Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American
television network
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...
for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by
Ion Media
Ion Media (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) was an American broadcasting company that owned and operated over List of stations owned and operated by Ion Media, 71 television stations in most major Americ ...
, it consisted of a 24-hour
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...
television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital terrestrial television service on
owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
s and some affiliates of corporate sister
Ion Television
Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
, as well as on some pay-TV providers), associated website with games and programs available through
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 ...
, and a weekly
programming block
Block programming is the arrangement of programs on radio or television so that those of a particular genre, theme, or target audience are united.
Overview
Block programming involves scheduling a series of related shows which are likely to attra ...
on Ion Television, along with Ion Life, later known as
Ion Plus.
Following Ion Media's acquisition by the
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
, it ceased operations on February 28, 2021.
History
Formation
In May 2006,
Ion Media Networks
Ion Media (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) was an American broadcasting company that owned and operated over 71 television stations in most major American markets (through its television stations group ...
,
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
(which owned a 32% interest in Ion Media at the time),
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
,
Scholastic Corporation
Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...
and
Classic Media
Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...
(now part of NBCUniversal's
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
) announced plans to launch a new, multi-platform children's entertainment brand known as Qubo, oriented towards providing "educational, values-oriented programming" targeted towards children between 5 and 14 years of age. The brand would encompass programming blocks on NBCUniversal and Ion's respective flagship broadcast television networks (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
,
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
and
Ion Television
Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
), a video on demand service, a website, and a standalone 24-hour network to be carried as a digital subchannel on terrestrial television stations owned by Ion Media Networks and by pay-TV providers.
Qubo president Rick Rodríguez (who formerly served as a programming executive at
Discovery Communications
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chann ...
) stated in a 2008 interview with ''
Multichannel News
''Multichannel News'' is a magazine and website published by Future US that covers multichannel television and communications providers, such as cable operators, satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television ...
'' that Qubo was designed as a bilingual brand, offering programming in both English and Spanish (with the latter's audio available through the SAP audio feed on most programming, along with the "CC3" closed captioning channel for Spanish text). While Qubo would initially carry Spanish-language dubs of its programming for both its Telemundo block and (through the SAP audio feed) the standalone 24-hour network, Rodríguez did not rule out the possibility of developing original children's programming geared to Hispanic and Latino audiences through Qubo in the future. He felt that the market for Spanish-language children's programming had been underserved by existing outlets (such as Telemundo and
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
), and envisioned the possibility of programming which could "bridge the gap" and educate Spanish-speaking children on the English language, and vice versa.
[
The Qubo brand was intended to represent a "building block for kids," as reflected by its logo. The name "Qubo" was chosen because it had a "fun" sound, and the root word, "]cube
In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. Viewed from a corner it is a hexagon and its net is usually depicted as a cross.
The cube is the only r ...
", was nearly crosslingual in both English and Spanish (''cubo'').[
]
Launch
Qubo launched on September 9, 2006, with the premiere of weekend morning blocks on NBC (which aired exclusively on Saturday mornings, replacing ''Discovery Kids on NBC
Discovery Kids on NBC was an American children's programming block that aired on NBC from October 5, 2002 to September 9, 2006. The block was produced under a time-lease agreement with Discovery Kids, and features a mixture of live-action and an ...
'', a weekly block programmed by the Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids (stylized as Discovery K!ds) is a brand name owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Starting as a television segment within the Discovery Channel, the brand expanded as a separate television channel. Most of its worldwide channels were e ...
cable network) and Telemundo (which aired on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, replacing ''Telemundo Kids
Telemundo Kids (in borrowed its name from Telemundo's 1995-1998 Saturday morning block Telemundo Infantil) is a former American Children's television series, children's Block programming, programming block that airs on the Spanish language in the ...
''). This was followed by the September 15 introduction of a daytime block on Ion Television (then known as i: Independent Television), which initially aired on Friday afternoons. At launch, its programming included the first-run animated series ''Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
'' (produced by Scholastic), '' Jacob Two-Two'', ''Babar
Babar ( ur, ), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Pashto, and Persian language, Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian language, Persian ...
'', and ''Jane and the Dragon
''Jane and the Dragon'' is a series of children's books written and illustrated by Martin Baynton. The original trilogy consists of ''Jane and the Dragon'' (1988), ''The Dragon's Purpose'' (1989), and ''Jane and the Magician'' (2000). In 2008 ...
'' (produced by Canada-based animation studio Nelvana
Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
), alongside ''VeggieTales
''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retelling ...
'' and its spin-offs '' 3-2-1 Penguins!'' and '' Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures'' (produced by Classic Media subsidiary Big Idea) – marking the first time that ''VeggieTales'' had ever been broadcast as a television program.
