Madeline Fretz - With posts about HiT Entertainment and Sesame Workshop's Sprout histories, I knew I just had to write one about the history of PBS and Sprout. Okay, Sproutlets and Sprout fans, enjoy!
In the Sesame Workshop post, I wrote about how Sprout's history traces back to when the Workshop (then known as the Children's Television Workshop) and Nickelodeon launched NOGGIN in 1999. It's safe to say that, without NOGGIN, there would have never been Sprout. Oh, and on the first post on my old Sprout blog, I said: "This could be owned by Noggin"
In response to NOGGIN, PBS, which previously had children's television programming in PTV Park, launched a 24-hour channel consisting of its children's programming known as PBS Kids. PBS Kids launched on September 6th, 1999, but was unsuccessful.
In June 2004 (source), it was announced that PBS, HiT Entertainment, Sesame Workshop, and Comcast were making a new children's channel together. In early 2005, Comcast announced the new channel was to be called PBS Kids Sprout, and was to launch on Comcast on Demand in April. Perfect name, but may get people confused with regular PBS Kids.
PBS Kids Sprout on Demand had 55 hours of preschool programming from PBS, HiT, and Sesame Workshop - you could rewind, fast-forward, and watch your favorite shows anytime! Children's Favorites was a category containing lesser-known, but still pretty popular, shows. To promote the brand's launch, a launch party was held in San Fransisco's Yerba Buena Gardens.
After months of preparation, PBS Kids Sprout launched as a 24-hour digital cable channel on September 26th, 2005. The new channel replaced the 24-hour PBS Kids channel, which was re-launched in early 2017, and some PBS stations even shut down their kids' programming and redirected to PBS Kids Sprout. The last show to air on PBS Kids was ZOOM (which I have a blog dedicated to), while the first show to air on Sprout was Boohbah at 6AM ET.
Most of PBS' preschool programming at the time also aired on Sprout - from older favorites like Thomas & Friends and Sesame Street to newer shows like George Shrinks and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat. For a full list of air programs, click here. Two short episodes of a series were combined into a full half-hour episode with an interstitial in between them, probably due to attention spans.
To promote Sprout, commercials and image spots for the channel aired in between shows on PBS stations, including the three above videos and the one at the top of this post. "Sprout supports your local PBS station." Similarily, Sprout and its website were constantly being promoted on PBS Kids'.
However, in the early 2010s, things started to change. As you probably know by now, Comcast acquired NBCUniversal, which would later acquire all things Comcast, Sesame Workshop sold its interest in Sprout to Comcast, HiT Entertainment was acquired by Apax Funds, and PBS lost the rights to Sprout.
In November 2013, the PBS Kids branding was taken out of the Sprout channel's name, leaving the brand to simply be called "Sprout." Despite this, several PBS programs would remain on Sprout until the channel turned ten on September 26th, 2015, with the exceptions of Caillou and The Berenstain Bears. Sesame Street aired for the first few months of the third generation, but stopped airing in November due to Sesame Workshop's then-new deal with HBO.
However, Space Racers, which originated on select PBS stations, premiered on Sprout in 2016, and probably no longer airs on Universal Kids, The Berenstain Bears stopped airing on TV once Universal Kids launched, and Caillou stopped airing on Universal Kids on March 31st, 2019, ten years after Jakers! stopped airing on Sprout and two years after The Good Night Show dissolved.
PBS may no longer own the Sprout brand, but it left behind a lasting impact.
Click here to relaunch in early 2017 on the Parents and Kids Share Together forum!
Star has been a part of The Good Night Show ever since 2006. Let’s take a look at how he’s evolved over the years.
The character first appeared in the second season, which premiered in July 2006, shortly before the Melanie Martinez PSA scandal the same month. In the first season, a character called Helping Hand appeared with Martinez in the Goodnight Tale segments, so it is unknown what happened to him when Star arrived. We all know Star would beg Nina for more time to stay up, and The Good Night Show was designed to help parents get kids ready for bed, so I wonder if he was added for that reason.
When Leo (Noel MacNeal's guest host) and Lucy were introduced the same year, Star stuck around and appeared with them. It it also unknown what happened to Star in between July (the month of the aforementioned scandal) and September (when Leo was introduced), as Hush the Fish showed viewers’ crafts and drawings in between shows during that time.
This is probably what happened; him appearing in split-screen credits. The above video is probably from Leo's tenure though.
