Qubo (fictional)

Qubo (stylized as qubo) is an American entertainment brand. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, it consists of a 24-hour free-to-air television network alternatively known as the "Qubo Channel" (available as a digital terrestrial television service mostly on Scripps' stations, as well as owned-and-operated stations and some affiliates of Scripps corporate sister Ion Television, as well as on some pay-TV providers), a video on demand service, and a weekly programming block on Ion Television. Qubo is targeted towards children aged 5–15, teenagers aged 16–18 and young adults aged 19–28, as well as their families.

Scripps purchase
On September 24, 2020, the E. W. Scripps Company announced an agreement to buy Ion Media for $2.65 billion. The transaction, which closed on January 7, 2021, saw Ion Television, Ion Plus, Qubo and infomercial service Shop Ion integrated into Scripps' Katz Broadcasting subsidiary (operator of fellow multicast networks Court TV, Court TV Mystery, Bounce TV, Laff and Grit).

Following the Scripps purchase, Scripps relocated Qubo's operations to, , and refocused the channel as a general family entertainment service.

Programming
Originally, Qubo primarily featured archived content from the programming libraries of NBCUniversal, Corus Entertainment, Scholastic Corporation, DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks Classics, WildBrain, 9 Story Media Group and Splash Entertainment, with its programs targeted all ages 5 to 14. Though there was a first agreement of the two companies - NBCUniversal, and Ion Media - to produce a new series for the network and program block each year, Qubo initially only produced three original series: My Friend Rabbit (2007–08), Turbo Dogs (2008-11), and season 1 of Shelldon (2009–12). Qubo regularly broadcast series aimed at preschoolers during the morning and afternoon hours, while series aimed at older children were featured as part of the network's evening schedule.

On September 27, 2010, Qubo launched "Qubo Night Owl", (running from 12:00 to 6:00 a.m. ET) featuring classic animated series, many of which came from the Filmation library owned by DreamWorks Animation (currently owned by NBCUniversal). The block was restructured in August 2013 to feature a mixture of animated and live-action series sourced only from Qubo's distribution partners. It was discontinued as Ion Media decided to reduce the amount of religious and paid programming on Ion Television and Ion Plus by shifting those hours to Qubo's overnight schedule between 1:00 to 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

In January 2022, Qubo announced it would be carrying professional wrestling broadcasts from the United Wrestling Federation under the title of UWF Scions, marking the promotion's second TV program after it's main series UWF Wrestling.

Original programming

 * Rage (February 28, 2021 - present)
 * UWF Scions (March 5, 2022 - present)

Acquired programming

 * Franklin (January 1, 2021 - present) (E/I)
 * G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero [1983 and 1989 series] (September 4, 2021 - present)
 * Inspector Gadget (August 31, 2019 - present)
 * Jay Jay the Jet Plane (February 26, 2021 - present) (E/I)
 * Jem (September 4, 2021 - present)
 * Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends (October 1, 2018-present) (E/I)
 * The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog (September 27, 2010 - September 25, 2016, February 26, 2021 - present) (E/I)
 * Science Max (December 6, 2020 - present) (E/I)
 * Timothy Goes to School (May 13, 2013 - present) (E/I)
 * The Transformers [1984 series] (September 4, 2021 - present)
 * Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! (July 10, 2021 - present) (E/I)