All shows listed on the initial schedule made their official debuts on US television. ''Jacob Two-Two'', however, was the only exception as that show previously aired with its Spanish dub on the predecessor of Telemundo's Qubo block, ''Telemundo Kids
Telemundo Kids (in borrowed its name from Telemundo's 1995-1998 Saturday morning block Telemundo Infantil) is a former American Children's television series, children's Block programming, programming block that airs on the Spanish language in the ...
''. The show premiered there on January 9, 2005, and was the only show from that block to transition to ''Qubo en Telemundo''.
''VeggieTales'' and its spin-offs incorporated lessons related to Christian teachings; initially, this religious content was edited out of the original ''VeggieTales'' broadcasts on Qubo at the request of NBC's standards and practices department. The move, however, drew criticism from the conservative watchdog group Parents Television Council
The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers t ...
, which filed a complaint against NBC. A representative for NBC replied in a statement that the editing conformed to guidelines within the network's broadcast standards "not to advocate any one religious point of view". ''VeggieTales'' creator Phil Vischer
Phillip Roger Vischer (born June 16, 1966) is an American filmmaker, author, speaker, podcast host, animator, musician, puppeteer, and voice actor who created the computer-animated video series ''VeggieTales'' alongside Mike Nawrocki. He provide ...
also expressed discontent with the edits, stating that he was not informed that religious content would be removed from the series, and that he would have refused to sign a contract with Qubo if he had known of the decision beforehand. Vischer said, "I would have declined partly because I knew a lot of fans would feel like it was a sellout
"Selling out", or "sold out" in the past tense, is a common expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles by forgoing the long-term benefits of the collective or group in exchange for personal ga ...
or it was done for money." Still, Vischer added that he understood NBC's wish to remain religiously neutral, and said, "''VeggieTales'' is religious, NBC is not. I want to focus people more on 'Isn't it cool that Bob and Larry are on television?'"
In December 2006, a Spanish-language version of the Qubo website was launched. The 24-hour Qubo network launched on Ion Media Networks' terrestrial stations on January 8, 2007 at 6:00 a.m., with ''Theodore Tugboat
''Theodore Tugboat'' is a Canadian children's television series about a tugboat named Theodore who lives in the Big Harbour with all of his friends. The show originated (and is set) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada as a co-production between th ...
'' being the first program to air on the network at launch. The feed replaced a 3 hour timeshift of the main Ion network for the West Coast of the United States. The network initially included a schedule of children's programming in rolling four-hour blocks; Ion intended to attempt carriage of the channel on pay-TV providers.[ In May of that year, NBCUniversal sold its minority stake in Ion Media Networks to ]Citadel LLC
Citadel LLC (formerly known as Citadel Investment Group, LLC) is an American multinational hedge fund and financial services company. Founded in 1990 by Kenneth C. Griffin, it has more than $50 billion in assets under management . The company ...
. On December 3, 2007, Qubo expanded its programming offerings to include shows from other producers, as well as some programs that were already airing on Ion Television's Qubo block. In addition, the rolling schedule was expanded to a six-hour block, which repeated four times per day.
In January 2008, Ion Media Networks and Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
reached an agreement to continue carrying Ion's digital terrestrial channels, including Qubo and Ion Life
Ion Plus is an American free linear television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company that formerly operated as a broadcast television network until February 28, 2021. The network originally launched in 20 ...
. In August 2008, Qubo introduced guidelines for advertisers in an effort to help fight childhood obesity, committing to only accept advertisements for products which meet nutritional guidelines determined by the network in partnership with childhood obesity expert Goutham Rao. Qubo also began to air a series of public service announcements featuring characters from its programs in association with the Ad Council
The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American nonprofit organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including nonprofit organizations, non-governme ...
, the United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...
and the Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...
, advocating exercise and healthy living.
In May 2009, Ion Media Networks filed an inquiry with 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 jurisdiction ...
to attempt must-carry subscription television carriage to expand Qubo's distribution to other providers. Later in May 2010, Ion signed carriage agreements with Advanced Cable Communications
Blue Stream provides cable television, cable telephone, DVR, and up to 1 GIG Internet speed broadband services to customers in the Florida communities of Coral Springs and Weston.
Previously named Coral Springs Cablevision, the Coral Springs po ...
and Blue Ridge Communications
Blue Ridge Communications is a regional cable television, Internet and voice over IP provider that serves much of the Poconos area and central Pennsylvania in the United States. Products available include analog and digital cable television, HD t ...
, as well as deal with Comcast's Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
system to add Qubo on the providers' digital tiers.
Ion acquisition of partner stakes
With NBCUniversal dropping out of the joint venture following its acquisition by Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
, it was announced on March 28, 2012, that NBC and Telemundo would discontinue their Qubo blocks and replace them with NBC Kids and MiTelemundo on July 7. Both blocks would be programmed by PBS Kids Sprout
Universal Kids is an American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal.
