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PBS Kids Sprout, commonly referred to as Sprout, is a cable/satellite channel aimed at young children. Launched in 2005, it is owned by Sesame Workshop, NBC Universal, PBS and Apax Partners. Apax co-founded the network through HIT Entertainment, but when HIT was sold to Mattel in 2012, Apax retained the stake in Sprout. Currently, PBS Kids Sprout is available on many major cable networks, as well as DirectTV, but is not available on Dish Network at this time. PBS Kids Sprout replaced the PBS Kids network that was previously available.
Selected episodes from season 30 to season 35 and season 39 of Sesame Street have aired on the network. Episodes of Plaza Sesamo are also offered in their on-demand service. The Hoobs also began airing on December 25, 2006. The network kicked off the US debut of the show with the Happy Hooby Holidays marathon and continued to air the show daily at 2pm EST.
On September 26, 2007, the network began airing Play With Me Sesame twice during the weekdays. Sesame Workshop's Panwapa began airing on the station in January 2008, and Jim Henson's Pajanimals debuted on the channel on November 2, 2008, airing each night in the programming block The Good Night Show.
The Sunny Side Up Show has featured live appearances of Big Bird (2007), Prairie Dawn (2008), Oscar (2008), Grover (2008), Super Grover (2008, 2009), Elmo (2009, 2010, 2011), Abby Cadabby (2012).
On December 23 and 24, 2011, Elmo hosted "Elmo's Movie Merry-Thon," a marathon of Christmas movies and specials, including Elmo's World: Happy Holidays! It was followed by Snooze-a-Thon, from 6pm on Christmas Eve through 6am Christmas morning, featuring sleep-related clips from shows including Sesame Street.
In Summer 2012, a number of Sprout programs, including Pajanimals, began airing on weekend mornings on NBC, as part of a block called NBC Kids. Comcast, a co-founder of Sprout, acquired a controlling stake in NBC Universal in 2011, and has since managed its stake in Sprout under that subsidiary.