Sky Kids is launching a new linear channel in February 2023, for children under seven and their families.
Home to ad-free 24-hour programming, the new channel will showcase quality Sky Originals, for Sky Kids customers and Now entertainment members.
The channel will feature programming 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 brand-new Sky Originals set to air, including shows from Hillside, Hocus Pocus and True to Nature.
Lucy Murphy, director of Kids Content at Sky said: “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.”
Hillside productions, part of CTVC is behind My Friend Misty, to be executive produced by Fearne Cotton, alongside Ian Holt. My Friend Misty (age 5-7) 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. Directed by Will Brenton. The commissioning editor at Sky Kids is Ian France.
Fearne 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 next year as a new Sky Original is Ready, Eddie, Go! (age 3+), from Hocus Pocus Productions. Launching in October 2023, the show is based on the loveable character Eddie who is autistic. We see him taken step by step through new experiences and situations such as a trip to the barbers, so when he encounters this in real life, he’s ready to go. 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. Executive producers are James Murphy and Nikki Saunders.
And True to Nature’s Dino Club (age 4+), giving viewers the chance to discover the strangest and most surprising truths about dinosaurs, as they journey through a fantastically fun virtual land of these pre-historic giants. Our young intrepid hosts, Ayo and Harriet, time travel into the past to reveal facts along the way and have an amazing adventure. Executive producer is Wendy Darke and series producer is Adam Oldroyd.
The commissioning editor for all three shows at Sky Kids is Ian France.
The channel will also include franchises such as Trolls: TrollsTopia (5+), Where’s Wally (5+), Madagascar a Little Wild (5+), LEGO (1+) and Clifford The Big Red Dog (3+), new learning shows such as 123 Number Squad! (3+), as well as seeing some of the existing most-loved Sky Kids Originals; MC Grammar: Wonder Raps (5+), Pip and Posy (2+), The Brilliant World of Tom Gates (6+), Morph (3+), The Very Small Creatures (2+) .
The Sky Kids package already offers 10,000 episodes of kids’ content on demand and a variety of partner channels such as Nick Jr., Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon,
Pippa Considine
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