When Nina (Michele Lepe) was introduced at the near end of 2006, Star stuck around, and this was the start of a beautiful friendship. Star would do everything with her - from crafts and craft stories to Goodnight Games, and constantly ask her to stay up a little longer. He had a pet rock named Wilbur and a couple of fish, including one named Samuel Fishington Eugene Oceanic. Star also sang the "Ready for Bed" song, which was about brushing your teeth and washing your face before bed.
In 2007's fourth season, Star's puppet was given an update, and became less creepy.
In his previous two seasons, Star slept on the chair or couch in the final link.
Not anymore! Starting with Season 4, Star would now sleep in a hammock, getting a nice cozy sleeping space all to himself. With this, Nina got a whole couch to herself.
…and he does again in a scene from my upcoming Sprout fanfic.
The puppet was once again updated for 2009's fifth season, and resembled the one from the fourth season. In the episode themed around "Parents," Star revealed he had a toy star called Little Star, and pretended to be his father. Other than that, nothing much changed for the character.
The puppet was given another update for 2011's sixth season, and was given eyelids. Needless to say, this puppet looked a bit creepy.
Starting with this season, Star would now host the "Talking to Sproutlets" segments, in which he would talk with his Sproutlet friends about the episode's topic. Who could blame Caroll Spinney (Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street)? Puppets talking to kids was all HIS idea - as that happened on Sesame Street several times in the classic years.
Star also appeared in animated form in Nina's World, an animated prequel to The Good Night Show which premiered in 2015. Now, in The Good Night Show, Star is portrayed as a child (he was revealed to be four years old in one episode), and Nina is an adult, and in Nina's World, he is also portrayed as a child, and Nina is a kid. Geez! Nina aged but Star didn’t. Boy, how time flies?
Click here to talk to kids on the Parents and Kids Share Together forum.
Hi, Sproutlets! I will continue to expand this from time to time as I find more Sproutacular information.
September 6, 1999: PBS launches the short-lived 24-hour PBS KIDS channel, in an effort to compete with NOGGIN (now Nick Jr. as of 2009).
October 20, 2004: PBS, Sesame Workshop, HiT Entertainment, and Comcast announce plans to launch an on-demand service for preschoolers and a companion 24-hour digital linear channel. (Cite)
April 5, 2005: A formal groundbreaking takes place in the form of the VOD service. Parents could pause, fast forward and rewind the shows so their children could enjoy favorite scenes as many times as they’d like. (Cite)
September 26, 2005: The Sprout channel and its website (then called sproutletsgrow.com) launch to the public.
September 28, 2005: Kimberly-Clark's HUGGIES and Pull-Ups are announced as the sponsors for PBS KIDS Sprout. Kimberly-Clark explored the use of the on TV, online and VOD technologies to initiate Huggies and Pull-Ups cross-promotional content opportunities with viewers of the network. (Cite)
July 14, 2006: TVN Entertainment Corp. and PBS KIDS Sprout extend their partnership with a then-new VOD agreement. TVN provided distribution and asset management services for all the shows. Sprout used up online data from TVN’s ADONISS 2 platform and Provider Remote Interface (PRI) toolset to track and monitor on-demand programs and update metadata on a web basis. (Cite)
August 14, 2006: Melanie Martinez gets unfairly fired from The Good Night Show, after the block's crew discovered her in a Technical Virgin PSA called "Future." The block went on hiatus until they could find a new host (Michele Lepe joined as Nina in December 2006). (Cite)
September 18, 2006: Sprout launches its first webseries, Sprout Diner, and a series of interstitials featuring Sparkle the Fire Safety Dog.
September 26, 2006: Sprout celebrates its first anniversary. Leo (Noel MacNeal) guest hosts The Good Night Show until the new host is found. (Cite)
July 23, 2007: Sprout launches The Let's Go Show. (Cite)
September 26, 2007: Sprout launches Musical Mornings with Coo and The Sunny Side Up Show. The latter of which was a live block. Also premiering was a new season of the Good Night Show and Play With Me Sesame, a Sesame Street spin-off originating from NOGGIN. (Cite)
2008: Sprout launches "Sprout Please!" (a throwback to "I Want My MTV" from the 80s), a campaign to request for Sprout in your home. Commercials included kids and characters saying the title, and one was set to Elizabeth Mitchell's cover of "Three Little Birds."
2008: Sprout launches "Pajanimals," a musical interstitial series from the Jim Henson Company and Sixteen South.
