HBO Kids (formerly Jam) was an American preschool/children's television morning block operated by Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO), a division of Warner Bros. Discovery. The block ran on HBO Family, HBO's sister station that targets children and families.[1]
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Network | HBO Family |
---|---|
Launched | August 26, 2001 |
Closed | February 29, 2024 |
Country of origin | United States |
Owner | Home Box Office, Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery) |
Formerly known as | Jam (2001–2016) |
Sister network | Magnet (2001–2005) |
Running time | 6am-3pm (2001–04) 6am-1:30pm (2004–05) 6am-9am (2005–06, then again 2020–21) 6am-12:00pm (2006–07) 6am-8am 6am-10am (2020) 4pm-5pm (formerly) 6am-11am (2011–20) 6am-8am (2021–24) |
Original language(s) | English |
The block last ran from 6:00 am to roughly 8:00 to 9:00 am (ET) on weekdays; the block's shows were not shown in a standard half-hour timeslot. The block used to have an weekday 4pm timeslot, which was filled with The Electric Company. The block also aired on weekends until October 2020.
History
editIn 2001, HBO Family launched two children's programming blocks: Jam in the morning, and Magnet on weekday afternoons. Programming for both blocks was developed in coordination with CINAR Animation, Nelvana Limited, Sony Entertainment, Sandpaper Films, Scholastic, Devine Entertainment, S4C, HiT Entertainment, Golden Egg Entertainment, Poseidon Pictures, Cuppa Coffee Studios, Curious Pictures, Hyperion Pictures, and Planet Grande.[1] Starting in 2007, with a new set of CGI bumpers for the block, HBO began to slowly remove the block's acquired programming, exclusively focusing on HBO's original children's series. For several years, no new programs were produced or acquired for the block, focusing exclusively on reruns of HBO's own children's programs.
On August 13, 2015, HBO announced a deal with Sesame Workshop to move first-run Sesame Street episodes on HBO.[2] The episodes premiered on the network on January 16, 2016, alongside other Sesame Workshop-produced programming, including The Electric Company and Pinky Dinky Doo.[3] Jam would later rebrand as HBO Kids. On November 12, 2020, first-run Sesame Street episodes moved to HBO Max starting with its 51st season.
On August 18, 2018, an animated series entitled Esme & Roy, also produced by Sesame Workshop, premiered.[4] HBO removed all Sesame Workshop shows from its HBO Family channel by January 2021, reverting the block back to HBO's original children's series. However, most of the acquired shows from Sesame Workshop were still available on the HBO Max streaming service until January 2, 2021, with only Sesame Street, Esme & Roy, and any Sesame Workshop show made exclusive for the streaming service still being available. Currently, the block's schedule shows four of HBO's original programs, followed by a children's TV special, before airing one more program, then starting one of the channel's circulated movies or specials. [5]
On February 29, 2024, the block was discontinued, but some HBO Kids programs remain available on Max.
Programming
editFinal programming
edit- 1 = Airs occasionally.
Original programming
editTitle | Original run | HBO Kids run | Source(s) |
---|---|---|---|
A Little Curious | February 1, 1999 – May 1, 2000 | August 26, 2001 – February 29, 2024 | [note 1] |
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | March 12, 1995 – July 18, 2000 | August 26, 2001 – February 29, 2024 | [note 2][note 3] |
January 2005 - February 29, 2024 | |||
Crashbox | February 1, 1999 – April 1, 2000 | [note 4][note 5] | |
Kindergarten | August 26, 2001 – September 7, 2001 | August 26, 2001 – February 29, 2024 | |
HBO Storybook Musicals1 | November 18, 1987 – December 8, 1993 | ||
El Perro y El Gato1[note 6] | 2004 – 2011 | 2008 – February 29, 2024 | [note 7] |
Classical Baby1 | May 14, 2005 – 2017 | May 14, 2005 – present |
Former programming
edit- Freshman Year (2007 – 2011) (reruns)
- Harold and the Purple Crayon (December 1, 2001 – 2011)
- I Spy (December 2002 – July 2011)
- Stuart Little (March 2003 – 2010)
Former acquired programming
edit- The Adventures of Paddington Bear (February 1, 1999 – 2004)
- Animated Tales of the World (2001–08)
- Anthony Ant (1999–2003)
- Babar (2001–04)
- The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures (1998–2004)
- Encyclopedia (January 1, 2000 – 2002)
- Esme & Roy
- George and Martha (2001–09)
- Ghost Trackers (2007–10)
- Fraggle Rock (December 2016 – 2019) (now on Apple TV+)
- The Little Lulu Show (1997–2004)
- Magic Cellar (2007–08)
- The Neverending Story (1999–2004)
- Pippi Longstocking (1998–99)
- Postman Pat (September 1, 2005 – September 30, 2007)
- Rainbow Fish (February 18, 2000 – 2006)
- Sesame Street[6] (January 17, 2016 – November 1, 2020, now on PBS Kids and Max)
- The Storyteller (1998–2000)
Reruns of ended Sesame Workshop series
editTitle | Original network | Original run | HBO Kids run | Now on | Source(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Electric Company | PBS Kids Go! PBS Kids |
January 23, 2009 – April 4, 2011 | January 17, 2016 – February 29, 2024 | Hulu | [3] |
Pinky Dinky Doo | Noggin Nick Jr. Channel |
April 10, 2006 – June 17, 2010 | January 17, 2016 – February 29, 2024 | Knowledge Kids | [3] |
Short-form programming
edit- 30 by 30: Kid Flicks (1999–2001)
- HBO Family: 411 (1999–2016)
- Who Knew? (1999–2016)
- Smart Mouth (1999–2016)
- Jammin' Animals (2001–16)
- My Favorite Book (2001–16)
- The Way I See It (2001–16)
- El Perro y El Gato (2004–16)
- Just Wondering (2009–16)
- Sesame Street Shorts (January 17, 2016 – November 1, 2020)
- And Now You Know
- Eat 5
- I Want to Be
- Matters of Fact
- Lisa
- When I'm...
References
editNotes
edit- ^ This show had aired on HBO Family 1999 since before airing on Jam.
- ^ The show had aired on HBO since 1995 before airing on Jam.
- ^ Season 1 and 2 first aired only on the HBO channel, before being moved to HBO Family to air its third season there.
- ^ The show originally aired on Magnet, before moving to Jam in January 2005.
- ^ This show had aired on HBO Family 1999 since before airing on Jam.
- ^ The show was first an interstitial series in 2004, before becoming a half-hour series in 2008.
- ^ This is the TV series (not to be confused with the interstitial series), which is still airing.
Citations
edit- ^ a b "HBO Family Announces New Lineup for Fall 2001". WarnerMedia. 2001-08-01. Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (2015-08-13). "Why 'Sesame Street' Had to Turn a Corner". Variety. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
- ^ a b c "HBO Takes On Netflix With A New Kids Section Featuring "Sesame Street" And More". TechCrunch. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
- ^ Petski, Denise (2018-07-25). "'Esme & Roy': HBO Sets Premiere Date For New Animated Series From Sesame Workshop – TCA". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
- ^ "HBO TV Schedule". January 27, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ The show started releasing new episodes on HBO Max in 2020, starting with season 51.