Qubo (ˈkjuːboʊ ) is a multi-platform children's television
specialty channelA specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic....
endeavor operated as a
joint ventureA joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
between
ION Media NetworksION Media Networks is an American television broadcasting company that owns and operates over 60 television stations in most major American markets. It is now a privately owned company.-History:...
, NBCUniversal,
NelvanaNelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
, Scholastic Corporation, and
Classic MediaClassic Media, LLC, is an American production company and distributor of family programming. It was founded in 2000 by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Eric Ellenbogen and former Broadway Video executive John Engelman in hopes of acquiring mismanaged classic properties and giving exposure to...
. The endeavor operates multiple services under the Qubo branding, including programming blocks in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
on the
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
,
TelemundoTelemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
, and Ion Television networks, a
digital televisionDigital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
network, and
video on demandVideo on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
content. The first of these, the Saturday morning blocks, debuted on September 9, 2006.
History
On May 8, 2006,
ION Media NetworksION Media Networks is an American television broadcasting company that owns and operates over 60 television stations in most major American markets. It is now a privately owned company.-History:...
, NBCUniversal,
Corus EntertainmentCorus Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment conglomerate.Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's...
's
NelvanaNelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
, Scholastic Corporation, and
Classic MediaClassic Media, LLC, is an American production company and distributor of family programming. It was founded in 2000 by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Eric Ellenbogen and former Broadway Video executive John Engelman in hopes of acquiring mismanaged classic properties and giving exposure to...
announced plans to launch new children's entertainment endeavor spread across all media platforms, including video-on-demand on
digital cableDigital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
and an interactive webpage. Originally announced under the name "Smart Place for Kids", the official name
Qubo was announced in August 2006. The name "Qubo" was chosen for the platform due to its "fun" sound and marketability in both English and Spanish. Each owner contributed shows to the network.
The primary goal for Qubo is to
"provide quality, entertaining children's programming in a safe environment." The endeavor utilizes ION's digital broadcast outlets, the educational, literary, and creative assets of Scholastic, the acquisition duties of Classic Media, and the combined content libraries and production facilities of Nelvana, and NBC Universal, which will also dedicate its weekend morning lineups to Qubo. Qubo's Saturday morning block debuted on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and
TelemundoTelemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
on Saturday, September 9, 2006, replaced the
Discovery Kids blockDiscovery Kids on NBC was a six-hour block of Saturday morning television children's programming broadcast by NBC from September 14, 2002 to September 2, 2006. The block featured programming from the Discovery Kids cable network, and all of its programming met the FCC's "E/I" requirements...
on NBC. This was followed by the Qubo block repeating on Ion Television, which began on Friday, September 15,
20062006 in television may refer to:*2006 in American television*2006 in Australian television*2006 in British television*2006 in Canadian television*2006 in Japanese television...
. This was followed by the launch of a digital television network on January 8, 2007 on the
digital subchannelIn broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
s of Ion Television
affiliateAn affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
s.
Initially, religious content was edited out of the original
VeggieTales broadcasts by request of NBC's standards and practices department. The removal drew criticism from the Christian conservative watch group
Parents Television CouncilThe Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
, which complained to NBC. NBC replied that the editing conformed to the
television networkA television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
's broadcast standards of "not to advocate any one religious point of view."
VeggieTales creator
Phil VischerPhillip "Phil" Vischer is an American voice actor, animator, director, writer and puppeteer known for creating the computer-animated video series VeggieTales with partner and friend Mike Nawrocki...
also expressed discontent with the edits, stating that he was not informed that religious content would be removed from the series, and he would have refused to sign a contract if he had known of this beforehand. Vischer said, "I would have declined partly because I knew a lot of fans would feel like it was a sellout or it was done for money." Still, Vischer added that he understood NBC's wish to remain religiously neutral, and said, "
VeggieTales is religious, NBC is not. I want to focus people more on 'Isn't it cool that Bob and Larry are on television?'"