The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented channel jointly ...
, a preschool-oriented television network that came under NBCUniversal ownership as part of the merger. This left Ion Television as the only remaining network with a Qubo-branded programming block (with Ion Media acquiring NBCUniversal's interest in the venture).
Ion Media Networks acquired the stakes in Qubo held by Classic Media (which became DreamWorks Classics in 2012 after its acquisition by DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
), Scholastic Corporation
Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...
and Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
in 2013, with all three companies retaining program distribution partnerships with the network. The Qubo block on Ion Television was rebranded as the "Qubo Kids Corner" on January 4, 2015, concurrent with the block's move from Friday to Sunday mornings. On September 8, 2020, the block also began airing on Ion Plus during Monday mornings due to E/I commitments, since they had eight stations in the network that had DT1 main-channel carriage rather than subchannel carriage.
Scripps purchase, network closure
On September 24, 2020, the E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
announced an agreement to buy Ion Media for $2.65 billion. The transaction, which closed on January 7, 2021, saw Ion Television, Ion Plus, Qubo and infomercial service Shop Ion integrated into Scripps' Katz Broadcasting
Katz Broadcasting, LLC, doing business as Scripps Networks, is an American specialized digital multicasting network media company and a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. The company owns (as of 2022) nine television networks that each carry ...
subsidiary (operator of fellow multicast networks Court TV
Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...
, Court TV Mystery
Ion Mystery (formerly Escape and Court TV Mystery, stylized as ESCAPE and MYSTERY; formerly branded on-air as Mystery) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. It focu ...
, Bounce TV
Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...
, Laff
Laff (legal name: Laff Media, LLC) is an American digital multicast television network headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in comedy programmi ...
and Grit)."No Retrans, No Problem for Scripps’ Ion Deal,"
from ''Broadcasting & Cable'', September 25, 2020)
On January 14, 2021, Scripps announced that it would discontinue Ion Plus, Qubo, and Shop Ion effective February 28. The spectrum allocated to the networks on the former Ion Media stations was repurposed to carry the Katz-owned networks starting March 1, with the initial slate of Ion Television O&Os adding those networks following the expiration of Scripps/Katz's existing contracts with other broadcasting companies the day prior, and other stations following suit as contracts with existing affiliates expire throughout 2021 and 2022; in markets where major network affiliates operated by Scripps already carry a Katz-owned network, some will be offloaded to the Ion stations to free up limited spectrum capacity during the ATSC 3.0
ATSC 3.0 is a major version of the ATSC standards for television broadcasting created by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC).
The standards are designed to offer support for newer technologies, including HEVC for video channels of u ...
transition.
After March 1, Scripps began to utilize an outside-sourced three-hour block of programming on Ion Television Friday mornings in order to meet their E/I burden without any Qubo branding, including ''Finding Stuff Out
''Finding Stuff Out'' was a Canadian children's television series, which premiered on TVOntario's TVOKids programming block in 2012. Hosted by Harrison Houde for the first three seasons and Zoey Siewert from season 4 onwards, the program educates ...
'' and '' Science Max'' (both were past Qubo series), as well as ''Xploration Station
Xploration Station is an American syndicated programming block that is programmed by Steve Rotfeld Productions, distributed by Fox, and debuted on September 13, 2014. It airs weekends (typically on Saturday mornings), primarily on Fox-affiliat ...
'' programs from Steve Rotfeld
Steve Rotfeld is an American television producer and writer. He is the principal founder of two independent broadcast and syndication production companies: Steve Rotfeld Productions (SRP) and The Workshop, which he co-founded with Tom Farrell. Thr ...
Productions. The Qubo website redirected to the main Ion website shortly thereafter, then completely shut down. Ion Plus, which converted to an advertiser-supported network on the Samsung and Vizio smart TV
A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features, which allows users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart TVs are a techno ...
platforms, also dropped Qubo programming from its schedule, as it is now outside of FCC purview and requirements.
The network's oncoming sign-off went unacknowledged on-air outside occasional ticker announcements. Some affiliates abruptly switched the night of February 26 to other Katz networks, while others were switched automatically at the end of the 28th at the master control level, at which point the network ceased operations during an episode of Inspector Gadget
''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series ''Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated s ...
. Qubo's Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account also acknowledged the shutdown.
Programming
Qubo featured archived content from the programming libraries of NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
, Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
, Scholastic Corporation
Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...
, DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
, DreamWorks Classics
Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Medi ...
, Trilogy Animation Group, WildBrain
WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children' ...
