POP, Tiny POP and POP UP / Narrative Entertainment
Narrative Entertainment has announced plans to close the linear versions of its POP-branded kids channels next month.
The three stations – POP, Tiny Pop and POP UP – have been on air to varying degrees for the last 22 years and are available on Sky, Virgin Media, Freeview and Freely.
Despite the linear closures, the channels will all live in on their FAST forms through Freeview, Freely, Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels, alongside the FAST-only POP Max channel.
Paul Dunthorne, MD of Narrative, which also operates the Great! portfolio of channels, told C21: “With commercial value across the UK kids’ TV market now just 4% of what it was 10 years ago, we’ve taken the decision to close our linear Pop channel at the end of the year.
“We understand the importance of offering high-quality kids’ TV, and we’ve done everything that we can to maintain Pop. But free-to-air channels for this audience are simply not commercially viable without public service broadcaster-style funding.
“We will retain our Pop presence on FAST channels in the UK on Freeview, Samsung, LG and other platforms, and internationally, as these continue to offer commercial opportunities.”
The news comes following MTV’s recent announcement that it too will be shutting down the linear versions of its music video channels – MTV Music, MTV Live, Club MTV, MTV 80s and MTV 90s – next month.
