![Sesame Street logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Sesame_Street_logo.svg)
Children's television series (or children's television shows) are
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
s designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evening, allowing younger children to watch them after school. The purpose of these shows is mainly to entertain or educate. The children's series are in four categories: those aimed at infants and toddlers, those aimed at those aged 6 to 11 years old, those for adolescents and those aimed at all children.
History
Children's television is nearly as old as television itself. The BBC's ''Children's Hour'', broadcast in the UK in 1946, is generally credited with being the first TV programme specifically for children.
Television for children tended to originate from similar programs on radio; the BBC's ''
Children's Hour'' was launched in 1922, and
BBC School Radio
BBC School Radio is a division of the BBC providing audio learning resources for primary schools in the United Kingdom.
History
The first broadcast to schools was organized by the privately owned British Broadcasting Company and given by the ...
began broadcasting in 1924. In the US in the early 1930s, adventure serials such as ''
Little Orphan Annie'' began to emerge, becoming a staple of children's afternoon radio listening.
History in the United States
Early children's shows included ''
Kukla, Fran and Ollie
''Kukla, Fran and Ollie'' is an early American television show using puppets. It was created for children, but soon watched by more adults than children. It did not have a script and was entirely ad-libbed. It was broadcast from Chicago between ...
'' (1947), ''
Howdy Doody
''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F Campbell '', and ''
Captain Kangaroo
''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television progra ...
''. Many of the earliest
Westerns
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
were targeted at a children's audience, stemming back to when children's radio serials often were set in a Western setting. ''
Ding Dong School
''Ding Dong School'', billed as "the nursery school of the air", was a half-hour children's TV show which began on WNBQ-TV (now WMAQ-TV) in Chicago, Illinois a few months before its four-year run on NBC (albeit still produced in the WNBQ studios). ...
'', which aired from 1952 to 1965, was one of the first attempts to produce educational programming for very young children; its creator and host,
Frances Horwich
Frances Rappaport Horwich (born Frances Rappaport, July 16, 1907 – July 22, 2001) was an American educator, television personality and television executive. As Miss Frances, she was the host of the children's television program ''Ding Dong ...
, would sit in front of the camera and simulate small talk with the viewing audience at home, demonstrating basic skills for the camera. ''
Winky Dink and You
''Winky Dink and You'' was a CBS children's television show that aired from 1953 to 1957, on Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m. Eastern / 9:30 Central. It was hosted by Jack Barry and featured the exploits of a cartoon character named Winky Di ...
'' took a more interactive approach, prompting its viewers to affix a clear vinyl screen to their television and draw pictures to match what was going on on-screen; safety concerns and widespread reports of children drawing directly on the television screen and causing damage led to that show's end in 1957. Later shows for very young children include ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
'', ''
The Electric Company
''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The ...
'' and ''
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' deb ...
''. In the 1990s, more children's television series such as ''
Barney & Friends
''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...
,'' ''
Blue's Clues
''Blue's Clues'' is an American live-action/animated children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and ...
,'' ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character ...
,'' ''
Bear in the Big Blue House
''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it aire ...
,'' and ''
The Big Comfy Couch
''The Big Comfy Couch'' (''Le Monde de Loonette'' nglish: ''The World of Loonette'' or ''Loonette's World''when broadcast in Quebec, France and Belgium and ''El sofa da la imaginación'' nglish: ''The Couch of Imagination''when broadcast in La ...
'' were created.
Role of advertising
In the United States, early children's television was often a marketing branch of a larger corporate product and it rarely contained any educational elements (for instance, ''
The Magic Clown
''The Magic Clown'' is an NBC TV series which ran from 1949 to 1954. The final NBC broadcast was on June 27, 1954. The show then moved to WABD where it stayed until 1958. After that, it was renamed ''Bonomo, The Magic Clown'' and was broadcast on ...
'', a popular early children's program, was primarily an advertisement for Bonomo's
Turkish taffy
Turkish Taffy Is a "chewy" (usually hard and crunchy) taffy-like candy bar, which comes in several flavors.
