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Summer treats for kids

ABC3? What ABC3? Foxtel channels have announced some of their summer highlights designed to keep kids staying put.

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mickFoxtel today exercised some marketing muscle to remind everyone it has eight dedicated children’s channels, just days before ABC3 and ABC for Kids (ABC2) launch.

The Pay TV platform has CBeebies, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Disney Channel, Playhouse Disney, KidsCo, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.

Foxtel’s Brian Walsh said, “The Foxtel platform hosts the widest selection of television programming across a variety of genres, including the Kids & Family group of channels. By providing a wide range of different and internationally-renowned kids’ channel brands there is always something to watch for children of every age.”

The channels have announced some of their summer highlights designed to keep kids entertained. They are as follows:

CBeebies
Channel 705 – www.cbeebies.com.au
CBeebies is a brightly coloured world full of stories, discovery and giggles for pre-school kids, showing absolutely no advertising, ever. This channel is a friendly and fun place where little ones will learn through play. In 2010 CBeebies will commence production on its first Australian production Penelope K, by the way.

* 3rd & Bird Xmas – A Very Squooky Christmas!
5.00pm on Thursday, December 24, 2009. The feathered friends are in festive spirits in this special Christmas edition of the charming pre-school animation series, which sees the residents of 3rd & Bird burst into seasonal song.

* Balamory Christmas – The Snowflake Fairy
5.00pm on Saturday, December 19. In the Christmas special of this award-winning show, Archie needs cheering up and thinks the snowflake fairy can help. Everyone in Balamory rallies round to solve the problem with the usual mix of investigation, explanation, fun games and great activities.

Cartoon Network
Channel 713 – www.cartoonnetwork.com.au
Cartoon Network is home to the best toons in the universe with something for everyone. There’s action and adventure with the latest and hottest cartoons from around the world.

* Ben 10 Alien Force
5.30pm on Mondays, January 4. Strap on your Omnitrix and get ready for a whole new alien invasion in this epic new series.

* Chowder
On-air February 2010. Chowder is a young apprentice to a magical chef known for slicing, dicing and constantly causing trouble in the kitchen.

Disney Channel
Channel 707 – www.disneychannel.com.au
Disney Channel features inspiring stories, superstar talent and award-winning animated and live-action series and movies. Disney Channel is kid-driven entertainment that the whole family can enjoy.

· High School Musical 3: Senior Year
6.30pm Saturday, December 12. High school seniors Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) face the prospect of being separated from one another as they head off in different directions to college.

· Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation
5.30 pm, Friday, December 18. In this premiere holiday special, it’s Christmas Eve and an excited Phineas and Ferb are working to turn their hometown into a giant shimmering thank you card to Santa Claus. Meanwhile, Dr. Doofenshmirtz develops a Naughty-inator, and suddenly the area is clouded in naughtiness. Phineas and Ferb must quickly devise a way to spread holiday cheer.

Playhouse Disney
Channel 709 – www.playhousedisney.com.au
Playhouse Disney is an imaginative channel targeted to preschoolers that makes learning a fun and playful experience. Playhouse Disney features loveable characters, great storytelling and engaging music.

* Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas
5.00pm on Saturday, December 5. Disney’s biggest stars shine in a magical, heart-warming movie sure to become a holiday classic. Mickey, Minnie, and their famous friends Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and Pluto gather to reminisce about love, magic, and surprises in three wonder-filled stories of Christmases past.

* Odd Jobbers
4.00pm on Monday, December 14. Odd Jobbers is a tale of four slightly odd but very friendly characters – the Mendits – that live in a small village known as Patchville. There are three brothers – Osimo, Bitz and Bob, and their cousin Mia who will tackle anything. No job is too big, small or too odd for them.

Nickelodeon
Channel 701 – www.nickelodeon.com.au
Nick’s the home of everyone’s favourite shows, iCarly and The Fairly OddParents. With locally produced Australian programs including the Kids’ Choice Awards, Camp Orange, The Go Show and awesome competitions, Nickelodeon is the channel that’s totally Kid-Powered.

* Wallace and Gromit – A Matter of Loaf and Death
7.00pm Saturday, December 12. Wallace and Gromit have started a new bread baking business – Top Bun – and converted 62 West Wallaby Street into a granary with ovens, robotic kneading arms and an old-fashioned windmill on the roof. The transformation is perfect.

