The Children\u2019s Media Foundation has expressed its \u201csurprise and deep concern\u201d that Sky is ceasing kids\u2019 commissioning.<\/p>\n
Sky Kids has built up a stable of 150 originals, with 13 new ones arriving over the next two years alongside returning seasons. It is now shifting its focus entirely to acquisitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cSky Kids has built an extensive library of high-quality and award-winning original programming and third-party content that continues to engage and delight young audiences,” Jamie Morris, executive director of content strategy and performance at Sky, said in a statement. “With a strong pipeline of new original shows still to come, we now have a rich slate of content that allows us to evolve our strategy. In the future, Sky Kids will focus on acquiring third-party content. While this means reviewing the number of roles required to deliver the next phase of our offer, we remain committed to bringing the very best in children\u2019s entertainment to families across the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a depressing and short-sighted decision, which will leave U.K. children less well-served,\u201d the Children\u2019s Media Foundation said in a statement. \u201cSky Kids content has gained a reputation among parents and young people as high value, rich, thoughtful as well as fun. This is what our children need more than ever in the face of competition for their attention from high-volume, cheaply made content that dominates the YouTube offering.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foundation notes that while the \u201ceconomics of children’s content are increasingly difficult in the face of competition from YouTube…giving up on young people is not the right option. This decision leaves the BBC and 5\u2019s Milkshake! as the only significant commissioners of factual and entertainment content for children in the U.K.\u2014not a position the public service broadcaster wishes to see, and not good for the audience. Healthy competition was provided by Sky, and healthier kids were the outcome of its program offering.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foundation is urging Sky to reconsider the decision and maintain a level of commission to \u201csupport the already badly hit children’s media\u201d and enable U.K. kids to \u201cexperience their own stories and hear their own voices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greg Childs, director of the CMF, said, \u201cThis is not the time to give up on great U.K. content for U.K. kids. Just as we are working with government and platforms like YouTube to help children and young people find more personally and socially valuable content on video-sharing platforms, Sky is walking away from its kids’ audience. What\u2019s needed is fresh thinking about deals and partnerships that take their content to where kids are watching, not a knee-jerk cost-cutting spree which will damage their relationship with their customers and certainly diminish the prospects of quality viewing time for children in their country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Children\u2019s Media Foundation has expressed its \u201csurprise and deep concern\u201d that Sky is ceasing kids\u2019 commissioning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":30108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[1226,9736,976],"class_list":["post-30106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-childrens-media-foundation","tag-greg-childs","tag-sky-kids","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n