HBO Family

HBO Family is an American pay-TV cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is one of HBO's multiplex channels that offers content aimed largely at families and children, such as movies and a slew of television series. Most of the featured films on HBO Family are G, PG, or PG-13, no R nor NC-17 rated films are broadcasted on the network. Simultaneous ratings for TV series include TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-G, TV-PG, and sometimes TV-14.

History[]

Take 2 (1979-1981)[]

HBO's attempt at creating a family-friendly-based network dates back all the way to 1979, with the short-lived Take 2 network. Originally announced in September 1978 and set for a January 1, 1979 date, the network launched on April 1st instead. The main idea of the network was to cater to families who were hesitant to pay for HBO due to both it's costs and the questionable content on the main network.

Take 2 operated under these blocks:

Center Stage - Aired films and specials with leading entertainers/actors.

Family Theater - Aired mainly G-rated films for families.

Passport - An anthology block that featured programs that range from popular entertainment to cultural events.

Merry-Go-Round - Aired typically children's films and programs.

Movie of the Week - A premiere block that feature films aired 60 days after their initial airing on HBO.

Due to difficulties trying to extend the channel's carriage, plus underwhelming subscriber growth, Take 2 shut down on January 31, 1981. Cinemax, another premium movie network also owned Home Box Office, Inc. which launched in August 1980, replaced Take 2 on most cable providers.

Festival (1986-1988)[]

On April 1, 1986, HBO began to test Festival, another network dedicated to older audiences who weren't too fond of programs with questionable content such as excess violence and/or sexual situations. The channel ran for 19 hours a day, running from 7:00am to 2:00am. Despite the primarily target of the network, the channel also focused the family-friendly demographic, sometimes airing R-rated films but being edited to fit the PG network.

On July 14, 1988, HBO announced the network was shutting down at the end of the year, citing because of the inability to expand distribution due to limitations at most cable company headends. The channel ceased operations on New Year's Eve.

HBO Family launch (1996, 1999)[]

Sometime in December 1996, HBO launched HBO Family, a newer crack at their long-term attempt at family programming that was proven to be a success, particularly because unlike Take 2 and Festival, the channel was pre-bundled with HBO premium channel packaging at no extra cost. Like both of those aforementioned networks, HBO Family aired family-friendly films, and children's programs that also previously aired on the regular HBO network.

In February 1999, the channel was "re-launched" and revamped, one change being the more familiar HBO Family "rainbow" arch logo, plus new bumper graphics. The network also got an abundant of new, original, programs that would become instant classics to the network, such as A Little Curious and Crashbox. The network also introduced commercial interstitials that aired in-between shows, such as HBO Family: 411. HBO Family also created 30 by 30: Kid Flicks, which spawned the "HBO Kid Flicks Online Film Festival" contest that occurred a few times in the early 2000s' on the "hbo4kids.com" website.

In 2014, the familiar rainbow arch logo was rebranded, as well as the other "arch" HBO logos, and now uses a more simple letter design. However, it was still used, albeit a different red-colored design, on the Asian feed, which launched in 2005 and was used until 2019.

Programming blocks[]

On August 26, 2001, HBO Family introduced two new programming blocks, Jam, which was targeted towards preschoolers and aired every day in the mornings, and Magnet, which targeted grade-schoolers/tweens and aired every day in the afternoons/evenings. Prior to 2001, HBO Family still had programming blocks akin to Jam and Magnet, although there weren't any names nor branding.

Jam[]

Jam was mostly consisted of acquired programming, mostly from the Canada-based Cinar (now WildBrain, formerly DHX Media and Cookie Jar), where HBO had American rights of series, such as The Little Lulu Show, The Adventures of Paddington Bear and The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures. Shows including from Nelvana, Mattel Creations, Scholastic, Studio 100, and Sony Pictures Television also were aired in the Jam block. However, the block also had original programs, mostly made before the block's launch.

By 2010, which was when the block got a 3D revamp, most of the acquired programming was taken off, with majority being a few years prior to the rebrand. This is most likely due to HBO losing the rights to all the shows. I Spy and Harold and the Purple Crayon were the last acquired programs seen on the block and were both taken off in Summer 2011, resulting in the entire block being based off of original decades-old programming, often played three times in a row. This remained until January 2016, when Jam was discontinued.

Magnet[]

Because Magnet ran less than Jam (in it original's run, Jam ran for nine hours, while Magnet only ran for two), there was a lot less shows on the block. Like Jam, it was also consisted of acquired programs, and only had two major original shows, both also made prior to the block launch; Crashbox and 30 by 30: Kid Flicks. The block ended as early as 2005, most likely due to a program removal being the prime reason. Crashbox and Animated Tales of the World, two shows that aired on the block, later moved to Jam once Magnet shut down. The latter show has stopped airing in 2008, but the former is still kept airing, later airing upon the HBO Kids block.

HBO Kids[]

On January 17, 2016, a day after (and also half a year after it was announced) PBS's Sesame Street debuted on HBO, HBO Kids was launched and entirely replaced Jam. Like Jam, it was also targeting to preschoolers. Because of the deal with HBO, the block was entirely consisted of mostly modern-day programs from Sesame Workshop, including one original series, Esme & Roy, which also airs on that network.

The Sesame Workshop deal, however, expired in November 2020. As a result, all of the Sesame Workshop programming was pulled from HBO Family between December 2020 and January 2021 respectively, however, it could still be found on HBO Max until they were all removed in January 2, 2021. This disrupted the HBO Kids block a whole lot, as it now only airs the same original programming previously seen. The HBO Kids branding itself is also slightly removed, as the commercials that air within the block are now advertising the movies that are playing on the channel. Matter of fact, the only "HBO Kids" bumper is the end of each break, stating "Get ready, it's time for...." for the upcoming program.

On February 29, 2024, HBO Kids was discontinued.

On December 16, 2024, Back to HBO Kids was continued.