Sky & Turner in Kids’ Programming Pact

LONDON: Sky has agreed to a long-term deal bringing more content from Turner’s kids’ channels Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Cartoonito to its customers, and becoming the exclusive home of on-demand box sets of The Amazing World of Gumball and Adventure Time.

Under the terms of the deal, Sky TV customers can watch Turner shows such as the upcoming series The Powerpuff Girls, as well as have exclusive on-demand access to box sets of The Amazing World of Gumball and Adventure Time. Key shows from Turner’s kids’ channels will be available via the new Sky Kids app, which launched last month. Episodes can also be found through the Sky Kids tile on the Sky TV homepage, which leads to a one-stop-shop for all of the kids’ shows and movies available on-demand, all kids’ TV recordings and a quick view of what is currently airing on linear channels such as Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

Beginning in May, in addition to watching content live, kids will be able to access more episodes on-demand, including Cartoon Network’s Ben 10 and The Regular Show and Boomerang’s classics series such as Scooby-Doo, Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes. Sky offers a wide range of live children’s channels, and the new agreement with Turner increases the number of available on-demand episodes of kids’ shows to 4,500.

Lucy Murphy, the head of kids’ content at Sky, said, “Turner produces some of kids’ absolute favorite shows and we are really excited Sky will be the only place they can watch box sets of The Amazing World of Gumball and Adventure Time. We know how much our customers love Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Cartoonito so it is great news that our relationship with Turner will be continuing for many years to come.

“Having great shows for kids really matters to us. We want the millions of Sky families to have the very best kids’ entertainment available whenever and wherever they want to watch, including on the amazing new Sky Kids app.”

Ian McDonough, the senior VP and managing director at Turner, Northern Europe, commented, “We are delighted to be expanding our partnership with Sky. This is an important and much-valued relationship, and a testament to our ongoing commitment to deliver the very best curated and connected Turner brand experiences for young audiences and their families.

“This is a thrilling time for our business as we see a stronger slate than ever coming from our powerhouse studios in the U.S. and London. Our kids’ channel and program brands go from strength to strength with more great launches imminent, including the re-versioned and much loved cult hit The Powerpuff Girls and the latest iteration of perennial boy hero Ben 10.”