Universal Kids

Universal Kids (formerly known as PBS Kids Sprout and Sprout) is an American pay television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.

The channel first launched on September 26, 2005, originally a joint venture between PBS, Comcast, Sesame Workshop, and HIT Entertainment, devoted to children's television programming aimed at a preschool audience. Following Comcast's purchase of NBCUniversal, the company gradually bought out the remaining owners' shares in the channel, reaching full ownership in 2013. The network's operations were subsequently relocated from Philadelphia to New York City, and the "PBS Kids" name was dropped from its branding.

On September 9, 2017, the network rebranded as Universal Kids (derived from sister film studio Universal Pictures), and began to devote its evening and primetime lineup to programming targeting a youth audience, including DreamWorks Animation content, unscripted programming (including game shows, and youth spin-offs of reality series from its sister networks, such as American Ninja Warrior and Top Chef), and imported series from other countries. Universal Kids continues to air preschool-oriented programming throughout its daytime schedule.

As Sprout, it was available to approximately 56 million American pay television households (48.2% of households with television) in the United States as of January 2016.