Qubo Channel
A 24-hour standalone
digital broadcast televisionDigital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
network, carried via the -DT2
digital subchannelIn broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
of ION's affiliates, began broadcasting on January 8, 2007. Qubo’s digital channel initially launched with a rolling four-hour block of children’s programming. Almost all of the programming also comes with an alternate
Spanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
soundtrack via the
SAPSecond audio program , also known as secondary audio programming, is an auxiliary audio channel for analog television that can be broadcast or transmitted both over the air and by cable TV.-Usage:...
channel, and Spanish
closed captioningClosed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it...
via CC3.
On December 3, 2007, Qubo expanded its offerings on the digital channel to include shows from other producers, as well as some programming currently seen on the main Qubo block on NBC. In addition, the block was expanded to a 6-hour block, seen four times each day.
In January 2008, ION Media Networks and
ComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
reached an agreement to continue carrying ION's bouquet of digital channels; Ion Television, Qubo and
ION LifeION Life is a digital television network carried by ION Television affiliates, airing lifestyle programming during the day, and movies in the evening. It was launched February 19, 2007...
except in Atlanta, GA as of September 10, 2011 where the Comcast viewers are oblivious to the network's existence. ION is currently seeking the inquiry of the
Federal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
for
must-carryIn cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
cable and satellite carriage of Qubo.
The same date Qubo's Night Owl was released, the network began officially advertising itself as "Qubo Channel" (which the NBC and Ion Television blocks already referred to the channel as in promos for the channel's programming on those networks' qubo-branded blocks) instead of simply "Qubo" in order to discern the channel from the Qubo-branded blocks on NBC, Telemundo and Ion Television.
While there is no Qubo channel available on DirecTV, the channel entitled "ION West" airs a Qubo block from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm every day.
Channel Blocks
On September 28, 2010, Qubo Channel launched a late night programing block aimed at older audiences entitled "Qubo's Night Owl", the block airing nightly from 12 a.m. - 6 a.m. Eastern time, features animated series primarily from the
FilmationFilmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
animation library such as
He-ManHe-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
,
She-RaShe-Ra: Princess of Power is an American animated television series produced in 1985 by Filmation. It is a spinoff of Filmation's highly successful He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, aimed primarily at a young girls' audience to counter-balance the latter show's popularity with boys...
,
BraveStarrBraveStarr is an American space Western animated television series. The original episodes aired from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. It was created simultaneously with a collection of action figures. BraveStarr was the last animated series produced by Filmation and Group W...
, and Filmation's Ghostbusters.
Scheduling notes
Not all shows are seen on all stations. During the NBC block, the programming might be delayed or pre-empted because of local affiliates schedules, or delayed by the network to show sporting events such as
WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, The French Open, and the USGA's
U.S. OpenThe United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
. As with all Saturday morning programming it is advisable to check local listings for showtimes. It is also required in the E/I regulations for stations to tell viewers where to find qubo's programming in an on-air programming note if it is not in its usual timeslot.
Due to ION's extension of regular programming, ION airs the block in one hour sections, Wednesdays-Fridays at 8:00 am Eastern/7:00 am Central.
Current programs on the Qubo broadcasts blocks
These programs are also aired on the qubo channel.
- Turbo Dogs
Turbo Dogs is a television show that airs on Qubo and Kids' CBC. The show is based on the book Racer Dogs by Bob Kolar. The show premiered on October 3, 2008.-Premise:...
(Scholastic)
- Shelldon
Shelldon is an animated television series. It co-produced by Tiny Island Productions, Voicebox Productions, AniTime, and BeboydCG, for Qubo. ShellHut entertainment holds the production copyright, and it was distributed by Entertainment Rights, and is now distributed by Classic Media...
(Classic Media)
- The Magic School Bus
The Magic School Bus is an American Saturday morning animated television series based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole. It is notable for its use of celebrity talent and combining entertainment with an educational show, according to an article in Animation World Magazine by...
