The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented channel. It was a joint venture between PBS, Comcast, Sesame Workshop, and HIT Entertainment. After Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, NBCUniversal began to buy out the remaining owners' shares in the network. NBCUniversal became the sole owner of the network in 2013, after which it was renamed Sprout. In 2017, the channel relaunched as Universal Kids, adding an evening and prime time lineup targeting a wider youth audience.