January 16, 2008: Sprout launches a content-driven initiative called "Sprout Smart," to help Sproutlets and Grown-Up Sprouts establish an early foundation of healthy habits.. The initiative was sponsored by Motts for Tots. (Cite)
May 1, 2008: Sprout launches The Sprout Sharing Show. Premiering with the block is PICMe, a personalized Irish cartoon. (Cite)
September 23, 2008: Sprout partners with the Pajama Program to launch "The Great Sprout Tuck-In," extending their "good night mission" with The Good Night Show and also encouraging families to give. Sprout collected books and pajamas to give to the Pajama Program and then they would be distributed to children in need. (Cite)
August 24, 2009: Wiggly Waffle launches, hosted by The Wiggles.
September 21, 2009: Yet another Good Night Show season and Rubbadubbers, of Nick Jr. and CBeebies premiere. Sprout and its on-demand service unveiled a new look, designed by the company Trace Pictures and Justin Stephenson.
September 26, 2010: Sprout begins investing in original programming with the debut of Noodle and Doodle.
July 7, 2011: Sprout launches its "Kindness Counts" initiative, including PSAs, digital and social media components, programming tie-ins and local extensions
September 26, 2011: Sprout debuts a full-length series based on its Pajanimals interstitials. (Cite)
October 24, 2011: Poppy Cat debuts on the channel.
February 14, 2012: The Super Sproutlet Show launches, with host Bean appearing on the Sunny Side Up Show. (Cite)
March 28, 2012: Sprout helps NBC launch its "NBC Kids" block for children, which includes many shows from the channel. (Cite)
June 20, 2012: Wibbly Pig, 64 Zoo Lane, and Olive the Ostrich launch on a new season of The Good Night Show, which now takes place in the "You + Me Tree."
August 24, 2012: Sprout partners with Produce for Kids and appears on the display unit in the produce section, featuring shows like LazyTown. (Cite)
November 2012: The Chica Show premieres and becomes Sprout's highest rated original series to date.
November 24, 2012: A Sprout float debuts in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
December 12, 2012: Sprout hits record ratings across its competitors, with an average total day household coverage area 0.23 rating / 122k homes. (Cite)
April 22, 2013: Sprout announces the additions of Sing It, Laurie!, Ruff-Ruff, Tweet, and Dave, Tree Fu Tom, Boj, and Lily's Driftwood Bay following a second season of The Chica Show. (Cite)
July 30, 2013: Sprout begins a Sunny Side Up Show "Host Hunt" audition contest. (Cite)
September 19, 2013: Sprout extends its Kindness Counts initiative by starting a contest called "The Kindest Kid," where a kind Sproutlet who enters full rules on sproutonline.com becomes the channel's Chief Kindness Officer (CKO) for a day and visits the set of The Sunny Side Up Show.
November 1, 2013: Sprout reaches over 60 million homes with a multi market launch including New York and LA. (Cite)
November 13, 2013: Comcast's NBCUniversal acquires a full ownership of Sprout, following a buyout of PBS, Sesame Workshop, and HiT Entertainment. As a result of this, the PBS Kids branding is no longer in the channel's name. (Cite)
June 2014: Sprout launches Astroblast!, based on a series of children's books by Bob Kolar. A live broadcast of The Good Night Show takes place in the set of The Sunny Side Up Show.
September 26, 2015: Sprout rebrands for its 10th anniversary, including Nina's World and Sydney Sailboat, The Sunny Side Up Show gets a shortened name and moves to a city,and the channel drops all PBS shows except Caillou and The Berenstain Bears. It is unknown why both shows continued to air past 2015.
Sprout was an instant cable-and-VOD success among kids and families. But, they had to make a few changes.
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.
On September 21st, Sprout rebranded to feature new idents, promos, and block themes, coinciding with the new Good Night Show season. A few shows joined (such as Rubbadubbers), causing ones that have been there on launch day to be dropped.
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.
Also in 2012, Sprout and NBCUniversal launched a Saturday morning programming block for children called NBC Kids. The block lasted until 2016, when The More You Know launched.
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.
Madeline Fretz - NBCUniversal is big: it has many networks (NBC1, NBC2, NBC3, NBC4, NBC News, NBC Sports, Universal Kids, and the upcoming Peacock streaming service), launched in 1926. But PBS is also a growing company - it has different stations with their own schedules in each state, launched in 1970. Meanwhile, Sesame Workshop and Mattel's HiT Entertainment are both owners of growing children's brands (from Sesame Street and Dragon Tales to Thomas and Bob the Builder).
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.
So, here is the history of Sprout.
