Channel 5 in the U.K. has expanded the amount of free kids’ content available from its multiplatform preschool brand Milkshake! amid the school closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There will be 250 additional episodes of Milkshake! content uploaded onto Channel 5’s VOD service My5 this week, joining the 500 episodes of Milkshake! content already on the platform. Programming set to be made available includes seasons of
Mr Men,
Mofy,
Meet the Hedgehogs,
Secret Life of Puppies,
Secret Life of Kittens and
Angelina Ballerina. Series one to four of
Milkshake! Monkey will also be added, making all five series available on My5 for kids to enjoy. All of the content will be made available on the Amazon Firestick via the My5 App.
The properties will be available on My5, which is accessible via all major platforms and devices, and will also continue to be available through the More Milkshake channel on Amazon’s Prime Video service.
On social media platforms, two additional hours of content will be uploaded to the Milkshake!
YouTube and/or
Instagram page each week. New uploads will take place every morning, following the linear transmission of the block, extending the fun for kids at home after Milkshake! comes off air. Brand new content will include
Milkshake! Activities and
Milkshake! Move & Shake shorts led by Milkshake! presenters, as well as new fact and mindfulness posts. The content will supplement the 22 hours of shorts and posts already made available on Milkshake!’s social platforms, covering birthdays, craft, dance, music, story time, keeping fit, food, celebrations and learning about new things.
On-air, there will be a brand-new episode scheduled every day between March and August, including the launch of
Daisy & Ollie and
Ricky Zoom as well as new episodes of
Abby Hatcher,
Floogals,
Little Princess,
Sunny Bunnies,
Butterbeans Café,
PAW Patrol,
Noddy Toyland Detective,
Shimmer & Shine,
Becca’s Bunch,
Mya Go,
The Day Henry Met,
Wissper,
Thomas & Friends,
Top Wing and
Nella the Princess Knight. As well as long form content, twenty one brand new
Daisy & Ollie Nursey Rhymes will be made available on air from April 4th, as well as new YouTube craft shorts
Milkshake! Makes, which will be edited for broadcast from April 11th onwards.
Louise Bucknole, Vice President (VP) of kids’ programming at ViacomCBS Networks UK, said: “The Milkshake! team is working around the clock to deliver a broad range of additional free content across our platforms, helping kids and families to stay entertained as they navigate through these unchartered waters. We know how hard it is for parents and carers stuck at home indoors with their children. All of our content is designed to help keep young kids occupied in a fun, safe and learning environment, providing the adults with a much-needed break or co-viewing option with their little ones!”
Meanwhile, over on Nickelodeon, Nicktoons and Nick Jr., stacks of top-rating shows including
Henry Danger,
The Thundermans and
Horrid Henry will now play out during the week, with extra specials and films made available at the weekends. Favourites including
Peppa Pig and
The Adventures of Paddington will be ramped up on Nick Jr. with the brand’s ‘Make It & Bake It’ stunt making a return, alongside a daily tune in singalong slot and
Ready Set Dance shorts. On digital, 450 interactive and educational games will be made freely available across Nickelodeon’s sites and apps to super serve families stuck inside, whilst social platforms will be used to encourage laughter and light heartedness, tapping into trending conversations and encouraging fans to keep active along the way. The extra activity forms part of the wider international Nickelodeon campaign launched last week titled
#KidsTogether. The global prosocial initiative is using Nickelodeon’s most popular characters and talent to provide tips for staying healthy and fun ideas for families at home during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Nick Jr. highlights include:
-- New episodes of
Ricky Zoom from Monday 6th April 2020
-- New
PAW Patrol Easter Stunt, featuring new episodes
-- Fans can set foot on Planet Peppa when Nick Jr. Too becomes Nick Jr. Peppa!
--
Sing-A-Long with Peppa Pig: Viewers can watch Nick Jr. for their very own music class with Peppa! Singalong everyday with your little ones favourite from 10am:
-- Parents can visit Nick Jr. Parents on Instagram (
@NickJr.UK) for lots of ideas on how to keep little ones busy during the pandemic.
Virgin Media in the U.K. and NOW TV in Ireland are
currently offering children's channels for free to entertain kids during the coronavirus pandemic.
Additionally, Sky has made some educational collections available on
Sky Kids, with the aim of helping families who will be spending more time together at home in the coming weeks and supporting their little ones during school closures. The
Learning From Home collections are now available to Sky Kids’ customers in three key curriculum stages as follows. Featured content includes
Ryan’s Mystery Playdate,
Rusty Rivets,
Numberblocks,
Octonauts,
Ocean Rescue: Dive In & Do It,
Maddie’s Do You Know?, dance tutorials from
Kidz Bop and Sky Sports’
Kids Fit in 5,
Braydon Meets,
Horrible Histories and
Operation Ouch. A special episode of weekly news show
FYI focusing on Coronavirus will be available from 28 March.
Alongside this Sky Kids also has new shows for kids like
The Adventures of Paddington from Nick Jr and DreamWorks Animation’s
Where’s Wally?. This Easter Sky Kids will launch all-new episodes of
Moominvalley, plus a new Sky original,
Bad Nature that brings disgusting animal facts to life with comedy. As well as these new collections, Sky Kids also has 11 kids’ channels and 5000 episodes of on demand content for under 12s including
Mr Bean,
Peppa Pig,
Henry Danger and
Morph. Sky Kids’ customers can also download our Kids app which has all of this plus an interactive art studio – so the little ones can get creative – and over 80 games including learning games such as Phonics, Coding, Maths and quizzes to make
Learning From Home easy.
Last week it was announced that Apple TV will
host Nick Jr.’s learning subscription service Noggin in the UK, alongside 24 other territories. The Apple TV app will host Nick Jr. pre-school shows such as
PAW Patrol and
Shimmer and Shine, with characters from these shows also set to appear on the service’s educational content.
Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Channel 5 has had to cancel its
Milkshake! Live - Milkshake Monkey's Musical tour dates in March and April. The channel is hoping to go ahead with May dates, however, depending on official guidelines and advice, however, this may change. Below is Channel 5's official announcement:
Milkshake! Live - Milkshake Monkey's Musical
In response to the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) and the resulting closure of theatres and venues across the country, we are sorry to inform you that we are cancelling Milkshake! Live tour dates in March and April.
We apologise for any disappointment caused by this decision and we thank you for your understanding.
Currently, we are hoping to go ahead with May dates, however, depending on official guidelines and advice, this may change.
Please note: Ticket holders for the affected shows will be contacted directly by the relevant venues. The theatres and staff are working very hard to deal with this situation and they politely request your patience and understanding as they deal with this.
On behalf of all of us at Milkshake! Live ‘keep well and be safe’ during this difficult time.
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More Nick: Nickelodeon Launches #KidsTogether--A Global Prosocial Initiative to Help Kids and Families Stay Informed and Engaged With Activities; Noggin to be Offered Free to Kids in Need in Partnership with National Head Start Association and First Book
Originally published: Thursday, March 26, 2020.
Original sources: TVKIDS. Advanced Television, Animation Magazine.
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