Telemundo Kids

Telemundo Kids is a former American children's programming block that aired on Telemundo from October 6, 2001, to September 3, 2006. The three-hour Saturday and Sunday morning block, which borrowed its name from Telemundo's 1995-1998 Saturday morning block Telemundo Infantil (in English, Telemundo Kids), targeted children between the ages of 2 and 14 with a mix of live-action and animated series from America, Japan, Spain, and Canada. It was controlled by Telemundo Network Group, LLC, a unit of NBCUniversal.

Programming seen on Telemundo Kids came from various production companies and distributors, including Universal Television Animation, Sony Pictures Entertainment (via Adelaide Productions and Sony Pictures Television), Nickelodeon (and its Canadian partner YTV), Toei Animation, and BRB Internacional. All series were designed to met educational programming guidelines defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) via the Children's Television Act. Telemundo Kids typically ran from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET/PT, though some Telemundo affiliates choice to pre-empt the block in favor of infomercials.

Telemundo Kids aired for the final time on September 3, 2006. The following week, "Qubo on Telemundo" debuted.

History
In October 2001, the weekend morning Telemundo Kids blocks made their debut, after Nickelodeon en Telemundo was discontinued on September 30, 2001. The block was divided across Sábados de Fantasía ("Fantasy Saturdays") and Domingos de Aventura ("Adventure Sundays").

On September 18, 2004, Nickelodeon-produced shows returned to Telemundo for the first time in nearly 3 years, including Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, The Alpha Squad, and Dora the Explorer (veterans of both Nickelodeon en Telemundo and Nick on CBS/Nick Jr. on CBS), and All Grown Up!.

Following the sale of Telemundo to NBC in 2001 and the CBS/Viacom split in early 2006, the block was discontinued September 3, 2006. However, Jacob Two-Two carried over to the block's direct successor Qubo, which premiered the following week.

Transition to Qubo
In May 2006, NBC, Telemundo and Ion Media Networks unveiled a joint venture with Corus Entertainment, Scholastic, Classic Media (and its subsidiary Big Idea Productions) known as Qubo, which would aim to provide educational programming aimed at children between 4 and 8 years of age. This multi-platform programming endeavor would also comprise children's program blocks airing on both NBC and Ion Media's i: Independent Television (now Ion Television), as well as a 24-hour digital multicast channel on i's owned-and-operated stations (alternatively known as Qubo Channel), video on demand services and a branded website. The Qubo endeavor included a three-hour Saturday and Sunday morning block on the network, which replaced Telemundo Kids on September 9, 2006.

However, in 2012, the Qubo blocks on NBC and Telemundo were discontinued in favor of both NBC Kids and MiTelemundo respectively, leaving Ion Television as the only network to retain a Qubo-branded children's block up until the closure of Qubo Channel on February 28, 2021, as the E.W. Scripps Company is now the owner of Ion Media, which they acquired on January 7, 2021.

Telemundo Kids ended its run on September 3, 2006, the new "Qubo on Telemundo" block with Spanish-dubbed premiered on September 9, 2006, featuring seven programs in its initial season: VeggieTales, 3-2-1 Penguins!, Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures, Dragon, Babar, Jane and the Dragon and Jacob Two-Two, the latter of which was carried over from the former Telemundo Kids block. Initially, VeggieTales episodes aired on the block excised religious content originally incorporated before and after the main feature in the home video releases. This drew criticism for the block and NBC in particular from the conservative watchdog group Parents Television Council, as well as VeggieTales co-creator Phil Vischer, who claimed that he was unaware of the intent to edit out the religious material when Qubo acquired the program distribution rights, stating that he was not informed that religious content would be removed from the series, and that he would have refused to sign a contract with Qubo if he had known of the decision 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?'"

The reasoning why the name "qubo" was chosen for the endeavor, or why its logo is a cube, has never been publicly explained by any of the partners, although general manager Rick Rodriguez stated in an interview with Multichannel News that the name was intended to be something that sounded fun, and be a brand that could easily be uniformally used in English and Spanish.

