Channel 5’s preschool strand Milkshake! turns 25 this year. Louise Bucknole, general manager for kids and family at parent company Paramount UK & Ireland, explains why the programming block is still relevant in the digital age.
Milkshake! aims to celebrate kids and their families
UK pubcaster Channel 5’s preschool programming block Milkshake! is celebrating its 25th birthday this year. Since its launch in 1997, the strand has broadcast two million minutes of content and featured 140,000 birthday cards sent in by viewers, while 50 million people have tuned in to watch the block since 2002.
But while more and more children are moving to streaming and on-demand content, 2022 has been Milkshake!’s highest-rating year on record.
“We’re having a really good year; the brand has continued to grow and grow,” says Louise Bucknole, general manager for kids and family at Channel 5’s parent Paramount UK & Ireland. “It’s down to the content mix and the way we represent the audience. The Milkshake! brand is very much about celebrating kids and their families and reflecting them on screen.
Louise Bucknole
“We do a lot of audience research too, spending time with kids and looking at play patterns and the things that are important to them. For example, we know the environment and sustainability are really important to preschoolers, which led to our commission of [live-action series] Go Green with the Grimwades two years ago.”
Milkshake! has been home to an array of children’s hits over its 25 years, from classic series like Mr Men, Fireman Sam and Thomas & Friends to brand new shows Milo, Pip & Posy and live-action/animation hybrid The World According to Grandpa. Other hits in the last 20 years include Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol, which remain the programming block’s number-one and -two series respectively.
Coming soon to Milkshake!, which Bucknole is particularly excited about, is stop-motion series MixMups. Created by Rebecca Atkinson, founder of the viral #ToyLikeMe campaign which called for more diversity in children’s industries, MixMups features disabled lead characters and is being made by a team with lived experiences of disability. The series shines a light on different preschool play styles and the joy of mixing up objects and ideas to create stories.
In light of its ongoing success as a linear strand, Bucknole says Milkshake! will continue as a programming block on Channel 5, which remains the only public service terrestrial broadcaster in the UK to air daily kids’ content. Milkshake!’s programming is also available for streaming on Channel 5’s AVoD service My5 and Paramount’s SVoD platform Paramount+, but Bucknole says the block remains the core focus.
“We look at the windowing on all the different platforms so consumers can access Milkshake! content on whatever platform they have. We will continue to build and grow on that, but at the moment we’re not commissioning specifically for any one platform. It’s about Milkshake! as a brand,” she says.
Milkshake! has been home to children’s classics including Peppa Pig
To expand Milkshake!’s existing slate, Bucknole is on the lookout for factual, live-action and factual entertainment formats. She highlights new series Meet the Experts, which celebrates children’s knowledge and achievements, and Show Me How, which looks out how everyday things are made, as examples of shows in that space it currently airs.
The preschool strand also works with Channel 5 on shortform versions of some of the broadcaster’s factual series and is currently adapting upcoming Stephen Fry-narrated docuseries Dinosaur into a series of five-minute episodes. In addition, it is working on an archaeology show with Channel 5 and London’s Natural History Museum.
“We’re always looking to develop live-action factual content. It’s that blend of factual entertainment showing the world around the UK for kids, with great storylines and loveable characters,” Bucknole says.
The exec is also interested in gameshows and slapstick physical comedies. “Those are things we currently don’t have and would be interested in formats on,” she adds.
New Milkshake! show Milo
“Family, friendship and making kids laugh are universal themes and paramount to the content we have. We look for a core hook that is going to be interesting to kids and we try not to be too prescriptive because ideas can come from anywhere.
“Core themes that are representative of the audience are what we’re looking for. We know certain themes are very important to kids and we’re trying to look at how we can embed more science and tech into some of our shows as well.”
As Milkshake! prepares to embark on its 26th year, the brand will continue to evolve as it strives to remain relevant both to its audience and to how the industry is developing.
Bucknole says: “We take our responsibility as content creators for this audience really, really seriously because we know we are influencing, educating and entertaining young minds. We want to make sure we get that right and cover the subjects that are part of their world in a very authentic and engaging way.”