History
Turkish Taffy was invented in 1912 by Austrian immigrant Herman Herer, who sold the rights to M. Schwarz & Sons of Newark, New ...
product). In the early years of television, advertising to children posed a dilemma, as most children have no
disposable income
Disposable income is total personal income minus current income taxes. In national accounts definitions, personal income minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income. Subtracting personal outlays (which includes the major ...
of their own, making them less than ideal candidates for advertising targets; as such, children's television was not a particularly high priority for the networks.
This practice continued, albeit in a much toned-down manner, through the 1980s in the United States, when the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
prohibited tie-in advertising on broadcast television. These regulations do not apply to cable, which is out of the reach of the FCC's content regulations. Due to the success of ''
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anim ...
'', the 1980s saw a dramatic rise in toyline-centered television programs, including animated series such as ''
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', ''
M.A.S.K.'', ''
My Little Pony'', and ''
She-Ra: Princess of Power'', a spinoff of ''He-Man''.
The effect of
advertising to children
Advertising to children refers to the act of advertising products or services to children as defined by national laws and advertising standards.
Scope and form
Advertising to children can take place on traditional media such as television, radio ...
remains heavily debated and extensively studied.
Later non-educational children's
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
s included the
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
programmes of
Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen, June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genr ...
(most notably ''
Lost in Space
''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...
''), the fantasy series of
Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (born April 9, 1937) are a Canadian sibling team of television creators and puppeteers. Through their production company, Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, they have made numerous children's television a ...
, the extensive cartoon empire of
Hanna-Barbera and the numerous sitcoms that aired as part of
TGIF in the 1990s, many of these programs fit a broader description of
family-friendly
A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...
television, targeting a broad demographic that includes adults without excluding children.
Commercial-free children television was first introduced with ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
'' on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
in November 1969, it was produced by what is now known as
Sesame Workshop (formerly CTW).
Saturday morning cartoon blocks
In the United States, Saturday mornings were generally scheduled with cartoon from the 1960s to 1980s as viewership with that programming would pull in 20 million watchers which dropped to 2 million in 2003. In 1992, teen comedies and a "Today" show weekend edition were first to displace the cartoon blocks on NBC.
Starting in September 2002, the networks turned to their affiliated cable cartoon channels or outside programmers for their blocks. The other two
Big Three television networks
In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and ABC (American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their lon ...
soon did the same. Infomercials replaced the cartoon on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
in 2008.
[
The Saturday cartoons were less of a draw due to the various cable cartoon channels (]Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network, etc.) being available all week starting in the 1990s. Recordable options became more prevalent in the 1990s with videocassette recorder
A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the reco ...
and then its 21st-century replacements of DVDs, DVRs and streaming services. FCC rule changes in the 1990s regarding the E/I programming and limitation on kid-focus advertising made the cartoons less profitable. Another possible contributor is the rising divorce rate and the following children's visitation pushed more "quality time" with the kids instead of TV watching.[
On September 27, 2014, the last traditional Saturday network morning cartoon block, '']Vortexx
Vortexx was a short-lived American Saturday morning children's television programming block that aired on The CW from August 25, 2012 to September 27, 2014. Programmed by Saban Brands, it replaced Toonzai, a block that was programmed by 4Kids ...
'', ended and was replaced the following week by the syndicated ''One Magnificent Morning
One Magnificent Morning (OMM) is an American programming block that is programmed by Hearst Media Production Group (formerly Litton Entertainment) and distributed by CBS Media Ventures, and debuted on October 4, 2014, as a replacement for the an ...
'' on The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
.[
]
Demographics
Children's television series can target a wide variety of key demographic
The key demographic or target demographic is a term in commercial broadcasting that refers to the most desirable demographic group to a given advertiser. Key demographics vary by outlet, time of day, and programming type, but they are generally co ...
s; the programming used to target these demographics varies by age and gender. Few television networks target infants and toddlers under two years of age, in part due to widespread opposition to the practice. Children's programming can be targeted toward persons 2 to 11 years of age; in practice, this is further divided into the ''preschool'' demographic (2 to 6 years old) and the older children or ''preteen/tween'' demographic (6 to 11 years old).
