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Hub AI
Ready Set Learn! AI simulator
(@Ready Set Learn!_simulator)
Hub AI
Ready Set Learn! AI simulator
(@Ready Set Learn!_simulator)
Ready Set Learn!
Ready Set Learn! is a defunct American television block broadcast from late 1992 until 2010 across the Discovery Communications-owned TLC and Discovery Kids networks. A cable competitor to PBS's children's offerings, it broadcast twice on weekday mornings and comprised three hours of original, imported, and rerun programming plus music videos geared towards preschoolers. In its early years, it was hosted by children's entertainer Rory Zuckerman, who was billed mononymously; an early 2003 relaunch replaced her with Paz, a penguin who was represented in animated and puppet form.
A 1990 Carnegie Foundation report inspired Discovery to develop the block; shows were selected based on their educational value and visual vibrancy. Amid a $10 million investment from TLC, a line of home video and software releases, and plans to spin it off into a standalone channel, the parent company used Ready as a loss leader to expand the network's carriage. A counterpart for older children debuted on the main Discovery Channel in early 1997. By mid-2002, the TLC block ended up under the management of Discovery Kids, whose schedule it also appeared on.
Ready Set Learn! ran on TLC from December 28, 1992 to September 26, 2008, with Discovery Kids following suit during the 2000s. Despite brief skepticism on its chances as an "educational television" outlet, it was positively reviewed during both its 1990s and 2000s incarnations. The block helped TLC receive a CableACE Creators Award in 1995, and was also honored by the National Education Association, the American Academy of Children's Entertainment, and the Parents' Choice Foundation.
"Kids don't just sit and watch, they play along and learn at home."
The TLC network's foray into preschool television, Ready Set Learn! was first mentioned as early as August 1992. Of the first five shows announced for the block, three of them (Bookmice, Kitty Cats, and The Magic Box) would have their U.S. premieres there; the other two were rerun packages of Join In! (previously on the religious VISN network) and Zoobilee Zoo (a previously syndicated production of DIC Entertainment and Hallmark). Greg Moyer, Discovery Communications' senior vice-president of programming, expressed hope that a full-fledged channel would spin off from it within one or two years of launch.
According to TLC employee John Ford, the block was inspired by Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation, a 1990 Carnegie Foundation report which stated that 35% of U.S. children began their education unprepared. Assisted by director of programming Mike Quattrone (who had previously undertaken similar endeavors at PBS), Ford selected the shows on the strengths of their educational value along with their visual vibrancy. Finding it "extremely well-produced", he also bet on Kitty Cats as the block's breakout series.
Ready Set Learn! debuted on December 28, 1992, with Iris, The Happy Professor rounding out the six-show lineup. A competitor to the PBS lineup, its three-hour schedule aired twice on weekdays, first at 6:00 a.m. and again at 9:00 a.m. (in the Eastern Time Zone)—a slot that Ford viewed as "a safe haven". TLC chose to air it commercial-free because doing otherwise would detract from its purpose. As such, Discovery used the format as a loss leader for expansion of the network's carriage, which stood at 18 million homes at the time. According to the Associated Press, TLC invested $10 million in the block's initial development (excluding tentative fees from underwriting, a supplement that never came to fruition); original programming was also planned.
In its early years, Ready Set Learn! was hosted by children's entertainer Rory Zuckerman (billed simply as "Rory"). A resident of Bethesda, Maryland (where TLC's parent company Discovery was based), Rory set out to teach children language skills through her music, as well as to "welcome the children into the world of The Learning Channel and also the parents, care-givers and other viewers" as hostess. The block would become the home of her own shows, Rory and Me and Rory's Place, which were seen by one million combined viewers per month in 1996.
Ready Set Learn!
Ready Set Learn! is a defunct American television block broadcast from late 1992 until 2010 across the Discovery Communications-owned TLC and Discovery Kids networks. A cable competitor to PBS's children's offerings, it broadcast twice on weekday mornings and comprised three hours of original, imported, and rerun programming plus music videos geared towards preschoolers. In its early years, it was hosted by children's entertainer Rory Zuckerman, who was billed mononymously; an early 2003 relaunch replaced her with Paz, a penguin who was represented in animated and puppet form.
A 1990 Carnegie Foundation report inspired Discovery to develop the block; shows were selected based on their educational value and visual vibrancy. Amid a $10 million investment from TLC, a line of home video and software releases, and plans to spin it off into a standalone channel, the parent company used Ready as a loss leader to expand the network's carriage. A counterpart for older children debuted on the main Discovery Channel in early 1997. By mid-2002, the TLC block ended up under the management of Discovery Kids, whose schedule it also appeared on.
Ready Set Learn! ran on TLC from December 28, 1992 to September 26, 2008, with Discovery Kids following suit during the 2000s. Despite brief skepticism on its chances as an "educational television" outlet, it was positively reviewed during both its 1990s and 2000s incarnations. The block helped TLC receive a CableACE Creators Award in 1995, and was also honored by the National Education Association, the American Academy of Children's Entertainment, and the Parents' Choice Foundation.
"Kids don't just sit and watch, they play along and learn at home."
The TLC network's foray into preschool television, Ready Set Learn! was first mentioned as early as August 1992. Of the first five shows announced for the block, three of them (Bookmice, Kitty Cats, and The Magic Box) would have their U.S. premieres there; the other two were rerun packages of Join In! (previously on the religious VISN network) and Zoobilee Zoo (a previously syndicated production of DIC Entertainment and Hallmark). Greg Moyer, Discovery Communications' senior vice-president of programming, expressed hope that a full-fledged channel would spin off from it within one or two years of launch.
According to TLC employee John Ford, the block was inspired by Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation, a 1990 Carnegie Foundation report which stated that 35% of U.S. children began their education unprepared. Assisted by director of programming Mike Quattrone (who had previously undertaken similar endeavors at PBS), Ford selected the shows on the strengths of their educational value along with their visual vibrancy. Finding it "extremely well-produced", he also bet on Kitty Cats as the block's breakout series.
Ready Set Learn! debuted on December 28, 1992, with Iris, The Happy Professor rounding out the six-show lineup. A competitor to the PBS lineup, its three-hour schedule aired twice on weekdays, first at 6:00 a.m. and again at 9:00 a.m. (in the Eastern Time Zone)—a slot that Ford viewed as "a safe haven". TLC chose to air it commercial-free because doing otherwise would detract from its purpose. As such, Discovery used the format as a loss leader for expansion of the network's carriage, which stood at 18 million homes at the time. According to the Associated Press, TLC invested $10 million in the block's initial development (excluding tentative fees from underwriting, a supplement that never came to fruition); original programming was also planned.
In its early years, Ready Set Learn! was hosted by children's entertainer Rory Zuckerman (billed simply as "Rory"). A resident of Bethesda, Maryland (where TLC's parent company Discovery was based), Rory set out to teach children language skills through her music, as well as to "welcome the children into the world of The Learning Channel and also the parents, care-givers and other viewers" as hostess. The block would become the home of her own shows, Rory and Me and Rory's Place, which were seen by one million combined viewers per month in 1996.