Madeline Fretz - Every day, I go on YouTube and search "PBS Kids Sprout" videos under "this week." Most videos are either ones of regular PBS Kids or of Sprout content I’ve seen before. Well, today, Enoch Boateng the PBS Kid posted a video of something Sprout-related I hadn't seen before. Behold, what appears to be a PBS image spot for Sprout using "Come On, Let's Grow!."
This promo probably aired on PBS stations, and appears to be from a PBS commercial break. The promo features "Come On, Let's Grow," except it features clips of real kids (and Nina and Star) with a screenbug of the Sprout logo instead of real kids and Sprout characters in the storybook-like world of the first generation. The song is also shortened in the promo as well.
Anyways, it's nice to see a rare Sprout rarity pop up on YouTube today. I hope we find more rare stuff soon!
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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!
Madeline Fretz -Space Racers is a show that, beginning as a webseries called Space Race in 2011, premiered on PBS stations in 2014, with the first season being produced by Maryland Public Television.
The show premiered on Sprout on October 31st, 2016, Halloween, a few years after most PBS shows quit airing on the channel and PBS Kids was removed from the channel's name in 2013.
To promote the show's launch, Carly and Chica from Sunny Side Up sang this pretty catchy Marc Cantone song called "Space Facts."
According to the show's PBS Kids Sprout TV Wiki page, the show continues to air on Universal Kids. However, I don't know about this…
(Two things - 1. I know I'm copying from my "Caillou Leaves PBS Kids" post from a year ago, about another animated CINAR show that aired on PBS, and 2. Arthur never aired on Sprout, but still, there’s a bit of Sprout in there. Despite these statements, please enjoy)
Madeline Fretz - Dear friends, today is the day kids of the 90s and 2000s cry. For a show they have watched and cherished for years is ending its almost unstoppable 25 year run, and all the memories it created are fading away. Arthur Read, a lovable bespectacled aardvark, and his family and friends, brought us on their many adventures in the all-anthropomorphic animal community of Elwood City, learning about such serious topics such as death, cancer, and asthma.
Now, I have heard of the show and the books beforehand, but it was when I was five years old(?) when I became a fan of the series. How? Well, one day, I was searching for "tooth fairy"-related videos on YouTube when I came across the episode "Attack of the Turbo Tibbles/D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy," and decided to watch it. As time went by, I started watching more episodes, both on YouTube and on PBS, and read the books more. Needless to say, I was hooked. It was also the place where I first heard of one of my favorite shows and another WGBH-produced PBS show - ZOOM. You see, stars Caroline Botelho and Kenny Yates from the third season gave a behind-the-scenes tour of their show in one episode. And while we're at it, please check out my ZOOMBlog, which I haven't posted on for months, but still.
As time went by, I abandoned Elwood City and moved on to these guys.
I entered first grade later that year and still admired the show. However, as time went by, I discovered an episode of the original Muppet Babies, leading to my obsession with the regular Muppets from The Muppet Show, and I rarely watched or read Arthur again. This was perfect timing, since it was around the time The Muppets released their eighth movie, Muppets Most Wanted.
But this post isn’t about The Muppets, so let’s move forward (or should I say, movin' right along?).
In 2019, back when I was in a CBeebies and Yo Gabba Gabba!-heavy phase, I decided to watch episodes of the show. In fact, I watched a lot of episodes and went on the wiki a lot, I felt like I was five again. I regularly quoted episodes, and even declared "Crazy Bus" as my favorite song.
I'm no longer obsessed with Arthur as I was back then, but I still occasionally check the series out. My favorite episode is "The Last of Mary Moo Cow" from Season 5. In that episode, D.W. starts a petition to bring back her favorite show when it gets taken off the air, she gets to visit its old studio, and it starts airing again in rerun form. Now, Sprout is to me what Mary is to D.W., so I'm sure a few people who used to work at Sprout have noticed my many petitions, will invite me to Comcast Center and/or Rockefeller, and bring back the channel or at least the brand. I talked about ways to make Sprout relevant again in a previous post. I'm working on a Sprout movie and have already contacted NBCUniversal as well as a few former Sprout employees, so it could actually happen.
To promote the 25th and final season, PBS Kids went out with a bang and aired a marathon of almost every episode ever of the series, leading up to four new episodes. Fear not. According to sources, new content outside of the main show featuring the characters will still be produced, so that will probably make old fans, some of whom have been with the show since the beginning, happy.
And I say hey, it's always a wonderful kind of day, thanks to Arthur and his friends. Where you can learn to walk and play, and get along with each other. Isn't it all that really matters?
Click here to have an original point of view on the Parents and Kids Share Together forum!
