 | |
| Country | United Kingdom Israel |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | London[1] |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled to576i/480i for the SD feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Talit Communications (Israel) The Walt Disney Company Limited (International) |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | 4 December 2003; 22 years ago (2003-12-04) (Israel) 4 July 2005; 20 years ago (2005-07-04) (international) 1 April 2007; 18 years ago (2007-04-01) (Argentina) |
| Closed | 31 January 2021; 5 years ago (2021-01-31) (Japan) 9 June 2022; 3 years ago (2022-06-09) (Latvia) 1 October 2022; 3 years ago (2022-10-01) (Italy,Russia andBelarus) 1 October 2023; 2 years ago (2023-10-01) (Southeast Asia) 1 January 2024; 2 years ago (2024-01-01) (Taiwan) 28 February 2025; 11 months ago (2025-02-28) (Brazil) 30 September 2025; 4 months ago (2025-09-30) (France) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Service(s) | Sling TV,YouTube TV |
BabyTV (stylised asBabytv) is a multilingual, international television channel for babies, toddlers and preschoolers aged 4 or lower. In Israel, the channel is owned and operated byTalit Communications whileThe Walt Disney Company Limited (the international division ofThe Walt Disney Company) controls ownership and operations in all other territories. The channel is headquartered inLondon[1] with television distribution handled by Disney subsidiaries across the world. The channel first launched in 2003 in Israel and 2005 in the United Kingdom. BabyTV is distributed in over 100 countries, broadcasting in 18 languages (as of 2013). The channel broadcasts shows without television commercial interruptions. In the United States, the channel is distributed byDisney Entertainment Television.
BabyTV was first developed in December 2003 as an educational block for babies and toddlers inIsrael by Ron Isaak, Maya and Liran Talit and members of their families.[2][3] The Talits relocated to London to establish International Baby TV. Their first international deal was withTélévision Par Satellite in France.[4]
The first six programs to air on BabyTV were "Hands Up", "Tulli", "Bouncy Balls", "Jammers", "Little Chick" and "1, 2, 3, Tell A Story".[citation needed]
In October 2007,News Corp'sFox International Channels acquired a majority stake in BabyTV, placing it alongside its international offerings ofFox Crime,Fox,National Geographic and others.[4][2]
In 2006,Indovision andDori Media International launched Baby TV in Indonesia.[5][6] Rebranded asVision 3 Baby and dubbed in Indonesian, it has the same program content and schedules as BabyTV Asia. Vision 3 Baby has since been replaced by the international version of BabyTV. The channel was also launched onSky Digital in theUK on 5 February 2007.[7] In January 2008,StarHub brought it to Singapore andONO inSpain.[8] By this time, BabyTV was also available in South Korea throughMegaTV andHanaTV, Taiwan viaYoyo TV, onVTV3 in Vietnam, and on FoxHD and theNational Geographic Channel in Japan.[6] In October, the channel was added to Daarsat in Nigeria.[9][10]
On July 7, 2007, Baby TV began broadcasting in the CIS and Baltic countries.[11] The channel broadcasts exclusively in English, but since 2013 programs in Russian have been posted on the YouTube channel[12] and on services.[13] BabyTV was added onCablevision andMulticanal on April 1st, 2007.[14]
In 2008, French authorities banned the broadcasting of programs aimed at children under the age of 3, and ordered warnings to be included on foreign channels available in France such as BabyTV and its competitorBabyFirst.[15]
The channel, along withFox Crime andFox, was launched in India on 25 March 2009.[16] In June, a localized Spanish-language channel was added toSky Mexico.[17] The following month, it was also added toSky Italia.[18] In July 2010, it was announced that Fox andAsia Television Limited would bring BabyTV to Hong Kong throughNow TV.[19][20]
In January 2011,RRsat signed an agreement with BabyTV to distribute the channel to North America viaIntelsat’sGalaxy 23 satellite.[21] In February, BabyTV was added to the Spanish-language programming package ofDish Network.[22] In May, it launched in Malaysia viaAstro. In December, BabyTV was launched in the Philippines viaSky Cable.