In October 2004, rumors started circulating about PBS and Comcast together launching a 24/7 cable brand for kids alongside an on-demand service which offered 50+ hours of programming, allowing kids to choose whatever shows they want any time of day, according to articles like this one. The key people of each company had this to say about the then-upcoming service:
"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."
In April of next year, Comcast itself announced the new channel would be called PBS Kids Sprout. I don't know why they chose that name. According to the channel's former president Sandy Wax, "Launching the video-on-demand channel first was a good way to get the word out and get the brand out." (according to https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2005/12/saluting-sprouts-launch-pbs-sp/). At launch, PBS Kids Sprout was available for no additional charge in Comcast markets with VOD service and is being brought to viewers in association with local PBS stations. Well-known shows were in its own categories, but there was one for lesser-knowns like Boohbah and Kipper called "Children's Favourites." The VOD service also featured Spanish dubs as well as Sesame Street's co-production Plaza Sesamo. Once again, the owners of each company had this to say about the VOD service.
"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."
On September 26th, 2005, after months of preparation, the four companies finally launched the 24/7 digital linear channel alongside its website, which was then called Sproutletsgrow.com!
As a result, the 24/7 PBS Kids channel, as well as many local PBS Kids stations, shut down and redirected to PBS Kids Sprout.
At that time, the channel had presenters, similar to CBeebies in the UK. At launch day, there was Melanie Martinez (who was fired the following year for appearing in an inappropriate PSA) and Kevin Yamada (the voice of Rexy on Caillou). The former presented The Good Night Show, a block with slow-paced programming, educational themes, stretches, and crafts helping kids get ready to sleep, while the latter presented The Birthday Show, a segment which featured sent-in birthday cards and recipes. It later became a block in 2006.
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.
The idents for the channel were designed by a company called Primal Screen, who later did idents for PBS Kids and Cartoon Network. These idents were meant to resemble a classic children's picture book, and followed the typical day of a preschooler (Breakfast, Bathtime, Bedtime etc), and often featured Sprout characters (Caillou, Bob the Builder, Elmo etc).
One of the sponsors for the new network was Kimberly-Clark's Huggies.
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.
Also in that year, Bright House Networks Digital Cable (now Spectrum) acquired Sprout.
Sprout also launched a new campaign called "Sprout Please," which encouraged people to ask for Sprout in their neighborhood by calling 1-866-9-SPROUT. One promo featured Elizabeth Mitchell's cover of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds..
Sprout teamed up with Mott's for Tots to promote "Sprout Smart," focusing on Healthy Living and Nutrition. “With the multitude of messages that parents are regularly exposed to regarding their child’s development, we know that it can be overwhelming to families with preschoolers,” said Eileen Diskin, vice president of marketing for PBS KIDS Sprout. “Sprout Smart offers expert guidance in the form of fun and credible tips, tools and resources that are easily accessible to parents and meaningful to preschoolers.”
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.
Madeline Fretz - The Sunny Side Up Show was a morning block which featured Chica, a chicken puppet, and a live adult host. It aired live from 2007 until 2017.
When Sprout launched in 2005, it featured a block called The Birthday Show, where presenter Kevin Yamada read birthday cards from viewers and shared party recipes.
In 2007, SVP of programming Andrew Beecham knew he wanted a live show, so Sprout producers, including Betsy Oliphant-Ross, talked about creating one that focused on different themes and encouraged viewers to submit content. They played around with names before finally settling on The Sunny Side Up Show.
And on September 26th that year (according to sources like this), The Sunny Side Up Show launched, presented by Chica, Yamada, Sean Roach, and Kelly Vrooman in the "Sunshine Barn", with a special preview airing earlier, guest starring Big Bird from Sesame Street, here played by Muppets Most Wanted's Matt Vogel.
Each week had a theme, including "Fall", "Animals", "Construction", and "Opposites". The weeks followed a similar format - including games, songs, stories, birthday wishes, and material sent in by viewers (similar to the PBS series ZOOM, which never aired on Sprout).
One popular segment was the online Barnyard Boogie Dance game, where a viewer would dance with a host and the host would try to copy the moves. In 2013, it was replaced by a new segment called "Sproutlet Stories," where Chica and a host would act out a story.
Another segment was "Dress Chica," where the presenter would dress Chica up in various costumes related to what the viewers chose.