Preschool-oriented programming is generally more overtly educational. In a number of cases, such shows are produced in consultation with educators and child psychologists in an effort to teach age-appropriate
Age appropriateness refers to people behaving as predicted by their perspective timetable of development. The perspective timetable is embedded throughout people's social life, primarily based on socially-agreed age expectations and age norms. Fo ...
lessons (the series ''Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
'' pioneered this approach when it debuted in 1969). Adaptations of illustrated children's book series are one subgenre of shows targeted at younger children. A format that has increased in popularity since the 1990s (see, for example, ''Blue's Clues
''Blue's Clues'' is an American live-action/animated children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and ...
'', ''Dora the Explorer
''Dora the Explorer'' is an American children's animated television series and multimedia franchise created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner that premiered on Nickelodeon on August 14, 2000, went on hiatus on June 5, 20 ...
'', ''Pocoyo
''Pocoyo'' ( in Spanish and stylised as ''POCOYO'') is a Spanish preschool interactive comedy computer animated television series created by Guillermo García Carsí, Colman López, Luis Gallego and David Cantolla, and is produced by the Span ...
'', ''Numberblocks
''Numberblocks'' is a British animated television programme for preschoolers that debuted on CBeebies on 23 January 2017. The programme was created by Joe Elliot and produced by Alphablocks Ltd with Blue Zoo. It was commissioned by the Brit ...
'', and ''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'' is an American interactive computer-animated children's television series which aired from May 5, 2006, to November 6, 2016 on the Disney Channel. Produced by Disney Television Animation, it is the first computer-a ...
'') is the " pseudo-interactive" program, in which the action of the show stops and breaks the fourth wall
The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...
to give a young viewer the opportunity to answer a question or dilemma put forth on the show, with the action continuing as if the viewer answered correctly.
Shows that target the demographic of persons 6 to 11 years old focus primarily on entertainment and can range from comedic cartoons (with an emphasis on slapstick) to action series. Most children's television series targeting this age range are animated (with a few exceptions, perhaps the best-known being the long-running ''Power Rangers
''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise '' Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS E ...
'' franchise), and many often specifically target boys (especially in the case of action series), girls or sometimes both. Efforts to create educational programming for this demographic have had a mixed record of success; although such series made up the bulk of educational programming on broadcast television in the first decade of the 2000s, they also tend to have very low viewership. PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
had somewhat greater success with its now defunct educational programming block, PBS Kids GO!
PBS Kids Go! was an educational television brand used by PBS for programs aimed at early elementary-age children, in contrast to the younger, preschool target demographic of PBS Kids. Most PBS member stations aired the PBS Kids Go! block on ...
, that targets this demographic.
The teen demographic targets viewers 12 to 17 years of age. Live-action series that target this demographic are more dramatic and developed, including teen drama
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
s and teen sitcom
A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people. In general, these type of programs focus primarily on characters between 11 and 19 years of age and routinely feature characters inv ...
s. In some cases, they may contain more mature content that is usually not permissible on shows targeting younger viewers, and can include some profanity or suggestive dialogue. animation shows are also used to targeting this kind of demographic; cartoons that are aimed at teenagers generally feature more crude humor
Off-color humor (also known as vulgar humor, crude humor, or shock humor) is humor that deals with topics that may be considered to be in poor taste or vulgar. Many comedic genres (including jokes, prose, poems, black comedy, blue comedy, insult ...
than those oriented toward younger children. Educational programming targeted at this demographic has historically been rare, other than on NASA TV
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
's education block; this has somewhat changed with Litton Entertainment
The Hearst Media Production Group (formerly Litton Syndications and Litton Entertainment) is an American media and production company based in New York City, New York as a division of the Hearst Television subsidiary of Hearst Communications, with ...