In June 2012, the channel was brought to Japan in partnership with J:COM.[23] In October, BabyTV premiered onmio TV (now known asSingtel TV) in Singapore.[24] That same month, Pixel TV in Ukraine added the channel.[25] In November 2016, BabyTV was added toSling TV as part of the company's offering for children.[26]
On September 24, 2013,Fox International Channels collaborates with13TV to make a morning block of BabyTV from weekends at 9:45am inSpain.[27]
It is also available onbeIN Network withArabic language.
On March 20, 2019,The Walt Disney Company finalized itsacquisition of21st Century Fox.[28] Baby TV became a part ofWalt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International with US distribution being taken over by Walt Disney Television. It was considered a surplus asset in the deal, due to its properties having no connection to any existing Disney properties or characters, andDisney Junior was already Disney's major preschool and toddler brand. The company already had dealt with various issues regardingscreen time for newborns and toddlers (including its own controversialBaby Einstein franchise it sold off in 2013), so BabyTV has becomede facto depreciated over time by its new ownership.
On 31 January 2021, Japanese cable providers stopped airing BabyTV. On 1 September 2021, BabyTV ceased broadcasting onNow TV.
On 1 October 2021, BabyTV and numerous other Disney-owned channels would end transmissions in Southeast Asia.[29] On 18 October 2021, Disney announced that it would close down BabyTV in India alongsideStar World andStar World Premiere HD on 15 March 2023, following similar decisions taken worldwide to close down English general entertainment channels.[30]
In January 2022,Astro informed its customers that BabyTV would be replaced byMoonbug Kids starting in February.[31]
On 9 June 2022, BabyTV ceased broadcasting inLatvia, because the TV license was from Russia.[32]
On 1 October 2022, BabyTV, National Geographic, and National Geographic Wild were closed in Italy, Russia and Belarus discontinuing all active linear TV services owned by Disney in those countries, apart fromDisney Channel in Russia. BabyTV is still available in Russian and Italian onYouTube.
Baby Network Limited was liquidated in September 2023.[33] That same month,Charter Communications in the United States dropped BabyTV and its Spanish language simulcast, among several other channels, fromSpectrum to retain carriage of other Disney networks and pick upDisney+ streaming plans.[34] Focusing solely on Disney+ andDisney+ Hotstar, The Walt Disney Company ceased broadcasting in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Korea, and Philippines in October 2023.[35] Services in Taiwan were shut down in December.[36][37] Since 2024, BabyTV has been managed by Disney'sEuropean, Middle East and African division.
On March 28, 2024, BabyTV's transmission in The Netherlands, Portugal, and Scandinavia was hijacked to broadcast Russian propaganda.[38] After a second incident on April 17; the network was pulled and moved to a new transponder with increased security.[39][40] The network remains available inArmenia,[41][42][43] and archived content from the network in Russian remains available on YouTube.[12][13]
On December 2, 2024,The Walt Disney Company announced that BabyTV would end in Brazil along with its sister channels (except for itsESPN channels) on February 28, 2025.[44] InHispanic America, the channel continues to operate.[45]
On April 29, 2025, Liquid Rock Entertainment was named as the international distributor for BabyTV's catalogue, acting on behalf ofDisney Platform Distribution.[46]
On September 30, 2025, BabyTV closed down in France.[47]
BabyTV's original programming library, which is developed in-house in co-operation with childhood development experts and content experts is built around nine developmental topics, which cover all early learning skills and developmental milestones for babies and toddlers.
The nine categories, include the following. They are:
BabyTV'svideo on demand service features edited segments of BabyTV programming, categorized into their nine developmental themes, in hundreds of half hour segments and is available in languages including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin and Turkish. The on-demand channel is available onSingtel TV. It will be launched toStarHub TV in Singapore and other pay TV providers in Asia in the future.
BabyTV has introduced a DVD offering. "My First Years Library" is a library that covers early learning skills and developmental milestones that children encounter in their first years. BabyTV's DVD collection features segments of BabyTV content and includes some of the channel's leading characters, such as Pitch & Potch, & Kenny & Goorie.[48][49]
Baby Network Limited, 10 Hammersmith Grove, London W6 7AP, United Kingdom
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