Rumour: Universal Kids, The American Counterpart Of DreamWorks Channel Is Shutting Down

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A major shakeup is happening to one of NBCUniversal’s linear channels. Universal Kids, a channel focused on children’s programming is shutting down later this year.

Cord Cutters News first learned that it will reportedly shut down on March 6, 2025, which is the day it’s also being removed from Spectrum TV.

Launched in 2005 as PBS Kids Sprout, the network changed its name to Sprout in 2009. In 2013, Comcast, the parent company of NBCU, acquired a full ownership stake in the network and fully rebranded it to Universal Kids in 2017.

Over the years, the network was home to popular children’s shows including Sesame Street, The Berenstain Bears, Where’s Waldo, American Ninja Warrior Junior, The Wiggles, and other NBCUniversal programming.

The network was aiming to compete with Disney Junior and the Nick Jr. Channel in the children’s programming space. However, Universal Kids struggled to maintain viewership in an increasingly competitive market with the rise of streaming services like Netflix, and Disney+.

This news comes months after it was announced that Comcast has officially spun off its linear TV networks, including USA Network and MSNBC into SpinCo. The Universal Kids shutdown and the spinoff are part of a larger strategy by NBCUniversal to streamline its operations and focus on more profitable ventures. The spinoff will take around one year to complete as NBCU tries to navigate through the ongoing transformation within the media industry.

NBCU hasn’t officially announced if the channel is going dark however, Cord Cutters News has independently confirmed that the network is shutting down on March 6, 2025.

This was originally published by Cord Cutter News.