's entry into educational television in the early 2010s, as Litton's programs exploited a loophole in U.S. regulations that allows teen-oriented programs to be counted as educational but not be subject to restrictions on advertising for children's programs. However, some programming aimed at the demographic has had some tangential educational value in regards to social issues, such as the now-defunct TNBC
TNBC (or Teen NBC) was an American teen-oriented television programming block that aired on NBC from September 12, 1992, to September 28, 2002. The Saturday morning block featured live-action series – primarily in the form of scripted teen si ...
block of sitcoms, which often tackled issues such as underage drinking or drug use.
Gender targeting
In a study titled "Four-Year-Olds’ Beliefs About How Others Regard Males and Females," researcher May Ling Halim observed how television viewing and interactions of parents within a household may affect a child's perception on gender. She had about 250 four-year-olds interviewed and she asked them questions about their parents, the opposite gender, how much TV they watched and about their feelings on their own gender. The study used four-year-olds because at age four, children are able to make distinctions concerning gender and concerning how two people may view the same thing in different ways. The results of the study showed that for the most part, children were shielded from society's gender hierarchy. Each seemed to favor their own gender which is typical of little kids. Household hierarchy as well as exposure to TV increased children's awareness of the gender hierarchies that are present in the adult world. Halim also observed how society's higher valuing of males could affect how children approach pathways to academics and occupations later in their lives.
Whether the shows are from Nickelodeon or from the Disney Channel, there are many instances where boys and girls are cast in typical roles that are recognized widely by society and a large percentage of the world. While there are many studies that have been done exploring the topic of children's perceptions of gender through television, there are few pieces of concrete evidence that tell people that what children are watching is actually harmful to them.
LGBTQ representation
For years, Broadcast Standards and Practices
In the United States, Standards and Practices (also referred to as Broadcast Standards and Practices or BS&P for short) is the name traditionally given to the department at a television network which is responsible for the moral, ethical, and leg ...
departments of networks, Parental Guidelines, and campaigns by social conservatives limited "efforts to make kids animation more inclusive." While some executives blame these as reasons their shows aren't as inclusive as they could be, those who work on shows say they felt pressure from networks and studios to "be less overt with LGBTQ characters or avoid depicting elements of LGBTQ culture altogether." One former executive of Disney, David Levine, said that "a lot of conservative opinion" drove what was depicted on Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, and other alike channels. Some argued that cable television, which began to pick up in the 1990s, "opened the door for more representation" even though various levels of approvals remained.
Through the 2000s, GLAAD bemoaned the lack of LGBT representation. In 2014, when GLAAD continued to argue that "children's programming has been slow to reflect the diversity its audience is experiencing in its daily life." Two years later, they recorded the highest number of LGBTQ characters they ever recorded up to that point. In 2017, some said that LGBTQ+ characters in animated television were somewhat rare, despite the fact that GLAAD praised the number of characters in broadcast and primetime television.
From 2017 to 2019, Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
noted that there was a "more than 200% spike in queer and gender-minority characters in children's animated TV shows." In 2018 and 2019, GLAAD stated that Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
, Hulu, and Netflix, had increased LGBTQ representation in "daytime kids and family television." In May 2019, Ashley Fetters and Natalie Escobar argued, in ''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', that the episode of ''Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
'' where two male characters got married "marks a poignant moment in children's TV history" since you can count on kids shows with gay characters, mentioning specifically ''Adventure Time
''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
'', ''Steven Universe
''Steven Universe'' is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe ( Zach Callison), who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, mineral ...
'', ''The Legend of Korra
''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American Anime-influenced animation, anime-influenced Animated series, animated television series created by Michael Dante ...
'', ''Gravity Falls
''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines ( Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel ( Kristen Schaal) ...
'', ''Clarence Clarence may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division
* Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow
* Clarence River (New South Wales)
* Clarence Strait (Northern Territory)
* City of Clarence, a l ...
'', and ''The Loud House
''The Loud House'' is an American animated television series created by Chris Savino that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016. The series revolves around the chaotic everyday life of a boy named Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only s ...
''. In December 2020, Amy Friedman, head of programming for Cartoon Network and HBO Max Kids & Family, stated that they are looking "at ourselves across the inclusion and equity spectrum" including LGBTQ+, to evaluate projects in production, development, and which have been greenlighted. In their January 2021 report, GLAAD praised LGBTQ representation in episodes of ''DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...
