qubo

World Screen Weekly, January 4,
2007

COUNTRY: U.S.

LAUNCH DATE: September 9, 2006, as an analog program block; January 8,
2007, as a 24-hour digital terrestrial service

OWNERSHIP: Joint venture between ION Media Networks (51 percent), NBC
Universal, Scholastic, Classic Media (which is in the process of being acquired
by Entertainment Rights) and Corus Entertainment

DISTRIBUTION: As a programming block, qubo is carried on three networks:
NBC, reaching 99 percent of U.S. homes, on Saturday mornings; i network,
reaching 84 percent of U.S. homes, on Friday afternoons; and Telemundo,
reaching 92 percent of U.S. Hispanic homes, on weekend mornings. As a 24-hour
network, it is distributed through ION Media Networks’ television station
group.

DESCRIPTION: qubo is billing itself as a multiplatform entertainment
destination for English- and Spanish-speaking children, focusing on literacy
and values and encouraging a child’s imagination. It is carried on three
broadcast networks as a programming block, is available as a 24-hour digital
terrestrial channel, and plans to offer video-on-demand services.

PRESIDENT & GENERAL
MANAGER: Rick Rodriguez

SENIOR VP, ADVERTISING SALES
& SPONSORSHIPS: Kerry Hughes

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: With NBC Universal, Corus Entertainment, Scholastic and
Classic Media as its co-owners, qubo has a significant programming library to
tap into. For Rick Rodriguez, qubo’s president and general manager, whittling
down that large volume to a few key shows hasn’t been difficult, given the
channel’s mandate: “We’re focused on E/I [educational and/or informational] compliant content,” he says. “We also thought it was important, because of our
educational mission, to focus on early-elementary-aged children, so our target
is 4- to 8-year-olds. That helped narrow the selection for us.”

Among qubo’s key offerings are
Classic Media’s Veggie­Tales, Corus
Entertainment’s Babar, Jane and the
Dragon and Jacob Two-Two and Scholastic Entertainment’s Dragon. “We’re delighted that everything is performing extremely
well,” Rodriguez notes. In fact, the shows are outperforming last year’s
ratings for the same time slot.

Initially programmed as a
three-hour block, qubo will soon be available as a full 24-hour channel, and
Rodriguez is excited about the prospects for filling out the remainder of the
schedule. While Classic, Corus, NBC Universal and Scholastic will continue to
be large providers of content for the channel—contributing about 1,000
half-hour episodes—Rodriguez is also looking to external partners. “The
idea is that we will probably reserve a third of our inventory to third-party
acquisitions and co-productions,” he says. “One of the things that we really
need to drive home is our literacy mission. So far the content that we’ve put
on the air is more traditional preschool, but I’d really like to find shows
that more clearly deliver on the core literacy mission—not just reading
and writing but developing more critical media literacy skills. It is a crowded
landscape. The key thing is to differentiate ourselves from all the various
competitors.”

Rodriguez is also eyeing original
Spanish-language content for the version of the block that airs on Telemundo.
Looking for ideas in the international market is particularly appealing for
Rodriguez, a former head of the Travel Channel in the U.S. who also
participated in the rollout of Discovery HD channels in Europe and Asia. “I’m
really anxious to begin talking with commissioners around the world,” he says.

While he has a strong background
in factual programming, Rodriguez was excited about the opportunity to return
to kids’ television, after helping to launch Discovery Kids in Latin America
and in the U.S. Hispanic market. “I always loved the kids’ business. One of the
reasons I left Discovery was that I really wanted to flex more of my creative
muscles and over the last two years I’ve been focused on developing my own
programs and also developing video games. The opportunity to come back to the
kids’ space and work with top creatives around the world was just really
thrilling.”

WHAT’S NEW: In the face of tough competition—Kids’ WB!, 4Kids TV and KOL
Secret Slumber Party on CBS in the
broadcast landscape, as well as the dedicated kids’ cable networks—qubo
is particularly keen to fulfill its multiplatform mandate, reaching kids
wherever they are and solidifying their connection with the channel. “It’s very
early days, but my ambition for qubo.com and our broadband initiatives would be
that we allow children to expand their relationship with our characters and
with our programs,” Rodriguez says. “For example, on the literacy front,
specifically media literacy, I’m hoping to begin to feature user-created
content that will allow kids to manipulate segments from shows that are on the
air, basically creating their own stories. It’s wide open, but I think that’s
an exciting space that no one is really tapping into.”

WEBSITE: www.qubo.com

—By Mansha Daswani

Subscribe to World Screen
Weekly and have channel profiles delivered to
your inbox every Thursday.