Cablevision Systems Corp. dropped PBS Kids On Demand -- which was recently converted to Comcast Corp.’s PBS Kids Sprout video-on-demand service -- after its carriage deal expired April 30.
Although Comcast merged the two services, it had to renegotiate a new deal with Cablevision to secure carriage of Sprout.
A Comcast spokeswoman said, “We’re hopeful that we’ll come to agreement with them. It unfortunately did not happen before the PBS Kids feed went away.”
A Cablevision spokesman replied: “Comcast, PBS and their partners are trying to build a business out of this programming, which has undermined our ability to offer this children’s content for free-on-demand, as our customers have come to expect. Cablevision was the first cable company in the nation to offer this children’s programming on-demand, initially through a partnership with Thirteen/WNET, and we were sorry to see it go.”