'', ''The Owl House
''The Owl House'' is an American animated fantasy television series created by Dana Terrace that premiered on Disney Channel on January 10, 2020. The series stars the voices of Sarah-Nicole Robles, Wendie Malick, Alex Hirsch, Tati Gabrielle, I ...
'' and '' Adventure Time: Distant Lands''.
In October 2020, Rebecca Sugar, creator of ''Steven Universe
''Steven Universe'' is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe ( Zach Callison), who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, mineral ...
'', said that she loved being able to place her experiences in a different context "through a nonbinary lens" when writing characters for the show. In June 2021, Sugar told NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
that one of her motivators for the show was making sure "nonbinary, gender-expansive kids...have a show." In March 2021, Sugar told '' Vanity Fair'' that she had been determined to make "queer couples and narratives" integral to the story in ways that are "impossible to censor," and had to fight internally for the representation. In June 2021, Taneka Stotts, a genderfluid
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
writer for '' Steven Universe Future'' told Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
that Sugar "went out of the way to make sure that their show was taffedas inclusive as possible", hiring talented people notice on Tumblr and Twitter instead of industry regulars. Sugar explained that being at the forefront of LGBTQ representation meant that beyond what they were creating there was "very little queer content" and said she feared that her identity and content in the show could lead to its cancellation if she spoke about it openly, noting that support for the show was "often very qualified and hurtful".
Some, like journalist Abbey White, have argued that these shows are the "last battleground for LGBTQ representation," saying that if it can be in these shows, there is no excuse for it not being anywhere else in media, citing ''Danger & Eggs
''Danger & Eggs'' is an American animated series created by Mike Owens and Shadi Petosky that premiered on Amazon Video on June 30, 2017. The show focuses on the adventures of a "gender-free female lesbian child and her giant large-gamete friend," ...
'', ''Steven Universe'', and ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' is an American animated streaming television series developed by ND Stevenson and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. Like the 1985 Filmation series '' She-Ra: Princess of Power'', of which it is ...
'' as examples. White further said that it is "exciting to see people queering their entire narratives in ways" that reach children and a "broader audience." They and Kalai White also noted that shows run by showrunners who are queer, non-binary, or trans are "largely responsible for the influx of nonbinary and trans characters in kids' animation," while facing challenges to adding more representation to their shows. Despite this, White stated that more than 90% of LGBTQ characters in kid's animated shows within Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
's database of characters in children's animated television shows "require either a cable, satellite, streaming, or internet subscription to view them on first airing."
History in the rest of the world
Children's television is created for many markets, with notable successes like '' Play School'', ''Noggin the Nog
''Noggin the Nog'' is a fictional character appearing in a TV series (of the same name, originally broadcast 1959–1965 and 1982) and a series of illustrated books (published 1965–1977), created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. The TV seri ...
'', '' Thunderbirds'', ''Mr. Men
''Mr. Men'' is a British series of children's books by English author Roger Hargreaves which began publication in August 1971. From 1981, an accompanying series of Little Miss books by the same author (but with female characters) was published. ...
'' and ''Thomas & Friends
''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'' originating from the UK, '' Le Manege Enchantè'' from France, ''The Singing Ringing Tree
''The Singing Ringing Tree'' (german: Das singende, klingende Bäumchen) is a 1957 children's fantasy film from East German studio DEFA. Directed by Francesco Stefani, the screenplay by Anne Geelhaar is based on a variation of "Hurleburlebutz" ...
'' from Germany, and '' Marine Boy'' from Japan.
Canadian studio Nelvana is a particularly prolific producer of children's programming. Much of Nelvana's product is broadcast worldwide, especially in the US, where the similarities in dialect require without any dubbing or localization.
Channels
United States
In the United States, there are three major commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
cable network
Networking cables are networking hardware used to connect one network device to other network devices or to connect two or more computers to share devices such as printers or scanners. Different types of network cables, such as coaxial cable, op ...
s dedicated to children's television. All three also operate secondary services with specialized scopes drawing upon their respective libraries, such as a focus on specific demographics, or a focus upon classic programming that fall within their scope and demographics; all three have also extensively franchised their brands outside the United States.
* Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
, the first children's television channel, launched in 1979 (though its history traces back to the 1977 launch of QUBE
QUBE was an experimental two-way, multi-programmed cable television system that played a significant role in the history of American interactive television. It was launched in Columbus, Ohio, on December 1, 1977. Highly publicized as a revolutio ...
's C-3 channel); it consists largely of original series aimed at children, preteens and young teenagers, including animated series, to live-action comedy and action series, as well as series aimed at preschoolers, and appeals to adult and adolescent audiences with a lineup of mainly live-action sitcom reruns and a limited amount of original programming on Nick at Nite.
** Nickelodeon operates four digital cable and satellite channels separate from the main service: Nick Jr.
Nick Jr. (known on-air as the Nick Jr. Channel) is an American pay television channel spun off from Nickelodeon's long-running programming block of the same name. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Gr ...
, a channel devoted to preschool programming; Nicktoons
Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
, which primarily (although not exclusively) runs animated programming; NickMusic
NickMusic is an American pay television network and spin-off of Nickelodeon that mainly carries music video and music-related programming from younger pop artists that appeal to Nickelodeon's target audience, with some videos edited for conten ...
, a pop music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
service branded as " MTV Hits" prior to 2016; and TeenNick
TeenNick is an American pay-TV channel that is operated by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Aimed primarily at teens and tweens, its programming includes a variety of live-action series inherited from sister channel Nic ...
, a channel devoted to live-action programming. This is in addition to a flexible number of free digital channels under the Nickelodeon brand on parent company Paramount Global
Paramount Global ( doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. ...
's over-the-top service Pluto TV
Pluto TV is a free, ad-supported video streaming service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Co-founded by Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in Los Angeles, California, in the United S ...
. Subscription video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
service Paramount+
Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...
includes much of the Nickelodeon archives.
* Cartoon Network, launched in 1992, is devoted primarily to animated programming. It primarily targets children 6–14, while its early morning Cartoonito
Cartoonito is a brand name used by Warner Bros. Discovery for a collection of television networks and Block programming, programming blocks that target preschool-age children. The name combines the "cartoon" with the Spanish language, Spanish suf ...
is aimed at preschoolers and kindergarteners aged 2–6, and its overnight daypart block Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
targets older teenagers and young adults, 18–34.
** Cartoon Network operates one digital cable and satellite channel separate from the main service: Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...
, a channel that specializes in programs centered around classic brands that parent company Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...
owns (particularly Hanna-Barbera, MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
and Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...
), along with some imported programs, reruns of Cartoon Network original programs, and burn-off properties. Warner Bros. Discovery also operates two other channels partially aimed at children: HBO Family
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is bas ...
, part of the premium HBO suite that carries HBO Kids
''HBO Kids'' (formerly ''Jam'') is an American preschool/children's television morning block operated by Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO), a division of Warner Bros. Discovery. The block runs on HBO Family, HBO's sister station that targets children a ...
children's programming in daytime (with a content partnership with Sesame Workshop) and family-friendly films at night; and Discovery Family (along with its Spanish-language counterpart Discovery Familia), a joint venture with Hasbro that Warner Bros. acquired a majority stake in along with its merger with Discovery Channel and carries animated programming in daytime along with Discovery documentaries at night. Warner Bros. Discovery archival content is made available through a subscription video on demand service bearing the Boomerang brand, along with (to a lesser extent since August 2022) the broad-market HBO Max service.
* Disney Channel launched in 1983 as a pay television, premium channel; it consists of original first-run television series, theatrically released and original made-for-cable movies, and select other third-party programming. Disney Channel – which formerly operated as a pay-TV service – originally marketed its programs towards families during the 1980s, and later at younger children by the 1990s, and primarily at teenybopper females aged 13–16 between 2006 and 2017, before returning to families.
