KidsClick
KidsClick was a daily children's programming block distributed by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which premiered on July 1, 2017. The block, which primarily consisted of long-form animated series as well as some short-form content, was carried in the U.S. on terrestrial television network TBD, and on Sinclair-owned/operated television stations in several markets. At launch, the block was available in 75 million households. The block marked the return of traditional weekday cartoons and Saturday morning cartoons to terrestrial television, as well as the first children's programming block on U.S. free-to-air television not to comply with Children's Television Act regulations since the Saban Brands-produced Vortexx was discontinued on September 27, 2014.
The This TV iteration of the block accompanied an existing, unbranded lineup of educational programming on weekend mornings, which had aired on the network since November 1, 2013, after the discontinuation of Cookie Jar Toons ; it also marked the first time that This TV had carried children's programming on Monday through Saturday mornings since Tribune assumed partial ownership of the network. On July 1, 2018, This TV discontinued carriage of KidsClick, which was transferred to Sinclair's TBD channel, which had been carrying the block on a transitional basis since May 7 of that year.
On March 29, 2019, shortly after closing sister site Circa News, KidsClick's Facebook page announced the block's discontinuation on March 31, 2019.
History
On May 2, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that it would launch a multiplatform children's programming block on linear television and online platforms. The company partnered with MGM Domestic Television Distribution to develop and distribute KidsClick, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Toon Goggles, which it planned to air nationally on This TV and select network affiliates and independent stations owned and/or operated by Sinclair on July 1, 2017. Its content encompasses short- and long-form material and is distributed online, through internet browsers and mobile apps in video-on-demand and live streaming formats. The network's distribution and website utilized Imagine Communications' cloud technology from Sinclair's Las Vegas studios for their market triopoly.Sinclair returned to the children's television market with KidsClick several years after the demise of The Program Exchange, an industry estimated to be worth $1 billion, which is currently largely split in advertising revenue between Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Speaking to the return of children's programming on American commercial broadcast television, Steven M. Marks, COO and EVP of Sinclair Television Group, said in an earnings report on May 3, 2017: "That's a $1 billion-plus spot business that we don't get a dime from. So again, it's an illustration of going back into the marketplace and fishing in ponds that we haven't fished in. So that's $1 billion that is pretty much split between cable networks: Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network. Disney is a subscription network. 18 years ago, we were the kings of reaching kids every day. There's no reason in the world why we can't be successful in that space."
On Friday, March 29, 2019, KidsClick announced on Facebook that the block would air for the last time on March 31. Sinclair also discontinued sister property Circa News three days previous.
KidsClick ended quietly on March 31, 2019 with an airing of Oggy and The Cockroaches; all advertising made no mention of its demise, and the promotional spot at the end of the show mentioned it would return Saturday morning. For the vast majority of stations carrying it, temporary or permanent paid programming, religious programming, other syndicated content, or alternate E/I-complaint shows overlaid the former timeslot until more permanent programming was scheduled in the fall. Paid programming and some internet-originated content series replaced it on TBD. Several days later, the block's website was taken down, with the domain redirected to the main Sinclair corporate page.
Scheduling
The block was preferred to air every Monday-Friday from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m., and Saturday and Sundays from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. local time, though scheduling variances existed in certain markets due to network programming obligations, existing contracts for other syndicated programming or with paid or religious programming providers, or a preference to air news and sports programming in those slots.As This TV ran only in 480i standard definition, it aired in a letterbox format on that network, as the entire block mainly featured programming designed for a high definition display, which is how it aired on TBD, as well as most affiliated and Sinclair stations.
Because the programs featured on KidsClick did not meet educational content guidelines defined in the Children's Television Act by the Federal Communications Commission, This TV continued to air a block of live-action travel and wildlife series from Steve Rotfeld Productions immediately after the weekend broadcasts of the KidsClick lineup to fulfill the mandate. Sinclair-operated independent stations that aired KidsClick also continue to provide E/I-compliant programs acquired from the syndication market through individual distributors, from Fox's Xploration Station block managed by Rotfeld, or via the Litton Entertainment-distributed Go Time block to meet the quotas.
