Children's programming on NBC: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:18, 3 November 2024

Revision as of 19:02, 11 November 2024

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As a result of the continued success of ''Saved by the Bell'', NBC restructured its Saturday morning lineup in September 1992, removing the animated series (ending the entirety of conventional children's programming – animated or otherwise – airing on NBC itself for the next ten years) in favor of additional live-action – mostly scripted – series aimed at teenagers as part of a new three-hour block under the brand [[TNBC]] (the network also launched an hour-long Saturday edition of ''[[Weekend Today|Today]]'' that debuted simultaneously with the TNBC lineup).

Most of the programs on the TNBC lineup were sitcoms produced by ''Saved by the Bell'' executive producer [[Peter Engel (TV producer)|Peter Engel]] such as ''[[City Guys]]'', ''[[Hang Time (TV series)|Hang Time]]'', ''[[California Dreams]]'', ''[[One World (TV series)|One World]]'' and the ''Saved by the Bell'' spinoff, ''[[Saved by the Bell: The New Class]]''.<ref name="DiscoveryKids">{{cite news|title=Discovery set to kid around with Peacock|url=https://www.variety.com/article2001/tv/news/discovery-set-to-kid-around-with-peacock-1117856766/VR1117856766.html?categoryid=1201&cs=1&query=|first=Paula|last=Bernstein|periodical=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|publisher=[[Reed Business Information]]|date=December 4, 2001|access-date=August 13, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> From the start, the lineup was designed to meet the earliest form of the [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s [[E/I|educational programming]] guidelines under the [[Children's Television Act]], with many of the scripted series incorporating social issues such as [[underage drinking]], [[Substance abuse|drug use]] and [[sexual harassment]]. By 2001, the block had begun suffering from declining viewership; in addition, although the block was aimed at adolescents, TNBC's programs ironically registered a median viewer age of 41.<ref name=variety-adultsdiscover>{{cite web|title=Adults 'Discover' kiddie programs|url=https://variety.com/2003/tv/news/adults-discover-kiddie-programs-1117880923/|periodical=Variety|publisher=Reed Business Information|date=2003|access-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref>

''[[NBA Inside Stuff]]'', an analysis and interview program aimed at teens that was hosted for most of its run by [[Ahmad Rashād]] (who also served as a commentator and pre-game host for the network's [[NBA on NBC|NBA coverage]] during much of ''Inside Stuff''{{'}}s NBC run), also aired alongside the TNBC lineup during the NBA season until [[2001–02 NBA season|2002]], with the program moving to ABC the following season as a result of that network taking the [[NBA on ABC|NBA rights]] from NBC.

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===NBC Kids (2012–2016; 2012–2017 on Telemundo)===

{{main|NBC Kids}}

On March 28, 2012, NBC announced that the three-hour children's programming time period allocated by the network on Saturday mornings would be taken over by [[Sprout (TV network)|Sprout]] (which had become a sister television property to NBC following parent company NBCUniversal's 2010 majority purchase by [[Comcast]]; NBC later took full ownership of the network, whose owners previously included [[Sesame Workshop]] and [[HIT Entertainment]]) and launch a new Saturday morning block called [[NBC Kids]], which is aimed at preschoolers and grade school-aged children ages 2 to 9.<ref name="Weisman">{{cite news|title=NBC to launch Saturday kids block|url=https://www.variety.com/article2012/tv/news/nbc-to-launch-saturday-kids-block-1118052022/VR1118052022?refCatId=14|first=Jon|last=Weisman|periodical=Variety|publisher=[[PMC (company)|Penske Media Corporation]]|date=March 28, 2012|access-date=March 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519174046/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118052022?refCatId=14|archive-date=May 19, 2012|url-status=deadlive}}</ref><ref name="Rubino">{{cite news|title=NBC, With Assist From Sprout, to Launch Saturday Morning Preschool Block|url=http://www.multichannel.com/article/482478-NBC_With_Assist_From_Sprout_to_Launch_Saturday_Morning_Preschool_Block.php|first=Lindsay|last=Rubino|periodical=Multichannel News|date=March 28, 2012|access-date=March 27, 2015}}</ref> Sprout also produced a Spanish-language sister block for [[Telemundo]] known as MiTelemundo.

NBC Kids debuted on July 7, 2012, one week after the Qubo block ended its run on both NBC and Telemundo on June 30 (which left [[Ion Television]] (and later [[Ion Plus]]) as the only network to retain a Qubo-branded children's block up until the closure of the Qubo Channel on February 28, 2021, as the [[E.W. Scripps Company]] is now the owner of [[Ion Media]], which they acquired on January 7, 2021).<ref name="MarketWatch">{{cite news|title=NBC Will Launch NBC Kids, a New Saturday Morning Preschool Block Programmed by Sprout®, Saturday, July 7|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nbc-will-launch-nbc-kids-a-new-saturday-morning-preschool-block-programmed-by-sprout-saturday-july-7-2012-03-28|work=[[MarketWatch]]|date=March 28, 2012|access-date=March 27, 2015}}</ref>