| Discovery Kids | |
|---|---|
| Launched | April, 1996 |
| Owned by | Discovery Communications |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Spanish/Portuguese (for Brazil) |
| Broadcast area | Latin America and Brazil |
| Headquarters | Miami, Florida (United States) |
| Sister channel(s) | Discovery Channel Animal Planet People+Arts Discovery Home & Health |
| Website | Discovery Kids Latin America Discovery Kids Brazil |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Dish Network Mexico | channel 310 |
| Internet television | |
| OneLink Communications | Channel 50 |
Discovery Kids Latin America is a cable television channel owned by Discovery Communications and headquartered in Miami, Florida, which started as a programming block on the Latin American version of Discovery Channel. It is the only Discovery channel to feature spokescharacters. Since the original U.S. version's rebranding as The Hub on October 10, 2010, it's the now only Discovery Kids channel in the world.
Contents |
The channel started broadcasting on April 1996. Originally its programming was aimed at older children and teens, airing shows such as Ghostwriter, Popular Mechanics for Kids and Cyberkids.
In 2002, when Discovery Kids in United States was being launched as a programming block on NBC, the Latin American channel changed its programming to focus mainly on the pre-school audience. Programming for young children aired round-the-clock on weekdays, while series for teens aired only on weekends. This was due to low ratings on the non-preschool programming and hard competition with rival networks Cartoon Network Latin America, Nickelodeon Latin America and Fox Kids Latin America(now known as Disney XD Latin America).
In January 2003, the channel changed its programming to target mainly pre-schoolers and dropping all teen series completely, airing series and shows for young children round-the-clock seven days a week. In April 2005, the channel introduced Doki, a dog who would become the official mascot of the channel. In 2008, Doki was accompanied by Mundi, a female anthropomorphic ladybug who serves as his best friend; the channel had previously introduced characters who are Doki's friends, including Gabi, a sheep, Oto, an anteater, Fico, an otter, and Anabella, a flamingo. Some new graphics designed by Cuppa Coffee, featuring a CGI dog, were also introduced at this time.
On March 30, 2009 the channel radically changed its logo, and adopted new programming, bumpers and schedules.[1]
In the United States, it is available as a block on Discovery Familia, known as Discovery Kids en Español.