Planeta U
Planeta U, usually referenced as Tu Planeta U is an American children's programming block that airs on the Spanish language television network Univision, which debuted on September 15, 2001. The three-hour block – which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and Pacific Time – features animated series aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 8.
Programs featured on the block consist almost entirely of Spanish-dubbed versions of series that were originally produced and broadcast in English. All shows featured on Planeta U are designed to meet federally mandated educational programming guidelines defined by the Federal Communications Commission via the Children's Television Act.
History
The block's origins stem from a settlement that preceded the FCC's approval of network parent Univision Communications' $12.3 billion acquisition by Broadcasting Media Partners Inc.. As part of a consent decree in the deal that included the payment of a $24 million fine – the largest single fine levied against any corporation by the FCC at the time – that was issued against Univision in February 2007, following an investigation stemming from complaints filed in 2005 by the United Church of Christ and the National Hispanic Media Coalition during pending license renewal proceedings for two of its owned-and-operated stations that uncovered violations of Children's Television Act guidelines, which require over-the-air television broadcasters to air a minimum of three hours of compliant educational programming each week, by the network's 24 O&Os. The violations regarded youth-oriented telenovelas from Televisa and Venevision aired by the network that were claimed by the stations as core educational programs in 116 weekly CTA compliance reports filed between 2004 and early 2006.On April 5, 2008, Univision announced that it would launch a new Saturday morning block featuring live-action and animated series aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 16. Unlike other children's program blocks in existence at the time, the network opted to fully program the block with shows acquired from various programming distributors. Two days later, "Planeta U" debuted, marking the first time that Univision carried an exclusively animated children's program block for younger audiences, having previously carried live action variety-based series alongside half-hour cartoons prior to the shift towards filling its weekend morning schedule with youth-targeted novelas in 2003. The block's initial lineup consisted mainly of Spanish-dubbed versions of American and Canadian children's programs, with Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, Pinky Dinky Doo, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, Inspector Gadget's Field Trip and Beakman's World as part of its inaugural lineup.
Dora the Explorer was previously broadcast on rival network Telemundo from 2000 to 2001 as part of “Nickelodeon en Telemundo”, then again from 2004 to 2006 as part of “Telemundo Kids”. However, Univision's broadcasts of the show added on-screen captions of the Spanish words spoken in English.
Additional educational content was included in the form of the interstitial segment Hoy en la Historia, featuring facts of relevance to historical events, and a series of public service announcements featuring popular Hispanic celebrities sharing focused on ethical and personal safety messages, and environmental conservation tips. "Planeta U" originally aired as a single three-hour, Saturday-only block until September 2008, when the network began airing an hour-long extension on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. The Sunday lineup was discontinued in September 2013, with the remaining Saturday block reverting to three hours.
On June 3, 2014, Walt Disney Television entered into an agreement with Univision in which it launched a new sub-block within the "Planeta U" lineup called "Disney Junior en Univision", featuring dubbed versions of original series from Disney Junior during the first two hours of the block; Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny were the first series to air as part of the sub-block. The sub-block was discontinued on May 26, 2018 which the sub-block was later being replaced by Naturaleza Humana the following week on June 2nd, then replaced by Franklin and Friends on June 18th, 2022 at the last hour of the block.
On August 1, 2015, Univision added its first original children's program as part of the block, Sesame Amigos, a half-hour Spanish language version of Sesame Street produced by Sesame Workshop for the network, featuring learning games and educational intersitials similar to those featured on and select characters from the HBO series, with Univision talent and other Hispanic and Latino celebrities making guest appearances during some segments.
On July 7, 2024, Univision's Planeta U block moved to Sunday mornings for one week only before reverting back to Saturday mornings a week later.
In 2025, Univision stopped using the Planeta U branding, and replaced it with a robot as their mascot. The block's new name is not confirmed as of December 2025.
As of 2026, Univision is one of only two commercial broadcast networks that still airs animated programming within a Saturday morning timeslot, the other being MeTV with its Saturday Morning Cartoons block.