Programming
Former programming
Special programming
Delayed programming
Affiliate list
The following is a list of stations that carried KidsClick in syndication as of its March 31, 2019 discontinuation, which included the possibility that a TBD affiliate on a station owned by Sinclair or another owner would air the programming block in the same market near or at the same time:| City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Owner |
| Albany–Schenectady–Troy, New York | WCWN | 45.1 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Baltimore-Annapolis, Maryland | WUTB | 24.1 | MyNetworkTV | Deerfield Media |
| Birmingham–Tuscaloosa–Anniston, Alabama | WABM | 68.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Bristol-Johnson City-Kingsport, Tennessee/ Bristol, Virginia | WEMT | 39.1 | Fox | Cunningham Broadcasting |
| Buffalo, New York | WNYO | 49.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Cape Girardeau, Missouri/Paducah, Kentucky | WDKA | 49.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Cedar Rapids-Dubuque, Iowa | KFXA | 28.1 | Fox | Second Generation of Iowa, Ltd. |
| Charleston, South Carolina | WCIV | 36.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Champaign-Danville-Springfield-Urbana, Illinois | WBUI | 23.1 | The CW | GOCOM Media, LLC |
| Chattanooga, Tennessee | WFLI | 53.1 | The CW | MPS Media, LLC |
| Chico-Redding, California | KZVU-LD KRVU-LD | 21.1 22.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | WKRC-DT2 | 12.2 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Columbus, Ohio | WWHO | 53.1 | The CW | Manham Media |
| Corpus Christi, Texas | KTOV-LP KSCC-DT3 | 21 38.3 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Des Moines, Iowa | KDSM | 17.1 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| El Paso, Texas/Las Cruces, New Mexico | KDBC-DT2 | 4.2 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Eureka, California | KECA-LD2 | 29.2 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Flint-Saginaw, Michigan | WSMH | 66.1 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Florence–Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | WWMB | 21.1 | The CW | Howard Stirk Holdings |
| Fresno–Visalia, California | KFRE | 59.1 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Gainesville-Ocala, Florida | WGFL-DT2 | 28.2 | MyNetworkTV | New Age Media, LLC |
| Grand Rapids, Michigan | WWMT-DT2 | 3.2 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Green Bay–Fox Cities, Wisconsin | WCWF | 14.1 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem, North Carolina | WMYV | 48.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Greenville-Jacksonville-New Bern, North Carolina | WYDO | 14.1 | Fox | Cunningham Broadcasting |
| Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina/ Asheville, North Carolina | WMYA | 40.1 | MyNetworkTV | Cunningham Broadcasting |
| Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Pennsylvania | WHP-DT3 | 21.3 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Las Vegas, Nevada | KVCW-DT2 | 33.2 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Lexington-Frankfort, Kentucky | WDKY | 56.1 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Lincoln-Superior-Grand Island, Nebraska | KFXL | 51.1 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Madison, Wisconsin | WMSN | 47.1 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | WVTV | 18.1 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota | WUCW | 23.1 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Mobile, Alabama-Pensacola, Florida | WFGX | 35.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Nashville, Tennessee | WNAB | 58.1 | The CW | Tennessee Broadcasting |
| Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News-Virginia Beach, Virginia | WTVZ | 33.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | KOCB | 34.1 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Omaha, Nebraska | KXVO | 15.1 | The CW | Mitts Telecasting Company |
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | WPNT | 22.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Portland-Auburn-Augusta, Maine | WPFO | 23.1 | Fox | Cunningham Broadcasting |
| Raleigh–Durham–Fayetteville, North Carolina | WRDC | 28.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia | WRLH-DT2 | 35.2 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Rochester, New York | WHAM-DT2 | 13.2 | The CW | Deerfield Media |
| Salt Lake City, Utah | KMYU | 12.1 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| San Antonio, Texas | KMYS | 35.1 | The CW | Deerfield Media |
| Savannah, Georgia | WTGS | 28.1 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | WQMY | 53.1 | MyNetworkTV | New Age Media, LLC |
| Sioux City, Iowa | KPTH | 44.1 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| South Bend, Indiana | WSBT-DT2 | 22.2 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Syracuse, New York | WSTQ-LP WSTM-DT2 | 14 3.2 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Tallahassee, Florida | WTWC-DT2 | 40.2 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Wheeling, West Virginia/Steubenville, Ohio | WTOV-DT2 | 9.2 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Wichita, Kansas | KMTW | 36.1 | MyNetworkTV | Mercury Broadcasting Company, Inc. |