CMF ‘deeply concerned’ by Sky Kids decision to cease commissioning

Recent Sky Kids commission Pip & Posy

The Children’s Media Foundation (CMF) in the UK has expressed “deep concern” over a decision by satcaster Sky to stop commissioning kids’ programming.

Sky Kids plans to cease commissions of children’s content in favour of focusing solely on third-party acquisitions instead.

Some of the broadcaster’s commissions in recent years include Pip & Posy, which was co-commissioned with Paramount-owned Channel 5’s Milkshake!, BooSnoo! and The Brilliant World of Tom Gates.

Led by Lucy Murphy, Sky Kids has around 150 originals in its catalogue. While it won’t commission any further projects, it will honour commissions that are still in production. The broadcaster also hinted that some job cuts may be on the horizon as a result.

Jamie Morris, Sky’s executive director of content strategy and performance, said: “With a strong pipeline of new original shows still to come, we now have a rich slate of content that allows us to evolve our strategy.

“In the future, Sky Kids will focus on acquiring third-party content. While this means reviewing the number of roles required to deliver the next phase of our offer, we remain committed to bringing the very best in children’s entertainment to families across the UK.”

The news comes over two years after Sky Kids made the surprise decision to launch a linear channel, at a time when other children’s companies had been, and still are, scaling back their linear operations in favour of digital platforms.

The CMF called Sky Kids’ move to cease commissioning “a depressing and short-sighted decision, which will leave UK children less well-served.”

Noting that Sky Kids’ departure from commissions will leave only two significant commissioners of factual and entertainment content for children – the BBC and Milkshake! – the foundation added that Sky had provided “healthy competition” that was necessary to support the UK children’s sector and urged the satcaster to reconsider.

The CMF’s director, Greg Childs, said: “This is not the time to give up on great UK content for UK kids. Just as we are working with government and platforms like YouTube to help children and young people find more personally and socially valuable content on video-sharing platforms, Sky is walking away from its kids’ audience.

“What’s needed is fresh thinking about deals and partnerships that take their content to where kids are watching, not a knee-jerk cost-cutting spree which will damage their relationship with their customers and certainly diminish the prospects of quality viewing time for children in their country.”

Meanwhile, Animation UK said the move represents a “significant loss” to the children’s media sector and is a “significant blow to the many animation creators, studios and freelancers who have helped build Sky’s acclaimed slate.”

It also said the loss of a major commissioner, such as Sky, “reduces creative opportunities and limits the ability of UK producers to reach audiences with culturally relevant stories and characters.”

Animation UK’s chair, Kate O’Connor, added: “Sky has played a valuable role in backing original UK animation and children’s programming. Its decision to step away from commissioning is another signal that the children’s content sector needs urgent attention. Without intervention, we risk losing the UK’s ability to tell its own stories to its youngest citizens and to support our world class content creation sector.”