(Scholastic / Nelvana)
- Babar
Babar is an animated television series produced in Canada by Nelvana Limited and The Clifford Ross Company. It premiered in 1989 on CBC and HBO, subsequently was rerun on HBO Family and Qubo. The series is based on Jean de Brunhoff's original Babar books, and was Nelvana's first international...
(Nelvana)
- Willa's Wild Life
Willa's Wild Life is an animated television series that first aired on ABC2 in 2008, then on Qubo and Nickelodeon Canada in 2009. The show is based on Dan Yaccarino's book An Octopus Followed Me Home. It is about a 9 year old girl named Willa who has some very unusual pets...
(Nelvana/YTV)
- Pearlie
Pearlie is a 2009 Australian-Canadian-American animated comedy series based on the children's book series Pearlie the Park Fairy by Wendy Harmer. Pearlie is a co-production between Australian children's television producer Sticky Pictures and Canadian animation house Nelvana...
(Nelvana/YTV)
Current programs on Qubo channel
- Jacob Two-Two
Jacob Two-Two is a Canadian animated TV series based on a trilogy of books written by Mordecai Richler that first aired on Canadian children's channel YTV and aired on the French Canadian VRAK.TV as Jacob Jacob and in Spanish on Telemundo as Jacobo Dos Dos. It was produced by Nelvana; before being...
(Nelvana/YTV)
- Maisy
Maisy Mouse is a fictional mouse from the picture book series created by British illustrator Lucy Cousins.Maisy is also an animated series developed by Nickelodeon from 1999–2001 and aired on Noggin from April 1, 2002 to November 2007. As of November 3, 2008, the series airs during weekdays on...
(NBCUniversal)
- Gofrette
Gofrette is a French-Canadian show, based on the books by Doris Brasset and Fabienne Michot. In the United States, it airs on Qubo.-Series overview:...
- Boo! (NBCUniversal)
- My Friend Rabbit
My Friend Rabbit is a children's picture book book written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann. Published in 2002, the book is a lighthearted tale about the friendship between a mouse and a rabbit. Rohmann won the 2003 Caldecott Medal for his illustrations...
(NelvanaNelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
)
- Rescue Heroes
Rescue Heroes is a line of toys from Fisher-Price that was introduced in 1997. Rescue Heroes depicts various rescue personnel and their equipment. In 1999, an animated television series titled Rescue Heroes was released and was based on the figurines...
(Nelvana/Teletoon)
- Rupert
Rupert is an animated television series based on the Mary Tourtel character Rupert Bear, produced by Nelvana, Ellipse Programmé and TVS for the first season, with Scottish Television taken over control when TVS closed. Aired from 1991 to 1997 with 65 half-hour episodes produced. It was broadcast...
(Nelvana)
- Marvin The Tap-Dancing Horse
Marvin The Tap-Dancing Horse is a Canadian animated television show produced by Nelvana. It tells the stories of a young horse named Marvin who is part of a carnival. Among the Executive Producers are Michael Paraskevas and Betty Paraskevas, creators of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast who also...
(Nelvana/PBS/Teletoon)
- The Zula Patrol
The Zula Patrol is an animated television series distributed by American Public Television to PBS stations in the United States. It is now also airing on Qubo. Some adaptations of the Zula Patrol also include planetarium shows....
(PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
)
- Adventures from the Book of Virtues
Adventures from the Book of Virtues is an animated television series which originally aired on PBS Kids in the United States for three seasons, beginning in 1996 and ending in 2000. There was a two-year gap in between the second and third seasons. In 2008 the series aired twice daily on qubo...
(PBS)
- Pippi Longstocking (Nelvana)
- 3-2-1 Penguins!
3-2-1 Penguins! is a series of Sci-Fi computer-animated cartoons launched on November 14, 2000.3-2-1 Penguins! is a series of Sci-Fi computer-animated cartoons launched on November 14, 2000.3-2-1 Penguins! is a series of Sci-Fi computer-animated cartoons launched on...
