Discovery Kids will program six shows over three hours Saturday mornings
on NBC from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting Oct. 5, the two companies announced
Wednesday. All of the shows meet the Federal Communications Commission's requirements for children's educational
television, the companies said.
Many of the shows announced are similar to or adaptations of programs already
seen on one of the Discovery Networks U.S. services. For example, at 10 a.m., Walking
with Dinosaurs and its sequel, Walking with Prehistoric
Beasts, will occupy the first half-hour of the Discovery Kids
block.Originally produced in conjunction with the British Broadcasting Corp., both series will be re-edited for kids by blending new narration, graphics and facts
with the computer animation that was critically well-received when the original
documentary aired on Discovery.
Croc Files, a new version of Crocodile Hunter, will air at 10:30
a.m. The Learning Channel's Junkyard Dogs, based on TLC's Junkyard
Wars, will air at 11 a.m. Endurance, which pits two teams of
contestants in games of "speed, strength and smarts," follows at 11:30 a.m.
Black Hole High, a show about high-school kids who try to unravel
scientific mysteries, will air at 12:30 p.m.
Also in development but as yet unscheduled and untitled is a half-hour drama
about an American girl's coming-of-age years growing up in Africa.
Last December, NBC agreed to lease its Saturday-morning kids' program block to
Discovery Kids. The target audience is older kids and teens (or tweens).