Sprouting a Seed: The four companies that founded Sprout.
Madeline Fretz - For several decades, PBS was the home of several shows produced or distributed by HiT Entertainment (Henson International Television) - including Barney & Friends (originally from The Lyons Group and then Lyrick Studios, based on the Barney and the Backyard Gang video series), Thomas & Friends (based on Wilbert Awdry's Railway Series, came to the US as part of a series called Shining Time Station), Bob the Builder, and Angelina Ballerina (based on a series of children's books). These shows aired as part of PBS' PBS Kids block and 24-hour channel. The channel launched on September 6th, 1999, but didn't find success.
In October 2004, PBS and HiT, along with Sesame Workshop, whose shows PBS aired for decades, and Comcast Corporation, entered a partnership and announced the launch of a 24-hour preschool channel featuring shows from their archive libraries. Similarily, Sesame Workshop, formerly the Children's Television Workshop, helped Nickelodeon launch its educational cable channel NOGGIN in 1999. NOGGIN became Nick Jr. in 2009, but returned in streaming app form in 2015. Comcast announced the channel's name would be PBS Kids Sprout in 2005.
HiT Entertainment also released a series of videos titled "HiT Favorites," which contained of themed episodes of the company's owned shows. In 2009, the Sprout Press Room announced that HiT and Sprout were partnering for a series of two videos titled "Let's Grow," after Sprout's original slogan. Lend a Helping Hand, which I wrote about on this blog, was released in 2010, while Safety First was released a year later in 2011.
As time went by, HiT Entertainment was acquired by the UK's Apax Funds, and sold its interest of Sprout to Comcast, shortly before the channel was fully acquired by NBCUniversal, which Comcast acquired itself in 2011. HiT was acquired by Mattel in America. Despite this, several of HiT's shows would continue to air on Sprout until 2015's 10th anniversary rebrand. However, HiT's seasons of Barney & Friends and Bob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build would air on Universal Kids for a period of time.
Madeline Fretz - Hi, Sproutlets. Welcome back to Parents and Kids Share Together. Yesterday, we looked at Sprout Might-Have-Beens, so today I’m going to teach you about the most popular misconceptions in Sprout history. Enjoy!
PBS Kids and Sprout are NOT the same thing!
When searching for Sprout content on websites like YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook, I come across photos and videos in which the titles are "Catherine's on PBS Kids," etc.
Now, PBS was one of the co-founders of Sprout along with Comcast, HiT Entertainment, and Sesame Workshop, the channel was called PBS Kids Sprout when it launched, and was "presented in part with your local PBS station," with Sprout commercials airing on PBS. When Sprout rebranded in 2009, the PBS Kids branding in the channel's logo was rarely featured in idents, promos, and even on SproutOnline.com.
Comcast acquired NBCUniversal in 2011, Apax Funds and Mattel acquired HiT Entertainment, and Sesame Workshop sold its interest of Sprout to Comcast in 2012. In 2013, NBCUniversal acquired full ownership of Sprout, so that meant the PBS Kids branding was finally dropped from the channel's name, although PBS shows continued to air on Sprout until the third generation rebranding in 2015 (the exceptions being Caillou and The Berenstain Bears). Bears stopped airing on Sprout shortly before the Universal Kids rebranding in 2017, and Caillou stopped airing on Universal Kids in 2019. However, the park seasons of Barney & Friends returned to Universal Kids in 2018 and Bob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build in 2019.
It is NOT The Good Morning Show!
Sprout's morning show was called The Sunny Side Up Show and later Sunny Side Up, not The Good Morning Show. I bet people call Sunny this because they think either it is a "sequel series" to The Good Night Show or thinking the two blocks are the same thing. A few months ago, I wrote a post on this blog comparing The Sunny Side Up Show and The Good Night Show, and Sunny was the winner.
NO misnaming!
As a Sprout fan, I've often seen people misspelling Chica's name as "Chicka." UGH! How many times did I have to tell you - her name is "Chica," not "Chicka!" Same goes to other characters, such as Patty being named "Patti" and Banjo being named "Bandit."
They're NOT the same thing!
Everywhere you look, a lot of post-2012 Sunny Side Up Show photos, videos, comments on YouTube videos, and articles on the internet have it known as The Chica Show. Now, I better tell these misnaming people something. There is a difference between Sunny and Chica. The former is a live morning show that launched in 2007 that focuses on a different theme each week through stuff like birthday cards, games, songs, pictures, and artwork, while the latter is an original series that premiered in 2012 that is about Chica helping her parents and Kelly in the Costume Coop. She deals with typical preschool problems in the shop every day, which she solves by going on animated adventures.
