Sky Kids: Prices, channels and extras
Dan Howdle • October 3rd, 2024
Sky Kids is a bundle of entertainment for the young ones in your family. With eight channels dedicated to kids TV as well as thousands of episodes of all the favourite shows available on demand, it is an appealing prospect for primary-age children.
Sky Kids offers TV shows for all age groups, from simple, educational programmes for toddlers to cooler, edgier stuff for those in the later years of primary school. In this guide we look at which TV providers offer Sky Kids, how much it costs, what they can watch, and whether it’s worth investing in it.
Key features
| Price | £7 per month |
|---|---|
| Channels (11) | Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, Nick Jr. Too, Nicktoons, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, Boomerang, Baby TV, Sky Kids, CITV, Milkshake! |
| Sky Kids app | iOS, Android, Sky Q, Sky Glass, Sky Stream |
| On demand | 10,000+ episodes, 90+ games |
| Parental controls | Kids Safe Mode |
| Contract | 31 day rolling |
Introduction
Sky Kids is a paid-for add-on available with Sky TV or as part of the NOW Entertainment membership. It includes 8 channels containing hours of live and on-demand entertainment for primary age children.
In recent years, the content included in Sky Kids has shrunk, especially when Disney created the Disney+ app and retrieved all its content from Sky, including the Disney Junior channel, which is now only available with Disney+. However, for lovers of Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol, Sky Kids is ideal and will guarantee keeping the littlest members of your household happy.
As well as the TV shows, Sky Kids is also available as an app, which includes games featuring some favourite characters, including Peppa Pig’s Memory Game, SpongeBob Chess, and Henry Danger Target Practice. The app also features newer games with characters like Ben 10 and The Amazing World of Gumball. Games can be downloaded to play offline, and parents can set age profiles to ensure their children only have access to age-appropriate TV shows. Plus, Sleep Mode allows parents to control how much time their little ones spend on the screen.
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Sky Kids channels
Sky Kids offers eight child-specific channels featuring cartoons, kids drama shows, educational programmes and more.
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon is an ever-popular children’s TV channel and the parent channel of Nick Jr. and Nicktoons. It is famous for shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House, Danger Force, and A Really Haunted Loud House. Educational content includes The Astronauts and the upcoming HexVets and Magic Pets.
Nick Jr.
Aimed at a younger audience, Nick Jr. offers a wealth of much-loved favourites, including Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, The Adventures of Paddington, and Blaze and the Monster Machines. Newer shows include Baby Shark's Big Show and Santiago of the Seas.
Nick Jr. too
Nick Jr. Too continues to focus heavily on beloved reruns like Peppa Pig, Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, and Paw Patrol, offering hours of content that appeals to younger viewers.
Nicktoons
Nicktoons is home to animated series, featuring popular shows like The Loud House, The Patrick Star Show, and Transformers: Earthspark. It also includes reruns of classics like SpongeBob SquarePants.
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network, aimed at children aged six to 14, offers shows such as The Amazing World of Gumball, Teen Titans Go, Craig of the Creek, and Ben 10. Recent highlights include Jellystone and The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe.
Cartoonito
Cartoonito, designed for younger children, features gentle shows like Fireman Sam, Thomas & Friends, and Masha and the Bear. Educational programming like Cocomelon continues to support early learning, alongside new episodes of Bugs Bunny Builders and Lu & The Bally Bunch.
Boomerang
Boomerang remains a home for timeless cartoons like Tom and Jerry and Scooby-Doo, while offering more modern shows like Mush-Mush and the Mushables. This channel also features seasonal events like Scoobtober.
Baby TV
For the youngest viewers in the household, Baby TV provides gentle entertainment and educational content for those aged four and under. Popular shows include Charlie and The Numbers, Beep Beep, and Billy and Bam Bam, introducing early concepts like numeracy and friendships.
Subscription options
Sky Kids is only available as a subscription and comes bundled up with another TV service, whether that is Virgin Media, Sky TV, EE TV or NOW TV.
Sky TV
To watch Sky Kids with Sky, you will have to pay an extra £7 per month. The package comes on a 31-day contract so you can cancel at any time. It is available to bolt on to any Sky TV package much like Sky Cinema or Sky Sports. You can also watch it when you are out and about by using the Sky Go app or the dedicated Sky Kids app, which also has games on it to keep the kids amused – perfect if you want a bit of peace and quiet on a car journey.
EE TV
This used to be BT TV, but it's been rebranded EE TV and is now available both from BT Broadband and from EE Broadband. As with Sky Cinema and Sky Sports, EE TV offers Sky Kids in the form of a NOW TV Entertainment membership that forms an integral part of EE TV packages.
Virgin TV
Virgin Media does not offer Sky Kids as such, but it does include the same channels – Cartoonito, Nickelodeon and Boomerang – for free as part of its basic TV packages. So if you are already a Virgin TV customer, it is likely you already have access to these channels.
NOW TV
Sky Kids is now bundled up with the NOW TV Entertainment Membership, rather than be available as a separate subscription. NOW TV Entertainment cost around a tenner a month and comes on a rolling monthly contract so you can cancel at any time. You can watch NOW TV on your TV, on a desktop computer, a laptop, a games console and also on tablets and smartphones, which could come in handy if you need to provide your youngster with some entertainment when you are out and about.
If you want to maximise the number of devices on which you can access NOW TV Entertainment and Kids, you will need to pay extra for the NOW TV Boost or Ultra Boost. This costs an extra £6 or £9 a month respectively, and enables you to watch on more devices at the same time. As a bonus, it also gives you full HD, which is probably more of a benefit for the parents than the children.
What’s the cheapest way to get Sky Kids?
Virgin Media does offer the same children’s channels included in the Sky Kids package, such as Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Cartoonito. However, these channels are not always free with Virgin Media TV packages. The channels are sometimes offered as a limited-time promotion, and outside such promotions, they are typically part of a Kids Pack that costs extra.
With Sky TV of course, Sky Kids is an extra £7 per month. So technically, NOW TV is going to be the cheapest way to watch all of the channels and all of the content you get in the Sky Kids pack since it comes with the NOW Entertainment pass, which gives you access to most of the best Sky channels and shows, and throws Sky Kids in for free.
Alternatives to Sky Kids
As Sky only offers a handful of kids' channels, it may be worth considering other options for children’s entertainment. With the launch of Disney+, all Disney content was removed from Sky and relocated to its own platform. Disney+ offers a wealth of child-friendly shows and films, from Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar movies, to classics such as The Little Mermaid and Frozen. It is also the exclusive home of Disney Junior, with shows for little ones including Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Spidey and His Amazing Friends.
By subscribing to Disney+, you're not just paying for kids’ entertainment; you can also benefit from a vast selection of adult TV shows and films on Star, Disney’s content arm for grown-ups. Recent hits include Rivals, a drama set in 1980s England, and The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, which explores the challenges of fame. Popular ongoing series include What We Do in the Shadows and Only Murders in the Building, and National Geographic continues to provide educational documentaries like The Devil’s Climb, which follows renowned climbers on a dangerous ascent.
Netflix and Amazon Prime Video also provide a variety of children’s entertainment, and both services allow you to create separate profiles to ensure children only access age-appropriate content. Netflix offers popular kids' shows like Bluey, Gabby's Dollhouse, and My Little Pony, while Amazon Prime includes favourites such as Peppa Pig, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and The Adventures of Paddington. Apple TV+ is another option, with fun shows such as Snoopy in Space and Fraggle Rock, alongside educational series like Helpsters and Doug Unplugs, as well as stunning documentaries like Earth At Night In Color.
