Advanced Television

Sky launching ad-free Sky Kids channel

November 22, 2022

By Nik Roseveare

Sky will launch a new Sky Kids linear channel in February 2023. The channel, aimed at children aged 1-7, will be home to commercial-free, 24-hour programming, and will showcase Sky Originals and known names at no extra cost to Sky Kids customers and NOW entertainment members.

Lucy Murphy, Director of Kids Content at Sky, commented: “We’re so excited to announce the launch of our brand-new linear channel. Millions of our customers already love watching our huge range of Original shows on-demand but families with younger kids have told us that watching on linear channels is an important part of their day; so, we’ve listened and expanded our Sky Kids offering at no extra cost. The new channel will have a whole breadth of brand new and much-loved shows for kids and families to enjoy and we can’t wait to reveal the full fantastic line-up of shows.”

The channel’s programming will be built to complement different blocks of the day. Content will span themes of learning and doing, arts and crafts, music, dance and fitness, and much more, with a raft of new Sky Originals set to air. This includes Fearne Cotton executive producing My Friend Misty, which sees animated character Misty set out to build kids emotional resilience. Misty surprises a group of children in the show with magical visits, helping them to deal with their feelings both good and bad by providing a series of tips and practical exercises to support them in difficult situations.

Cotton said: “I’m very excited for you all to meet My Friend Misty. This show will introduce us to a host of characters and situations where differing emotions crop up. Misty is always on hand to help the children in the show through their emotion, whilst causing a little mischief along the way. It’s a fun, colourful and explorative show for both kids and parents. It’s a very exciting first Happy Place co-production”.

Also launching as a new Sky Original is Ready, Eddie, Go!, based on the loveable character Eddie who is autistic. The animated series is based on books (Eddie’s Stories) written by award-winning author, Nikki Saunders, also well known in the SEN (special educational needs) community and whose eldest son is autistic.

And Dino Club, giving viewers the chance to discover the strangest and most surprising truths about dinosaurs, as they journey through  virtual land of these pre-historic giants.

Further titles include Trolls: TrollsTopia, Where’s Wally, Madagascar a Little Wild, Lego and Clifford The Big Red Dog, new learning shows such as 123 Number Squad!, as well as  some existing Sky Kids Originals; MC Grammar: Wonder Raps, Pip and Posy, The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, Morph, The Very Small Creatures and more.

Seamlessly integrated into the Sky Kids package which already offers 10,000 episodes of kids’ content on demand and a variety of partner channels such as Nick Jr. Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, the new linear channel will give viewers access to a raft of new content all at no added extra cost for customers with the Sky Kids package. Existing Sky customers can upgrade to the Sky Kids package for £6 a month. Members of streaming service NOW will also be able to access the new channel as part of its £9.99 Entertainment Membership.

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