Universal Kids

Universal Kids (formerly known as PBS Kids Sprout and Sprout) was an American children's pay television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.

The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented spin-off of PBS Kids established as a joint venture between PBS, Comcast, Sesame Workshop, and HIT Entertainment. It replaced PBS's 24-hour PBS Kids Channel, which originally operated between 1999 and 2005 before being revived in 2017. After Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, the company began to acquire the remaining owners' shares in the network. NBCUniversal became the sole owner in 2013, after which the network was renamed Sprout. Under NBCUniversal ownership, the network increased its investments into original programming.

In 2017, the network relaunched as Universal Kids, adding an evening and prime time lineup targeting a wider youth audience, including DreamWorks Animation content, non-scripted programming (including game shows and youth spin-offs of NBCUniversal reality series such as American Ninja Warrior and Top Chef), and acquired teen dramas. The Sprout brand was retained for the network's daytime lineup of preschool programming until January 2018.

Amid industry-wide declines in the viewership of children's cable channels, Universal Kids discontinued developing new original programming in 2019, and the channel largely relied on acquisitions and DreamWorks library content afterward. Its remaining first-run programming moved to NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock. Eventually, the channel closed on March 6, 2025.

Following the failure of PBS's first 24-hour PBS Kids Channel launched in 1999, on October 20, 2004, PBS announced that it had entered into a partnership with cable provider Comcast and production companies HIT Entertainment and Sesame Workshop to launch a 24-hour cable network aimed at preschool children. Created to “strengthen the competitive positions” of all of the parties, PBS Vice-President of digital ventures Deron Triff noted that the content would be "consistent with PBS's values" and "meet certain curricular objectives and have been tested for educational efficacy." On April 4, 2005, Comcast announced that the network would be a new offshoot brand of PBS Kids known as PBS Kids Sprout. The service would soft launch as a branded video on-demand (VOD) service that same day. PBS Kids Sprout launched its 24-hour cable channel on September 26, 2005, effectively replacing the PBS Kids Channel. At launch, PBS Kids Sprout reached around 16 million viewers across the Xfinity and Insight cable systems.

The multi-platform approach was designed to appeal to different viewing habits; the Sprout channel featured dayparted programming blocks, with hosted segments such as activities, features, and promotions for supplemental content on Sprout's website. To increase the variety of its schedule, Sprout did not repackage short-form series into half-hour episodes with interstitial segments, as had usually been the case for series imported for U.S. broadcast. Unlike the primary PBS network and its associated PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! programming blocks, all of which operated as non-commercial services, PBS Kids Sprout operated as an advertiser-supported service running traditional television commercials. However, advertising on the channel was only carried between programs in small quantities and were aimed towards parents and caregivers. In any case, due to its ad-supported model, PBS Kids Sprout did not include any of the usual funding credits typically displayed at the beginning and end of programs on the primary PBS network.

In spring 2009, it was announced that The Wiggles would be moving to PBS Kids Sprout from its previous broadcaster, Playhouse Disney, the morning preschool programming block on Disney Channel. This would coincide with the launch of a new programming block hosted by the group called Sprout's Wiggly Waffle. The reason for this move was due to competition from the Imagination Movers, a children's music group from New Orleans who received their own TV show in September 2008. The move took effect on August 24, 2009.

The following month, the channel rebranded to simply Sprout; however, the full name continued to be used in on-screen graphics to reflect PBS' ownership stake in the channel until November 12, 2013. A high-definition simulcast of the network launched in September 2010.