On the heels of unveiling highlights of its upcoming animation slate, U.K. channel Sky Kids has announced it is transitioning to an all-licensed programming model, calling a stop to commissions for original content. Current productions in the pipeline will continue for the next two years, including 13 announced and unannounced titles.
“Sky Kids has built an extensive library of high-quality and award-winning original programming and third-party content that continues to engage and delight young audiences. With a strong pipeline of new original shows still to come, we now have a rich slate of content that allows us to evolve our strategy,” said Jamie Morris, Executive Director of Content Strategy & Performance.
“In the future Sky Kids will focus on acquiring third party content. While this means reviewing the number of roles required to deliver the next phase of our offer, we remain committed to bringing the very best in children’s entertainment to families across the U.K.”
Sky Kids’ current library includes roughly 150 original programs, including popular animated series Pip and Posy, 123 Number Squad, Happy Town, Ready Eddie Go!, The Very Small Creatures and mixed-media series Funny Talking Animals. Among its licensed offerings are The Pingu Show, Miffy, Simon, Isadora Moon and its upcoming sibling-series Emerald.
On Wednesday, the U.K.-based Children’s Media Foundation (CMF) released a statement on the channel’s decision, describing it as “depressing and short-sighted.” The missive acknowledges the challenges of the children’s content industry in Britain and across the globe, but urges Sky Kids to reconsider a course which will limit children’s entertainment choices with a focus on “high volume, cheaply made content.”
“This is not the time to give up on great U.K. content for UK kids. Just as we are working with government and platforms like YouTube to help children and young people find more personally and socially valuable content on video-sharing platforms, Sky is walking away from its kids’ audience,” said CMF Director Greg Childs. “What’s needed is fresh thinking about deals and partnerships that take their content to where kids are watching, not a knee-jerk cost-cutting spree which will damage their relationship with their customers and certainly diminish the prospects of quality viewing time for children in their country.”
The statement reads:
The Children’s Media Foundation has expressed surprise and deep concern at the announcement that Sky is to cease children’s commissioning in favor of simply acquiring content for the Sky Kids service.
This is a depressing and short-sighted decision, which will leave U.K. children less well-served. Sky Kids content has gained a reputation amongst parents and young people as high value, rich, thoughtful as well as fun. This is what our children need more than ever in the face of competition for their attention from high volume, cheaply made content that dominates the YouTube offering.
In the Foundation we appreciate that the economics of children’s content are increasingly difficult in the face of competition from YouTube for attention. But giving up on young people is not the right option. This decision leaves the BBC and Five’s Milkshake! as the only significant commissioners of factual and entertainment content for children in the U.K. — not a position the public service broadcaster wishes to see, and not good for the audience. Healthy competition was provided by Sky, and healthier kids were the outcome of its program offering.
We urge Sky to reconsider its decision and maintain a level of original commissioning which will support the already badly hit children’s media industry and importantly would continue to support U.K. kids to experience their own stories and hear their own voices, as so much of Sky Kids’ content currently provides.
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