* Shreducation
7.30pm Mondays to Fridays from January 18. This series is a high-flying, reach for the top of the snowboarding world, for a team of talented young riders incorporating their preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It travels all around the world taking the kids to Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, United States and Australia.

Nick Jr.
Channel 703 – www.nickjr.com.au
Nick Jr. provides dedicated programming for preschoolers, meaning children can enjoy the best safe, engaging and entertaining shows from Australia and around the world. Every program is carefully designed, scheduled and paced just for kids under five years old, so your preschooler can enjoy programs that stimulate, educate, involve and excite developing and enquiring minds.

* Super Why! Christmas Special – ‘Twas the Night Before
4.00pm on Wednesday, December 23. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through Storybrook Village, not a creature was stirring… except for Whyatt, who has an important question for Santa.

* Dora Saves Three Kings Day

8.30am and 6.00pm Wednesday, January 6. In this first-ever Three Kings Day-themed episode of Dora, preschoolers will learn about an important Hispanic cultural tradition as they help Dora, Boots, and Diego find the animals that have run away with the presents and treats for the big “Three Kings Day” party.

KidsCo
Channel 718 – www.kidscotv.tv
KidsCo is the brand new place to watch favourite cartoons, live-action shows and movies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The channel is for preschoolers, boys and girls aged 6-10 years old and their families, completely advertising free.

· Sonic Christmas Blast
9.10pm on Friday December 25. Santa Claus has made an announcement – he is retiring and has picked the perfect successor – “Robotniklaus!” but Sonic and his sister resolve to persuade Santa to return and set Christmas straight.

· Cosmic Christmas
11.30am and 4.10pm on Friday, December 25. It was just another small town, and just another Christmas – until the aliens landed. For 2,000 years, three alien visitors have been searching the universe for the significance of a brilliant star. Will they discover it’s the Star of Bethlehem?

Boomerang
Channel 715 – www.boomerangtv.com.au
Boomerang is a fun, safe environment for kids that offers some of the best family viewing around including great new programs and animation favourites.

* Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas
4.30pm on Wednesday December 2. Aided by his niece, Penny and his ever faithful canine companion, Brain, Gadget is out to save Santa Claus and Christmas from the evil clutches of Dr. Claw and his mindless followers.

· The Mysterious Cities of Gold
4.00pm Monday to Fridays from January 4. It’s 1532 and we’re off on an epic adventure. Join Esteban, Zia and Tao on their amazing quest to uncover the seven Cities of Gold.

….sure hope Mickey gets his neck back for Xmas.

7 Responses

  2. Here’s my idea on how the kids channels should be on Foxtel from January 1st 2010. Here goes: Nickelodeon – Ch701, Nickelodeon +2 – Ch702, Nick Jr – Ch703, Nicktoons – Ch704, Cbeebies – Ch705, Disney – Ch707, Disney +2 – Ch708, Playhouse Disney – Ch709, Disney Xd – Ch710, Cartoon Network – Ch713, Cartoon Network +2 – Ch714, Boomerang – Ch715 And Kidsco – Ch718.

    Hope Foxtel launches the three extra new timeshift channels and two new kids channels Nicktoons and Disney XD

  4. The ABC doesn’t really count for Childrens Television anymore.

    These days unless you have a Nickelodeon or Disney Pay TV service in your home the kids are really missing out.

    Gone are the days where everything between 3 and 5pm was C Rated.Whose Dumb Idea was it to put News or Crappy Trash Soaps on at 4:30pm anyway on commercial television.

  5. As for Nick, no logo change, or will we see it in the new year? Unified promotions between Nick AU and Nick US would be nice, after all, I can’t see the current set being used with the splat for twelve months, plus the logo change was a brand-wide initiative, which would mean that Nick Jr will also get a new package, based on the new US Nick Jr network (which evolved like ours, from the Nick Jr block), which launched the same day as the revamped Nick.

    The major issue is Nick Australia have used variations of the same mass sliming package since 2007, and the major clue to any relaunch is that all their summer promotion goes only up until Christmas. Remember, any Nick mega-overhaul, will be from the watermarks and ID’s right through to the “kid powered interstitals”, even the local websites would need to be redesigned.

  7. ABC3 should be the reason that Disney and Nick should get their direly needed extra channels.

    CN is a different kettle of fish. The third channel should be either anime/event orientated (with active capability) or spinning the Tiny TV block off Boomerang and Adult Swim off Comedy into their own network, with TinyTV from 6am to 6pm and Adult Swim from 6pm to 6am.

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