** Disney Channel operates two digital channels separate from the main service: Disney Junior, which launched in 2011 and primarily broadcasts animated series catered towards a preschool audience, and Disney XD, which caters primarily to an older youth audience with an action-oriented focus. Disney does not have a traditional television outlet for its archival programming, which it has historically kept in a Disney Vault, proverbial vault with limited access; much of its programming is available through Disney+, a subscription video on demand service. Disney also operates Freeform (TV channel), Freeform, a channel primarily carrying live-action programming catered towards a teenage/young adult audience. Although its Television networks preceding Freeform, previous incarnations under other owners had family-oriented formats and children's programming, they have since been phased out in favor of series such as teen drama
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
s, some coming from Disney Channel.
Under current mandates, all terrestrial television, broadcast television stations in the United States must show a minimum of three hours per week of E/I, educational children's programming, regardless of format. Until 2019, this rule also applied to digital subchannels; as a result, digital multicast networks whose formats should not fit children's programming, such as Live Well Network and TheCoolTV, were required to carry educational programs to fit the Federal Communications Commission, FCC mandates. (The rule for digital subchannels was repealed in July 2019; in practice, most still carry educational programs anyway.) In 2017, there was a programming block that aired on syndication called KidsClick; it was notable as a concerted effort to program children's shows on television without regard to their educational content, one of the first such efforts since the E/I rule took effect. The transition to digital television has allowed for the debut of whole subchannels that air children's programming 24/7; examples include BabyFirst, PBS Kids, Smile (TV network), Smile, and Universal Kids. The country's only directly nationally operated TV service for public consumption, NASA TV
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
, also includes educational programs in its schedule for use in schools.
Canada
English-language children's specialty channels in Canada are primarily owned by Corus Entertainment and WildBrain. Corus operates YTV (TV channel), YTV, Treehouse TV, Treehouse, and Teletoon, as well as localized versions of the Cartoon Network (Canada), Cartoon Network, Disney Channel (Canada), Disney Channel, Disney Junior (Canada), Disney Junior, Disney XD (Canada), Disney XD, and Nickelodeon (Canada), Nickelodeon brands. WildBrain operates Family Channel (Canadian TV network), Family Channel, as well as the spin-off services Chrgd and Family Jr. it has been majority owned and operated by British Columbia's public broadcaster Knowledge Network.
In French language, French, Corus operates Télétoon and La chaîne Disney, WildBrain operates Télémagino (a French version of Family Jr.), TVA Group operates the preschool-oriented Yoopa, and Bell Media runs the teen-oriented Vrak. Via its majority-owned subsidiary Telelatino, Corus also operates two children and family-oriented networks in Spanish language, Spanish and Italian language, Italian, TeleNiños and Telebimbi respectively.
On broadcast television and satellite to cable undertakings, children's television content is relegated to the country's public and designated provincial educational broadcasters, including CBC Television and Ici Radio-Canada Télé, as well as City Saskatchewan, CTV Two Alberta (formerly Access), Knowledge Network, Télé-Québec, TFO, and TVOntario (TVOKids).
Aided by the cultural similarities between Canada and the US, along with film credits and subsidies available from the Canadian government, a large number of animated children's series have been made in Canada with the intention of exporting them to the United States. Such programs carry :File:Canada wordmark.svg, a prominent Government of Canada wordmark in their closing credits.
United Kingdom
The BBC and ITV plc both operate children's oriented television networks on digital terrestrial television: the BBC runs CBBC (TV channel), CBBC as well as the preschool-oriented CBeebies, while ITV runs CITV as well as the preschool-oriented LittleBe, as a programming block on ITVBe. Both channels were spun off from children's television strands on their respective flagship channels (BBC One, BBC Two, and ITV (TV network), ITV). The BBC and ITV have largely phased out children's programming from their main channels in order to focus on the dedicated services; in 2012, as part of the "Delivering Quality First" initiative, the BBC announced that it would end the broadcast of CBBC programmes on BBC One following the completion of the transition to digital terrestrial television, citing low viewership in comparison to broadcasts of the programmes on the CBBC channel. Channel 5 (UK), Channel 5 also broadcasts a preschool-oriented block known as ''Milkshake!'', while its owner, Paramount Networks International, also runs versions of Nickelodeon UK, Nickelodeon and its sister networks Nicktoons (UK and Ireland), Nicktoons and Nick Jr. (UK and Ireland), Nick Jr.
