Concern is spreading fast in the UK animation sector today after Sky Kids announced a decision to step away from commissioning content.

The broadcaster will honor all existing commitments, but will not be ordering any more new original kids programming, opting to pursue an acquisitions-focused strategy instead going forward—and some small team changes are expected as a result.

“With a strong pipeline of new original shows still to come, we now have a rich slate of content that allows us to evolve our strategy,” said Jamie Morris, Sky’s executive director of content strategy and performance, in a statement. With roughly 150 original titles in its inventory, Sky Kids is still on track to launch 13 new series in the next two years.

“In the future, Sky Kids will focus on acquiring third-party content. While this means reviewing the number of roles required to deliver the next phase of our offer, we remain committed to bringing the very best in children’s entertainment to families across the UK,” Morris noted.

Headed up by Lucy Murphy (director of kids content, UK and ROI), Sky Kids has been a prominent commissioner of British kids content in recent years, greenlighting shows including Pip and Posy (Magic Light Pictures), BooSnoo! (Visionality Media and Mackinnon & Saunders), Isadora Moon (Kelebek Media) and The Brilliant World of Tom Gates (TG Entertainment). 

This strategic step back narrows the list of active kids commissioners in the UK, which includes the BBC and Five’s Milkshake! block. The shift also comes roughly two years after Sky Kids made the somewhat surprising decision to launch a linear channel (alongside its existing VOD platform and app) and increase its buying activity to fill out the new lineup.

Kate O’Connor, executive chair of Animation UK, noted that Sky Kids’ retreat underscores the importance of the recent Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry into kids content: “Sky has played a valuable role in backing original UK animation and children’s programming. Its decision to step away from commissioning is another signal that the children’s content sector needs urgent attention,” she said. “Without intervention, we risk losing the UK’s ability to tell its own stories to its youngest citizens and to support our world-class content creation sector.” 

“This is not the time to give up on great UK content for UK kids,” added Children’s Media Foundation director Greg Childs in a statement. “Just as we are working with the government and platforms like YouTube to help children and young people find more personally and socially valuable content on video-sharing platforms, Sky is walking away from its kids audience.” 

Childs adds: “What’s needed is fresh thinking about deals and partnerships that take their content to where kids are watching, not a knee-jerk cost-cutting spree which will damage their relationship with their customers and certainly diminish the prospects of quality viewing time for children in their country.”

Featured image: The Brilliant World of Tom Gates