Sprout (formerly PBS Kids Sprout) is an independent American digital cable and satellite television network that is owned by the NBCUniversal Cable subsidiary of NBCUniversal. Sprout replaced the PBS Kids channel on some cable and satellite providers. The network, which also maintains a complimentary video-on-demand (VOD) service and website, features a mix of children's programs acquired from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and original programming exclusive to the network, which is aimed at preschoolers and their families. The network's live programming and wraparound segments are produced at NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.
As of February 2015, Sprout is available to approximately 58 million pay television households (49.8% of households with television) in the United States.
PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS which is produced by independent public television distributors such as American Public Television are not labeled as "PBS Kids" programming, and it is mainly a programming block branding.
The framework for PBS Kids was established as part of PBS's "Ready to Learn" initiative, a project intended to facilitate access of early childhood educational programming to underprivileged children. On July 11, 1994, PBS repackaged their existing children's educational programming as a new block called "PTV". In addition to scheduled educational programming, PTV also incorporated interstitial content such as "The P-Pals", which featured animated characters shaped like PBS logos delivering educational content from their fictional world, "PTV Park". These interstitial shorts were aimed at younger children. Older children were targeted with live action and music video interstitials.