(Big Idea)
- Jane and the Dragon
Jane and the Dragon is a CGI animated series based on the books of the same name by Martin Baynton. The show is directed by Mike Fallows and motion capture directed by Peter Salmon; it is co-produced by Weta Workshop in New Zealand and Nelvana Limited in Canada...
(Nelvana/YTV)
- Miss BG
Miss BG is a 3-D animated series based on the Gudule et les bébés French children's book series published by Hachette-Jeunesse, authored by Fanny Joly and illustrated by Roser Capdevila. It is a joint Canadian/French production and is distributed by Breakthrough Animation...
(TVO)
- Dragon
Dragon is a Canadian stop-motion children's television program which is based on the books by best-selling children's author Dav Pilkey. The show first aired in Canada in 2004 and continues to air on Treehouse TV and on Qubo in the US....
(CorusCorus Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment conglomerate.Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's...
)
- Mighty Machines
Mighty Machines is a Canadian children's television show about machines and how they work. It is currently airing on TVO, Treehouse TV and other channels in Canada, including Access in Alberta, the Saskatchewan Communications Network, and Knowledge in British Columbia. It also aired on Discovery...
(Corus/Starz)
- Animal Exploration with Jarod Miller
Animal Exploration with Jarod Miller is a documentary television series about a personal tour guide to the world of animals. The series is hosted by Jarod Miller, and debuted in September 2007.-Plot:...
- The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog
The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog, a.k.a. Les Mystères d'Alfred, is an animated French-Canadian co-production made by Gaumont-Alphanim with distribution by Muse Entertainment Enterprises that airs on several broadcast and cable networks around the world. The show's characters consist of mainly...
- Sammy's Story Shop
Sammy's Story Shop is an educational cartoon series created by Scholastic Entertainment and Weston Woods for qubo.Its hosts are Sammy, Sharlene and Wiggy, who makes stories in his "magic pan"....
(Scholastic)
- Pecola
Pecola is a Japanese 3-D Anime series that was computer-generated in Canada, with cube-shaped anthropomorphic animals in a place called Cube Town. It is based on a series of children's picture books by Naomi Iwata. The show stars Pecola, a curious and hyperactive penguin that tries to help the...
(Nelvana/Teletoon)
Former programming
- VeggieTales
VeggieTales is an American series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables in stories conveying moral themes based on Christianity...
(September 9, 2006 – September 5, 2009)
- Lamb Chop's Play-Along
Lamb Chop's Play-Along is a children's television series that was shown on PBS in the United States from 1992 until 1997, as well as on YTV in Canada. It was created and hosted by puppeteer Shari Lewis, and featured her puppet character Lamb Chop. Appropriately, Lamb Chop was a sheep; other...
(January 8, 2007 – September 12, 2009)
- Theodore Tugboat
Theodore Tugboat is a Canadian children's television series about a tugboat named Theodore who lives in the Big Harbour with all of his friends. The show was produced in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada by the CBC , and the now defunct Cochran Entertainment, and was filmed on a model set using radio...
(January 8, 2007 – September 12, 2009)
- Class of the Titans
Class of the Titans is a Canadian animated television series created by Studio B Productions and Nelvana. It premiered on December 31, 2005 at 5 pm ET/PT on Teletoon with a special 90-minute presentation of the first three episodes. The series aired in the United States on qubo from September...
(September 19, 2009 – October 25, 2009)
- Being Ian
Being Ian is a Canadian animated series produced by Studio B Productions, Corus Entertainment and Nelvana, focusing on 12-year-old Ian Kelley, who aspires to become a filmmaker....
(September 19, 2009 – October 25, 2009)
- Elliot Moose
Elliot Moose is a Canadian children's live-action and animated series which was aired on TVOntario in Canada and PBS in the United States as part of the PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch until it was cancelled....
(January 8, 2007 – September 27, 2010)
- Postman Pat
Postman Pat is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations. It is aimed at pre-school children, and concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale .Postman Pat's first 13-episode season was screened on...
(2007 – September 27, 2010)
External links