So there you have it, Sproutlets! Some of the most popular Sprout Misnomers. If I remember any others, I’ll update the post and write about them here. Buy! Whoops! I meant to say "Bye!" (Ha!)
Click here to say a character's name wrong on the Parents and Kids Share Together forum!
Madeline Fretz - Here is a list of Sprout material that was going to be made, but never was.
ZOOM was a PBS series made by WGBH Boston that ran from 1999 to 2005, based on a 1970s children's show of the same name. The show was cancelled in 2004, but in 2006, series producer Marcy Guthner emailed a fan, telling him that WGBH was thinking of putting ZOOM on the then-fledgling new Sprout channel. There was one problem though - Sprout was aimed at two to five year olds, ZOOM was aimed at six to eleven year olds, so I think that's the reason why plans backfired. However, the show was promoted online as being a part of PBS' PBS Kids GO! block, but never aired. (source)
In 2014, Yummico made appisodes with possibility of a series for Sprout called Edison the Invention Detective, about a mystery-solving girl. Edison never came to fruition. (source)
Similarly, once Sprout launched in 2005, it was announced Andrew Beecham, Meredith Halpern-Ranzer, and Susan Karden were making interstitials about geography, healthy eating, music, and creative storytelling. The geography series would obviously become The Many Adventures of Mr. Mailman, and the healthy eating one would obviously become Sprout Diner. As for the music and creative storytelling interstitials, it is unknown if they came to fruition or even exist.
According to this article on SproutOnline.com, The Chica Show was going to take place in a farmers' market and focus on healthy eating and nutrition.
According to president Sandy Wax, Sprout was going to have an aquatic and marine animal-themed programming block sponsored by SeaWorld (source). I don't know why this failed, as SeaWorld was one of Sprout’s sponsors at the time. The article was published a few months before the launch of The Sprout Sharing Show, so I assume the SeaWorld block might've became the Sharing Show.
Anyways, I think that's it. If I find any more possibilities that never were, I'll post them here.
Click here to make interstitials on the Parents and Kids Share Together forum!
Based on the books by Stan and Jan Berenstain, The Berenstain Bears is a Canadian cartoon series about a family of bears that learn morals or safety-related lessons. The series was produced by Nelvana and aired on PBS.
The series was one of many PBS shows that aired on Sprout when the channel launched on September 26th, 2005, and aired every night during The Good Night Show.
Sprout also aired a marathon of episodes once original book author Stan Berenstain died, and a Father's Day marathon in 2006 called "Papa Bear's Day Celebration."
The show also got a Sprout Diner recipe called Berenstain Bears' Breakfast Oatmeal.
Along with Caillou, the series was one of two PBS shows that survived the third generation rebrand. However, it stopped airing in 2017, shortly before the launch of Universal Kids.
Dear friends, today is the day Children of the 2000s, 2010s, and even late 90s cry. Not only the loss of one show, but the death of the memories it created. The memories that they made and kept with them to this day, for it was Caillou that made us who joined him on his adventures who we are today.
I grew up watching Caillou, and how I agonize over how to thank him for those memories. Perhaps, with a chocolate cake for him, his friends, Gilbert, and Rosie. Or perhaps, a musical performance for him and his friends and family. But all that was dashed, as after 20 years, PBS' broadcasting rights to the show finally reached their expiration date. The show left Universal Kids (formerly Sprout) after 13 years on March 31, 2019. But the time for sorrow passed. Don't worry, you can still watch on Amazon Prime, YouTube, or a DVD.
UPDATE: The show is coming to Cartoon Network as part of its Cartoonito preschool block. However, many people are unhappy with the decision.
Super WHY! was a CGI interactive cartoon starring fairy tale characters becoming superheroes and solving problems in books to find "Super letters" whenever they have a problem themselves and need a moral to solve it. The show aired on Sprout from 2011 to September 26, 2015.
Since the show was an hour long, the SSU hosts danced to the theme song.
Because Sprout invested in acquired shows in 2010 (Chloe's Closet) and this show was from PBS (one of the channel's 4 founders), the show didn't hold up too well on the channel, and was one of the shows to be dropped during the rebrand.
Madeline Fretz - Bob the Builder was a British stop-motion show airing on PBS about a man and his machines building things. The show had two sequels - Ready, Steady, Build and Project: Build It. The show aired on Sprout from September 26, 2005 to September 26, 2015, as HiT Entertainment was one of the channel's founders.
Can We Build It? Yes We Can! Bob the Builder and his machine team are ready to tackle any project. Bob and the Can-Do Crew demonstrate the power of positive- thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and follow-through. Most importantly, they always show that The Fun Is In Getting It Done!