, Nelvana
Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
, 9 Story Media Group
9 Story Media Group Inc. (formerly known as 9 Story Entertainment) is a Canadian children's television series, children's media production company and international distributor founded by Vincent "Vince" Commisso, Steve Jarosz, and Blake Tohana o ...
and Splash Entertainment
Splash Entertainment, LLC., formerly known as Mike Young Productions, Inc., MoonScoop Entertainment, LLC. and Taffy Entertainment, is an American animation studio that produces children's TV series. Splash also controls the streaming service Kab ...
, with its programs targeted all ages 5 to 14. Though there was a first agreement of the two companies - NBCUniversal, and Ion Media - to produce a new series for the network and program block each year, Qubo only produced three original series: ''My Friend Rabbit
''My Friend Rabbit'' is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann. Published in 2002 by Roaring Brook Press, the book is a lighthearted tale about the friendship between a mouse and a rabbit. Rohmann won the 2003 Caldec ...
'' (2007–08), ''Turbo Dogs
''Turbo Dogs'' is an animated television comedy series based on the book by Bob Kolar. Co-produced by Canadian entertainment company CCI Entertainment, New Zealand production company Huhu Studios and American studio Scholastic Entertainment, in ...
'' (2008-11), and season 1 of ''Shelldon
''Shelldon'' ( th, เชลล์ดอน, Chell̒ dxn) is a computer-animated children's television series directed by Dr. Jirayuth Chusanachoti. The series debuted on Channel 3 in Thailand in October 13, 2008 and debuted at Qubo in October 16 ...
'' (2009–12). Qubo regularly broadcast series aimed at preschoolers during the morning and afternoon hours, while series aimed at older children were featured as part of the network's evening schedule.
Programming on Qubo and its companion blocks on Ion Television and Ion Plus accounted for all educational programming content on Ion Television's owned-and-operated stations and certain Ion affiliates that carry the 24-hour channel, relieving the network from the responsibility of carrying programs compliant with guidelines dictated by the Children's Television Act
The broadcast of educational children's programming by terrestrial television stations in the United States is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under regulations colloquially referred to as the Children's Television Act (C ...
on its other subchannel services. This allowed Ion to carry Ion Shop, HSN
HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flo ...
and QVC
QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pen ...
without overlaying any E/I programming on those subchannels.
On September 27, 2010, Qubo launched "Qubo Night Owl", (running from 12:00 to 6:00 a.m. ET) featuring classic animated series, many of which came from the Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and pr ...
library owned by DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
(currently owned by NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
). The block was restructured in August 2013 to feature a mixture of animated and live-action series sourced only from Qubo's distribution partners. It was discontinued as Ion Media decided to reduce the amount of religious and paid programming on Ion Television and Ion Plus by shifting those hours to Qubo's overnight schedule between 1:00 to 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
Affiliates
, Qubo had current and pending affiliation agreements with 67 television stations encompassing 34 states and the District of Columbia. The network has an estimated national reach of 58.83% of all households in the United States (or 183,832,858 American families with at least one television set). Like parent network Ion Television, the network's stations almost exclusively consisted of network-owned stations (with the exception of Louisville, Kentucky affiliate WBNA
WBNA (channel 21) is an independent television station in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, owned by local charismatic megachurch Evangel World Prayer Center. The station's offices are located on Fern Valley Road (just north of State Rout ...
). Qubo's programming was available by default via a national feed that was delivered directly to cable and satellite providers in markets without a local Ion Television station that carries the network.
Qubo did not have any over-the-air stations in several major markets, most notably Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
; San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
; Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
; Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
; Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...
; and Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. A key factor in the network's limited national broadcast coverage is the fact that Ion Media Networks did not actively attempt over-the-air distribution for the network on the digital subchannels of other network-affiliated stations (in contrast, its parent network Ion Television – which had similarly limited national coverage following the digital television transition – had begun subchannel-only affiliation arrangements through agreements with NBC Owned Television Stations
NBC Owned Television Stations (formerly NBC Local Media and NBC Television Stations Division (TVSD)) is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees the NBC owned-and-operated television s ...
' Telemundo Station Group
Telemundo Station Group is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees their Telemundo owned-and-operated television stations and the TeleXitos network. The NBC owned-and-operated stations ...
subsidiary and Nexstar Media Group
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarter offices in Irving, Texas; Midtown Manhattan; and Chicago, Illinois. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 te ...
during 2014 and 2015), with very few stations that contractually carry the network's programming (with limited exceptions in markets such as Louisville, Kentucky and Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
). As a result, Ion Media Networks owned most of Qubo's station base.
References
{{U.S. family-oriented television channels
Qubo
Ion Television
DreamWorks Classics
National Broadcasting Company
Telemundo
Former Comcast subsidiaries
Former General Electric subsidiaries
Former Vivendi subsidiaries
Former Corus Entertainment subsidiaries
Joint ventures
Scholastic Corporation
Defunct television networks in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 2006
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2021
Children's television networks
Children's television networks in the United States