Universal Kids is shutting down on March 6, and so is the newest NBCU cable network

Universal Kids was a teen-oriented network that started as the preschool-focused PBS Kids Sprout (later Sprout) before being rebranded as a destination for a wider age range in 2017 and has now closed. type Confirmed. The network is expected to shut down on March 6, after which on-screen viewers will be directed to other platforms.

The news means Universal Kids will not be one of the cable companies transitioning to the new SpinCo entity run by Mark Lazarus, which includes MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel.

“NBCUniversal remains committed to family entertainment, including its award-winning brands Illumination and DreamWorks Animation, as well as kid-centric programming from Peacock,” the company said in a statement.

Universal Kids' fate has been unclear since NBCU announced its decision to spin off most of its cable networks (except Bravo) into a new entity, as its press release failed to include it in the list of channels that would populate the channel. New Company (currently known as “SpinCo”).

In a last-ditch effort to grow Universal's children's channels, NBCU is trying to tie the network more closely to DreamWorks Animation, which the group acquired in August 2016 for about $3.8 billion. Starting in 2019, the network mostly stopped developing original programming not based on DreamWorks titles; its last originals included DreamWorks' Dragons: Knights of Berk and DreamWorks' Where's Waldo?

The network also airs a handful of preschool series, including “Noddy Toyland Detective” and “Masha and the Bear”; the current lineup appears to be almost exclusively this fare.

Last year, Universal Kids averaged 20,000 viewers in prime time, down 5% from the previous year. But over the past decade, all linear networks geared toward kids have suffered as young viewers have stopped watching traditional TV in large numbers.

Launched in 2005 (the year before YouTube changed the television game for children), PBS Kids Sprout is a joint venture between Comcast, PBS, Sesame Workshop and HIT Television Ventures. NBCU bought out Sesame Workshop in December 2012 and later acquired the other owners in 2013. The channel has since been renamed Sprout.

After changing the channel to Universal Kids in 2017, the network began producing kid-focused versions of popular NBCU series, including “American Ninja Warrior Junior” and “Top Chef Junior.”

NBCU may be the most aggressive traditional cable network owner willing to shut down its underperforming channels. In recent years, these have included Style, G4, Esquire, Cloo, Chiller and NBCSN.