The show had a Sprout Diner recipe; Bob's Build Me Up Berry Shake.
The Christmas special; Bob the Builder: Snowed Under aired on Sprout during Elmo's Movie Merry-then in 2010 and 2011.
The show left Sprout during the rebrand, but returned to Universal Kids in 2019.
NOTE: Both PBS Kids and Sprout also aired a spin-off/reboot called The Next Steps (not to be confused with the Canadian show that aired when Sprout became Universal Kids) which was in CGI.
Madeline Fretz -Angelina Ballerina was a British cartoon based on a children's book, produced by HiT Entertainment (who also produced Barney & Friends, Bob the Builder, and Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends), and aired on PBS. It was about a little mouse named Angelina (and I don't mean Jolie) learning to dance. The show aired on Sprout from September 26, 2005 to September 26, 2015, as HiT was one of the channel's founders.
The show had a Sprout Diner recipe; Angelina's Ballet Slippers.
Madeline Fretz - Caillou was a Canadian cartoon airing on PBS about a boy playing at home, going to school and on his outings. However, the show was largely hated due to the main character's whining. The show aired on Sprout and then Universal Kids from September 26, 2005 to March 31, 2019, but it is unknown why the show survived both the 10th anniversary and the Universal Kids launch even though it was a PBS show.
Caillou is a wide-eyed four-year-old who learns about life - one adventure at a time! From his own backyard to his very first airplane ride, Caillou discovers the wonder and excitement of being a little boy in a very big world.
When one episode aired on Sprout, the "hate" in "I Hate Baseball" was edited out because Sprout didn't like curse words.
The show also had a Sprout Diner recipe, Caillou's Crunchy Carrot Salad.
The show also had a Grandparents' Day marathon, featuring messages from Sproutlets to their grandparents.
Madeline Fretz - Barney & Friends was a show based on a series of videos that aired on PBS from 1992 to 2009. The show featured a group of kid actors coming to visit a schoolhouse run by a purple dinosaur and his dino friends Baby Bop, BJ, and Riff to solve a problem or learn something new. The show has been largely hated, even inspiring a Bashing club in the 90s. The show is notable for launching the careers of Disney Channel's Selena Gomez (Gianna) and Demi Lovato (Angela), which should go on any "Celebrities who were on kids shows before they were famous" list. The show aired on Sprout from September 26, 2005 to 2015, as HiT Entertainment was one of the channel's founders.
Purple, fun-loving and happy, Barney is not your typical dinosaur. He's a huggable, lovable 200 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex. Barney, and his DINO-mite friends BJ and Baby Bop, help parents give their children the range of skills they need to grow, and always do it with lots of fun, music and laughs.
Barney has had many appearances on The Sunny Side Up Show to begin with. He first appeared in 2007 for Thanksgiving with Nina. He also appeared with Sean in the St. Valentine's Day blockisode from 2009, Dinosaurs Week with Kelly in 2010, Valentine's Day 2011 (again), and Thanksgiving Week with Liz and Chica. Riff also appeared once.
That Purple Wonder also had a Sprout Diner recipe; Barney's Purple Hummus Dip.
Barney's Holiday Movie and Barney's Christmas Star have also been on Sprout in 2010 and 2011 for "Elmo's Movie Merry-thon." A reboot was supposed to happen once 9 Story Media Group acquired the show, but was unfinished.
The show left Sprout for the rebrand, however, it returned to Universal Kids in December 2018.
Madeline Fretz - Make Way for Noddy was a British stop-motion children's show airing on PBS and based on Enid Blyton's preschool character, and was a staple on Sprout since launch day.
Make Way for Noddy features the adventures of Noddy, a little wooden boy with a nodding head and jingly blue hat whose innocent enthusiasm leads him into all kinds of tricky situations.
Originally, The Noddy Shop was going to air on Sprout, but MWFN aired instead.
The show had a Sprout Diner recipe: Noddy's Apple Car Delight. Unlike the other Diner shorts, Noddy's request came in by balloon instead of phone call.
The show aired on The Sprout Sharing Show.
The show left Sprout a few months before the rebrand. It originally left in June 2010 to "make way" (get it?) for Nina's Little Fables, which debuted around the time, but returned in 2012.
Before I talk about the Sprout Channel Cubby, lemme talk about the PBS Kids Playtime Pad.
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.
The tablet came with episodes and songs of Sprout shows and blocks, as well as printables and apps, including the Crayola original Color, Draw, and Sing and the Sunny Side Up Show Weather Reports, which were usually sent in to the block. The tablet had the same safe play environment the channel had.
Best of all, the tablet could go with kids anywhere. The Sprout Channel Cubby got discontinued in 2015.
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.
