KidsClick
KidsClick was a daily children's programming block distributed by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which premiered on July 1, 2017. The block, which primarily consisted of long-form animated series as well as some short-form content, was carried in the U.S. on terrestrial television network TBD, and on List of stations owned or operated by [Sinclair Broadcast Group|Sinclair-owned/operated television stations] in several markets. At launch, the block was available in 75 million households. The block marked the return of traditional weekday cartoons and Saturday morning cartoons to terrestrial television, as well as the first children's programming block on U.S. free-to-air television not to comply with Children's Television Act regulations since the Saban Brands-produced Vortexx closed on September 27, 2014.
The This TV iteration of the block accompanied an existing, unbranded lineup of educational programming on weekend mornings, which had aired on the network since November 1, 2013, after the closure of Cookie Jar Toons ; it also marked the first time that This TV had carried children's programming on Monday through Saturday mornings since Tribune assumed partial ownership of the network. On July 1, 2018, This TV stopped carriage of KidsClick, which was transferred to Sinclair's TBD channel, which had been carrying the block on a transitional basis since May 7 of that year.
On March 29, 2019, shortly after closing sister site Circa News, KidsClick's Facebook page announced the block's closure on March 31, 2019.
History
On May 2, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that it would launch a multi-platform children's programming block on linear television and online platforms. The company partnered with MGM Domestic Television Distribution to develop and distribute KidsClick, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Toon Goggles, which it planned to air nationally on This TV and select network affiliates and independent stations owned or operated by Sinclair on July 1, 2017. Its content encompasses short- and long-form material and is distributed online, through web browsers and mobile apps in video-on-demand and live streaming formats. The network's distribution and website utilized Imagine Communications' cloud technology from Sinclair's Las Vegas studios for their market triopoly.Sinclair returned to the children's television market with KidsClick several years after The Program Exchange closed, an industry estimated to be worth $1 billion, which is currently largely split in advertising revenue between Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Speaking to the return of children's programming on American commercial broadcast television, Steven M. Marks, COO and EVP of Sinclair Television Group, said in an earnings report on May 3, 2017: "That's a $1 billion-plus spot business that we don't get a dime from. So again, it's an illustration of going back into the marketplace and fishing in ponds that we haven't fished in. So that's $1 billion that is pretty much split between cable networks: Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network. Disney is a subscription network. 18 years ago, we were the kings of reaching kids every day. There's no reason in the world why we can't be successful in that space."
On March 29, 2019, KidsClick announced on Facebook that the block would shutdown on March 31. Sinclair also closed sister property Circa News three days prior to the announcement. Sinclair would later claim that the block was closed "for business reasons", but that its use of cloud technology was a successful testing ground to use the technology for its digital broadcast networks.
KidsClick ceased operations on March 31, 2019, with an airing of Oggy and the Cockroaches as its final program; all advertising made no mention of its shutdown, and the promotional spot at the end of the show mentioned it would return the next Saturday morning. For the vast majority of stations carrying it, temporary or permanent paid programming, religious programming, other syndicated content, or alternate E/I-complaint shows overlaid the former timeslot until more permanent programming was scheduled in the fall; this would turn out to be the national news service from Sinclair, The National Desk, for many Sinclair stations. Paid programming and some Internet-originated content series replaced it on TBD. Several days later, the block's website was taken down, with the domain redirected to the main Sinclair corporate page.
In 2022, three years after KidsClick's shutdown, nineteen stations, along with Sinclair itself and Nexstar Media Group, were proposed to be fined $3.4 million for a violation of children's ad guidelines, involving advertising for Mattel's Hot Wheels airing during episodes of Team Hot Wheels without being screened out, which under said guidelines, made the entire half-hour a program-length commercial.
Scheduling
The block was preferred to air every Monday-Friday from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m., and Saturday and Sundays from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. local time, though scheduling variances existed in certain markets due to network programming obligations, existing contracts for other syndicated programming or with paid or religious programming providers, or a preference to air news and sports programming in those slots. It aired in a downscaled letterbox format via This TV, as that network had yet to upgrade to an HD master feed; it otherwise aired in HD or at least in widescreen on most of its affiliates and via the TBD network later on.Because the programs featured on KidsClick did not meet educational content guidelines defined in the Children's Television Act by the Federal Communications Commission, This TV continued to air a block of live-action travel and wildlife series from Steve Rotfeld Productions immediately after the weekend broadcasts of the KidsClick lineup to fulfill the mandate. Sinclair-operated independent stations that aired KidsClick also continue to provide E/I-compliant programs acquired from the syndication market through individual distributors, from Fox's Xploration Station block managed by Rotfeld, or via the Litton Entertainment-distributed Go Time block to meet the quotas.
Programming
Former programming
Original programming
Some of the following programming made their debut or some previous programming that premiered on other networks aired new episodes on KidsClick.| Title | Premiere date | End date | Original network | Moved to | Source |
| Scary Larry | July 1, 2017 | December 10, 2017 | Originally aired | ||
| Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir | July 3, 2017 | March 29, 2019 | Nickelodeon | Disney Channel | |
| Rocket Monkeys | July 3, 2017 | March 29, 2019 | Nickelodeon | - | |
| Super 4 | July 3, 2017 | August 24, 2018 | Netflix | Primo TV Netflix | |
| Team Hot Wheels | September 16, 2017 | January 20, 2019 | Cartoon Network Netflix | ||
| Zak Storm | September 30, 2017 | January 7, 2018 | Originally aired | Discovery Family | |
| Mecard | June 16, 2018 | January 20, 2019 | Originally aired | ||
| The Legendaries | June 16, 2018 | July 8, 2018 | Originally aired | Primo TV | |
| Lego Friends: Girls on a Mission | December 10, 2018 | January 22, 2019 | Originally aired | Kabillion |