In 2012, the block got its own spin-off series called The Chica Show. 2 original seasons featuring Kelly, Chica's parents, and the popular chicken were produced. Also, Kelly, Chica, and original characters Stitches (Mario Lopez (who guest starred on Sunny)) and Bunji (John Taylor) got a toon transformation. Despite the series continuing until December 2014, both Chica and Vrooman would still be on The Sunny Side Up Show. Vrooman left Sprout on December 22, 2013 after a Kindest Kid special.
Yet another segment was "Good Egg Awards" (formerly "Farm Talk"), where the presenter would congratulate a viewer for doing something good.
The hosts also read birthday cards and wishes sent in via SproutOnline.com and delivered to them by Mr. Mailman. The birthday segments, which also aired during The Good Night Show as "Today's Birthdays," featured an original birthday song you can view above.
The Sunny Side Up Show was an instant success, and had more than 120 viewer submissions. Wow, what a success!
The show has had many hosts over the years, including:
In 2015, during the third generation rebrand, the block moved from the Sunshine Barn to a city loft with touch screens and name-shortened to "Sunny Side Up." Most of the segments were removed, except "Sprout Today," "Kindness Counts," and the Birthday Wishes. To me, SSU didn't feel enjoyable to watch during that time.
In 2017, the crew thought the live formatting was too much, so they decided to replace the block with "Sprout House" (later "Snug's House"), which featured a dog puppet named Snug and former Sunny host Carly Ciarrocchi. Chica made occasional appearances on Sprout House in segments such as "Chica at School."
These fans are obviously referring to The Good Night Show, an evening block with calm-natured programming designed for viewers ready to go to sleep. It aired from 6PM to 9PM ET, with two repeats throughout the rest of the night at 9PM and midnight.
The block was created because after 6PM, most kids channels signed off for the night and blocks for teenagers and adults would air instead. Sprout saw this as a great opportunity to air content for preschoolers at the time when there isn't any on other channels, and parents said their kids want to stay up past their bedtimes, and WHAM! The Good Night Show was born. (source)
The original Good Night Show, which launched amongst Sprout on September 26th, 2005, was hosted by Melanie Martinez with her fish, Hush, who was meant to introduce shows like Pingu and Big Sister, Little Brother, and Helping Hand, who appeared in Goodnight Tale segments. Martinez did crafts, stretches, told stories, and introduced shows. Star was introduced when the short-lived second season premiered a year later in July.
It turned out Melanie was in a PSA from the early 2000s.
In 2006, the producers of The Good Night Show saw this when Melanie told them about it. This led to her being fired and the block being on hiatus until they could find a new host.
When the block came back in September that year, Noel MacNeal (from Bear in the Big Blue House and Between the Lions) guest hosted as "Leo" while they were still holding auditions. He introduced "Lucy", a new firefly character.
In December, Michele Lepe auditioned and won the role of Nina, the permanent host. Nina was introduced on December 18th, around the time Sproutletsgrow.com became SproutOnline.com.
In the fourth season, which premiered on September 26th, 2007, Nina's Sproutlet friends joined in with stretches and sign language, and Lucy started in a new segment called "Lucy Light the Way."
The fifth season started on September 21st, 2009, the day of Sprout's rebrand, and to promote, Nina appeared on The Sunny Side Up Show for New Adventures Week. The HiT Entertainment show Rubbadubbers made its Sprout debut on that night.
In 2011, the block entered the You & Me Tree, and introduced "Sandy Stories," Star started talking to kids, Nina got new pajamas, and a new Clean Up song. New shows was also introduced, Poppy Cat and the half-hour version of Jim Henson's Pajanimals, which debuted as musical interstitials on Sprout in 2008.
Season 7 premiered on August 27th, 2012, and introduced 64 Zoo Lane, Olive the Ostrich, and Wibbly Pig. Neither show was on Sprout very long.
In 2015, the block got a spin-off called "Nina's World" about Nina's life as a kid. Prior to the show's usual airing, Nina told stories about her childhood in the present day. The eighth season started on July 27th, 2015.
In 2017, the block was done away with. This was probably because of Universal Kids underway.
On Christmas Eve from 2007 to 2015, the block hosted a "Snooze-A-Thon" (formally "A Good Night of Sweet Dreams") with featured characters sleeping in order to convince kids to go to sleep.
Parts of the show I found on YouTube were "The Nurdle Durdle" (sponsored by Aquafresh) and "La La Lullaby" both which aired after the block ended at 9:00.
Today Universal Kids has no bedtime programming blocks, but the memories of Nina and Star (and Melanie, Hush, Lucy, and Leo) calming you with their calm, consistent personalities will never fade.