Narrative Capital operate a number of children's channels under the Pop (UK and Ireland), Pop and Tiny Pop brands. British versions of Cartoon Network (UK & Ireland), Cartoon Network and its sister channels Boomerang UK, Boomerang and Cartoonito also operate in the country. some 25 years after the initial launch.
Ireland
Ireland has one dedicated children's TV service RTÉjr. Since 1998 RTÉ2 has provided children's programming from 07:00 to 17:30 each weekday, original titled The Den (Ireland), The Den, the service was renamed TRTÉ and RTÉjr in 2010. Irish-language service TG4 provide two strands of children's programming Cúla 4 Na nÓg and Cúla 4 during the day. Commercial broadcaster TV3 (Ireland), TV3 broadcast a children's strand called ''Gimme 3'' from 1998 - 1999. And then broadcast a new strand called 3Kids.
Australia
Children's channels that exist in Australia are ABC Me, ABC Kids (Australia), ABC Kids, KidsCo, Disney Channel (Australia), Disney Channel and its spin-off Disney Junior (Australia and New Zealand), Disney Junior, CBeebies, Nickelodeon (Australia), Nickelodeon and its spin-off Nick Jr. (Australia), Nick Jr., and Cartoon Network (Australia), Cartoon Network and its spin-off Boomerang (Australian TV channel), Boomerang.
Japan
Children's channels that exist in Japan are NHK Educational TV, Kids Station, Disney Channel (Japanese TV channel), Disney Channel, jp:ディズニーXD, Disney XD, Nickelodeon (Japanese TV channel), Nickelodeon (also under a block on Animax, known as "Nick Time") and Cartoon Network (Japanese TV channel), Cartoon Network (Cartoon Network's age demographic is moving towards older viewers with shows such as ''Hello Kitty'', ''Regular Show'' and ''Adventure Time
''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
'')
Iceland
One of the most well-known children's TV programmes comes from Iceland, LazyTown, was created by Magnús Scheving, Magnus Scheving, European Gymnastics Champion and CEO of Lazytown Entertainment, LazyTown Entertainment. The show has aired in over 180 countries, been dubbed into more than 32 languages and is the most expensive children's show of all time.
India
In 1995, Cartoon Network (Indian TV channel), Cartoon Network became the first children's channel to be launched in India. Subsequently, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon (Indian TV channel), Nickelodeon arrived. Hungama TV (2004) was the first children's channel that had local content. Pogo (TV channel), Pogo and BabyTV came later in 2006. By 2018, 23 channels have aired in India.
Romania
Nickelodeon (Central & Eastern Europe), Nickelodeon was the first children's channel in Romania, launched in December 1998. Afterwards, Minimax (TV channel), Minimax became the first Romanian children's channel to air locally produced content, launched on Children's Day in 2001. Since then, channels like BabyTV and Disney Channel (Romanian TV channel), Disney Channel have arrived.
Turkey
Children's channels that exist in Turkey are Disney Channel (Turkish TV channel), Disney Channel, Cartoon Network (Turkish TV channel), Cartoon Network, TRT Çocuk, :tr:MinikaÇOCUK, MinikaÇOCUK, :tr:MinikaGO, Minika GO and Zarok TV.
See also
* List of local children's television series (United States)
* Saturday-morning cartoon for an in-depth history of children's television in the United States
* Advertising to children
References
Citations
Sources
*
External links
Children's Television
online exhibition from screenonline, a website of the British Film Institute
The 1950s–2000s Week-By-Week - includes listings and factoids for local/national children's shows.
The future of children's digital television - an interview with Gloria Tristani
* Ryan Black
The Surprising Maturity of Children's Animation
The Reporter, March 4, 2016
{{Authority control
Children's television series,
Television by interest
Children's television, *
Television genres