 2020, this site has been a part of Blogger/Blogspot. ...
-
Madeline Fretz - In 2019, the TV Media Fan and Expert (formerly King NOGGIN) was founded. The channel uploads "rare" clips from c...
-
Madeline Fretz - Hi, Sproutlets. It's me, Maddie. Today, I have some news - since 2020, this site has been a part of Blogger/Blogspot. ...
-
Image from 2020. Madeline Fretz - While Parents and Kids Share Together is mainly a Sprout fan blog, I do write some non-Sprout posts on ...