| BabyTV | |
| Closed Date: | (Japan) (Hong Kong and Unifi TV, Malaysia) (Astro feed, Malaysia) (Latvia) (Italy, Russia and Belarus) (India) (Southeast Asia) (Taiwan) |
| Picture Format: | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 576i/480i for the SD feed) |
| Country: | United Kingdom Israel United States Europe (except Russia, Latvia, Belarus and Italy) |
| Area: | Worldwide |
| Headquarters: | London[1] |
| Owner: | Talit Communications (Israel) The Walt Disney Company Limited (International) |
| Online Serv 1: | Service(s) |
| Online Chan 1: | Sling TV, YouTube TV |
BabyTV (stylised as Babytv) is a multilingual, international television channel for babies, toddlers and preschoolers aged 4 or lower. In Israel, the channel is owned and operated by Talit Communications while The Walt Disney Company Limited (the international division of The Walt Disney Company) controls ownership and operations in all other territories. The channel is headquartered in London[1] with television distribution handled by Disney subsidiaries across the world. The channel first launched in 2003 in Israel and 2005 in the United Kingdom. BabyTV is distributed in over 100 countries, broadcasting in 18 languages (as of 2013). The channel broadcasts shows without television commercial interruptions. In the United States, the channel is distributed by Disney General Entertainment Content.
BabyTV was first developed in December 2003 as an educational block for babies and toddlers in Israel by Ron Isaak, Maya and Liran Talit and members of their families.[2] [3] The Talits relocated to London to establish International Baby TV. Their first international deal was with Télévision Par Satellite in France.[4]
The first six programmes to air on BabyTV were "Hands Up", "Tulli", "Bouncy Balls", "Jammers", "Little Chick" and "1, 2, 3, Tell A Story".
In October 2007, News Corp's Fox International Channels acquired a majority stake in BabyTV, placing it alongside its international offerings of Fox Crime, Fox, National Geographic and others.
In 2006, Indovision and Dori Media International launched Baby TV in Indonesia.[5] [6] Rebranded as Vision 3 Baby and dubbed in Indonesian, it has the same program content and schedules as BabyTV Asia. Vision 3 Baby has since been replaced by the international version of BabyTV. The channel was also launched on Sky Digital in the UK on 5 February 2007.[7] In January 2008, StarHub brought it to Singapore.[8] By this time, BabyTV was also available in South Korea through MegaTV and HanaTV, Taiwan via Yoyo TV, on VTV3 in Vietnam, and on FoxHD and the National Geographic Channel in Japan. In October, the channel was added to Daarsat in Nigeria.[9] [10]
On July 7, 2007, Baby TV began broadcasting in the CIS and Baltic countries.[11] The channel broadcasts exclusively in English, but since 2013 programs in Russian have been posted on the YouTube channel[12] and on services.[13]
In 2008, French authorities banned the broadcasting of programs aimed at children under the age of 3, and ordered warnings to be included on foreign channels available in France such as BabyTV and its competitor BabyFirst.[14]
The channel, along with Fox Crime and Fox, was launched in India on 25 March 2009.[15] In June, a localized Spanish-language channel was added to Sky Mexico.[16] The following month, it was also added to Sky Italia.[17] In July 2010, it was announced that Fox and Asia Television Limited would bring BabyTV to Hong Kong through Now TV.[18] [19]
In January 2011, RRsat signed an agreement with BabyTV to distribute the channel to North America via Intelsat’s Galaxy 23 satellite.[20] In February, BabyTV was added to the Spanish-language programming package of Dish Network.[21] In May, it launched in Malaysia via Astro. In December, BabyTV was launched in the Philippines via Sky Cable.
In June 2012, the channel was brought to Japan in partnership with J:COM.[22] In October, BabyTV premiered on mio TV (now known as Singtel TV) in Singapore.[23] That same month, Pixel TV in Ukraine added the channel.[24] In November 2016, BabyTV was added to Sling TV as part of the company's offering for children.[25]
It is also available on Orbit Network, OSN Network, beIN Network and My-HD with Arabic language.
On March 20, 2019, The Walt Disney Company finalized its acquisition of 21st Century Fox.[26] Baby TV became a part of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. It was considered a surplus asset in the deal, due to its properties having no connection to any existing Disney properties or characters, and Disney Junior was already Disney's major preschool and toddler brand. The company already had dealt with various issues regarding screen time for newborns and toddlers (including its own controversial Baby Einstein franchise it sold off in 2013), so BabyTV has become de facto depreciated over time by its new ownership.
On 31 January 2021, Japanese cable providers stopped airing BabyTV. On 1 September 2021, BabyTV ceased broadcasting on Now TV.
On 1 October 2021, BabyTV and numerous other Disney-owned channels would end transmissions in Southeast Asia.[27] On 18 October 2021, Disney announced that it would close down BabyTV in India alongside Star World and Star World Premiere HD on 15 March 2023, following similar decisions taken worldwide to close down English general entertainment channels.[28]
In January 2022, Astro informed its customers that BabyTV would be replaced by Moonbug Kids starting in February.[29]
On 9 June 2022, BabyTV ceased broadcasting in Latvia, because the TV license was from Russia.[30]
On 1 October 2022, BabyTV, National Geographic, and National Geographic Wild were closed in Italy, Russia and Belarus discontinuing all active linear TV services owned by Disney in those countries, apart from Disney Channel in Russia. BabyTV is still available in Russian and Italian on YouTube.
Baby Network Limited was liquidated in September 2023.[31] That same month, Charter Communications in the United States dropped BabyTV and its Spanish language simulcast, among several other channels, from Spectrum to retain carriage of other Disney networks and pick up Disney+ streaming plans.[32] Focusing solely on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar, The Walt Disney Company ceased broadcasting in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Korea, and Philippines in October 2023.[33] Services in Taiwan were shut down in December.[34] [35]
In 2024, ownership transitioned over to The Walt Disney Company Ltd., although BabyTV remains a standalone service out of Disney's marketing and brand strategies.
On March 28, 2024, BabyTV's transmission in The Netherlands, Portugal, and Scandinavia was hijacked to broadcast Russian propaganda.[36] A second hack took place on April 17; the channel was then taken off the air as a precaution,[37] [38] after the incident, the frequency of the satellite was changed so that nothing would happen again.
As of August 2024, BabyTV is available only in one CIS country - Armenia.[39] [40] [41] BabyTV’s programmes are still available in Russian on YouTube[12] and on services.[13]
BabyTV's original programming library, which is developed in-house in co-operation with childhood development experts and content experts is built around nine developmental topics, which cover all early learning skills and developmental milestones for babies and toddlers.
The nine categories, include the following. They are:
BabyTV's video on demand service features edited segments of BabyTV programming, categorized into their nine developmental themes, in hundreds of half hour segments and is available in languages including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin and Turkish. The on-demand channel is available on Singtel TV. It will be launched to StarHub TV in Singapore and other pay TV providers in Asia in the future.
BabyTV has introduced a DVD offering. "My First Years Library" is a library that covers early learning skills and developmental milestones that children encounter in their first years. BabyTV's DVD collection features segments of BabyTV content and includes some of the channel's leading characters, such as Pitch & Potch, & Kenny & Goorie.[42] [43]
RR Media provides playout and uplink services to the BabyTV channel. Languages are encrypted and uplinked via Hotbird 6, Measat 3a and Galaxy 23.