Schedule issues
Due to regulations defined by the Children's Television Act that require stations to carry E/I compliant programming for three hours each week at any time between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. local time, some Telemundo stations may defer certain programs aired within its Saturday morning block to Sunday daytime or earlier Saturday morning slots, or (in the case of affiliates in the Western United States) Saturday afternoons as makegoods to comply with the CTA regulations.

Although the Telemundo Kids block regularly aired on Saturday and Sunday mornings, affiliates in some parts of the country deferred certain programs within the lineup to Sunday morning time slots to accommodate locally produced programs (such as weekend morning newscasts) or due to scheduling issues with regional or network sports broadcasts that start in time periods normally occupied by the block.

Telemundo Kids broadcast the following children programming block primarily for children under age 2 to 14 years old and under during this calendar quarter on the dates and times indicated below on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in ET/PT on Telemundo (some of Telemundo affiliates). Telemundo Kids (Telemundo Network Group, LLC.) certification of compliance with children's television commercials limits for the period October 6, 2001 through September 3, 2006. Including Lourdes Yanes, the programming coordinator of Telemundo in Hialeah, Florida says: "I cretify that the programs identified above which aired on weekends did not contain more than 10.5 minutes of commercial matter per clock hour".

A confirmed was commercial limits including station aired in Albuquerque, New Mexico on KTEL-TV Telemundo 53 (owned by Ramar Communications Inc and market size that is not owned and operated by the network's parent company Telemundo Station Group.) sheets for the children's programming blocks audience. The Children's Compliance report is complied from program logs by Abby Bowen, KTEL-TV Administrator; the following KTEL-TV Telemundo 53 sheets says: "This certifies that during the past calendar quarter the above-referenced station and it's network as a standard practice, formatted and broadcast the children's programs to assure that they would be within the statutory limits permitted for commercials in such programs. There were no program-length commercials in the Second Quarter of 2001. A report listing actual time aired in Children's Programming is attached".

In details of sheet from KTEL 53 traffic office including the date in 2001, for children's programming block in Telemundo (Telemundo Kids and/or Nickelodeon en Telemundo), in the half-hour programming 3 hours in the morning block on weekends. The sheet is note by Abby Bowen, KTEL-TV Adminstrator in Albuquerque, New Mexico on July 10, 2001 including the program says; "On Behalf of KTEL-TV, I certify that the Children's programming aired by KTEL-TV during the period April 11, 2001 through June 30, 2001 contained no more than the maximum amount of commercial time permitted under the Communications Act. Specifically, I certify that: Each hour of weekend Children's programming (containing either on hour-long program or two consecutive half-hour programs) contained no more than ten and a half (10:30) minutes of commercials and a half-hour Children's program which was not part of an hour's block of Children's programming contained no more than five and a quarter (5:15) minutes of commercials, except as detailed on attachment".

Telemundo Kids animated and live-action Spanish-dubbed shows were having a changed schedule for a weekend is now Sábados de Fantasía (Fantasy Saturdays) for putting on the every Saturday, but the six shows were still included with Domingos de Aventura (Adventure Sundays) in scheduled and changing the time at 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET/PT on Telemundo since October 25, 2003 with the Paid Programming has continued with Telemundo Kids in the next schedule time clock area on weekends.

Not only the changing schedule the children programming block, it was originally two Telemundo Kids shows such as "Men in Black: The Series" and "Max Steel" scheduled on November 11, 2001. However, it was pushed back one week due to the one Telemundo Kids show, "Dragon Tales" and the sporting newscast, "Titulares Telemundo" aired scheduling issues on Telemundo at 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., before the network sports broadcast, Deportes Telemundo (now Telemundo Deportes) programming, Rumbo al Mundial live at 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF) tournament, Mexico vs. Honduras on November 11, 2001 with announcer and commentaries (Andrés Cantor, Norberto Longo and Fernando Schwartz), and Telemundo Kids shows (Men in Black: The Series and Max Steel) was rescheduled to November 18, 2001.

Trivia
Coming soon!