Who offers the best kids TV content?

For live kids' TV channels, Sky and Virgin Media offer kids TV packs with popular channels including Nickelodeon, Nick Toons, Boomerang, and Cartoon Network.

However, both Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ also offer an extensive range of kids' content and family-friendly films, as does Netflix.

It's also possible to set up dedicated kids' accounts on the streaming platforms to ensure children only watch content suitable for them.

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Verdict: Where is best for kids TV?

Sky and Virgin Media both offer a dedicated childrens' TV pack which can be added to any of their TV plans.

Sky offers the most kids' content, with 9 live channels, including their own Sky Kids channel, for £7 per month, or discounted to £4 per month for new Sky TV customers.

Sky TV for new customers currently costs as little as £19 per month for 24 months, and can be customised with the Sky Kids' TV pack for an extra £4 per month, which includes these channels:

Sky Kids is an ad-free channel with popular childrens' TV content and new originals from Sky. They also include a range of educational content for additional learning at home.

Families can also download shows and movies to tablets with the Sky Go app to watch offline later, which could be perfect for entertaining kids when travelling over the festive season.

Virgin Media also offer 8 channels in their kids' pack, along with some additional +1 channels, for £5 per month, which can be added to any of their TV bundles, including Flex.

Whichever option you take with Virgin, the kids TV pack includes these channels:

Virgin Media TV & broadband bundles start at £39.99 per month for TV 360, or customers can save money by opting for Flex, which costs just £5 per month plus any additional subscriptions.

While Sky include Baby TV in their kids' TV pack, Virgin Media charge separately for this, and it costs an extra £3.50 per month.

Other options for kids' TV include BT and TalkTalk, which both offer access to NOW Memberships, where NOW Entertainment, priced at £9.99 per month, bundles Sky Entertainment for the grown-ups, plus 7 live kids' TV channels, including Sky Kids, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network.

The plans below from TalkTalk and BT include the following 7 kids' TV channels at no extra cost:

NOW Entertainment also includes a range of on-demand shows for these channels (except Cartoonito), and customers also get box sets from Milkshake!, CBeebies, and CBBC as well.

While bundling kids' TV with BT and TalkTalk TV costs a little more than with Sky and Virgin Media, the NOW Entertainment plan also includes 15 premium entertainment channels, including Sky Atlantic, Sky Max, Sky Showcase, Sky Witness, Sky Comedy, Sky Documentaries, Sky History, Sky Nature, Sky Crime, Sky Arts, Sky Sci-Fi, Gold, MTV, Comedy Central, and Alibi.

These channels are included in Sky's base Entertainment plan, with many, excluding Sky Atlantic, also included in Virgin Media's Bigger Bundle, and in the Essential Entertainment add-on with Virgin Media Flex.

Overall, adding the kids' TV pack to a standard pay TV plan is the cheapest and most straightforward way to get more entertainment shows and films for children to watch, with Sky and Virgin Media offering the most competitive pricing.

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Kids TV on Sky

Best for: Families who want home entertainment and premium kids' TV content on one platform.

Sky is our top choice for keeping kids entertained, they offer 9 live kids' TV channels, including educational content and family-friendly viewing controls to keep kids safe.

It's also possible to download content with the Sky Go app to watch offline later on smart devices like tablets.

The Sky Kids' pack costs £7 per month for existing customers, or just £4 per month for 24 months for those signing up to Sky for the first time:

The plan above includes Sky Entertainment, with 150 TV channels including Sky Atlantic and Sky Max, plus a subscription to Netflix, so there's plenty of content for the adults at home too.

For those looking to maximise their savings, it's possible to bundle Sky broadband from as little as £17 per month, saving customers an extra £9 per month on taking the services separately.

Sky TV includes access to the Freeview children's channels below, as well as support for free catch-up apps like BBC iPlayer and YouTube.

The dedicated kids' TV pack also includes the following 9 channels:

Sky's kids' pack also includes access to 10,000 episodes of content on-demand via the Sky Kids app. The app also includes 90 educational and fun games, making it a one-stop-shop for kids' entertainment.

Another benefit of Sky TV as seen in the table above is that it comes with Netflix, so families can benefit from the range of kid-friendly content on Netflix too.

The Sky Stream box also supports a wide range of additional apps, like Disney+, so more content can be added and accessed through the same platform.

Plus, customers who take Sky Cinema from Sky will also have access to a couple of family-friendly movie channels: Sky Cinema Animation and Sky Cinema Family, which include movies like Harry Potter, Dora the Explorer, Johnny English, the Secret Life of Pets, Angry Bird, and the Lego Movie, to name but a few.

Overall, if customers are interested in a comprehensive pay TV service, Sky TV is usually the one to turn to and the £4 per month fee for kids' content for new customers is excellent value.

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Kids TV on Virgin Media

Best for: Families who want kids' TV within an ultrafast broadband bundle.

Unlike Sky TV, which can be taken alone or with Sky broadband, Virgin Media must be taken in a TV & broadband bundle.

Bundling can save more overall however, with many of Virgin Media's TV & broadband bundles offering exceptional value for money, especially where customers want really fast broadband.

Virgin Media offer a kids' TV pack with 8 live TV channels, plus an additional 3 plus one channels. It's also possible for children to watch content on tablets with the Virgin TV Go app, which also supports downloads for offline viewing.

Kids TV costs an extra £5 per month with Virgin Media, and those with very small ones can also add the Baby TV channel for £3.50 per month. Both options are offered on rolling monthly contracts, so you don't need to subscribe for lengthy periods.

Both of the above options are the cheapest entry-level TV deals available with the Stream box on Flex, and the TV 360 box with the Bigger Bundle.

The free kids' TV content on Virgin Media available through Freeview on all plans includes:

There are fewer free-to-air children's channels on Virgin Media compared to Sky, but Virgin Media's box-sets also support kid-friendly on-demand apps like BBC iPlayer and YouTube.

As with Sky, it's also possible to add Sky Cinema and Disney+ subscriptions to expand the content available, and Virgin Media boxes also support Netflix and Prime Video as well.

The Kids Pick on Virgin Media adds the following childrens' channels:

The channel line-up here is very similar to Sky, with both providers offering the same range of kids' TV channels in their kids' pack, with Virgin Media also providing access to Sky Kids.

One bonus with Virgin Media is the broadband speeds, with M350 Fibre Broadband included with the Bigger Bundle, and options of M500 and Gig1 also available.

For families who want a bit of everything, Virgin Media's Mega Volt Bundle is the only plan to include the Kids Pick as standard, while it also includes Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, Netflix, Gig1 Fibre Broadband, and an unlimited O2 mobile SIM:

Mega Volt is expensive, but it could suit larger households who want to keep everyone entertained and online.

Lastly, we've also seen Virgin Media giveaway free access to the Kids Pack as recently as October 2024, when they gave families access to 11 kids' channels for the month at no extra cost to offer some extra free entertainment for the October half-term.

It's not a new offer either, with the provider opening up their kids' TV channels in October 2022 and 2023 as well. So, it's one for existing customers to watch out for.

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Kids TV on BT TV

Best for: BT broadband customers or those who also want some grown-up shows too.

BT TV uses NOW Memberships to provide additional content on top of Freeview, and customers can take the NOW Entertainment plan to access more kids' content.

NOW Entertainment includes 7 kids' channels, plus on-demand content for these channels (apart from Cartoonite) and also from Milkshake!, CBeebies, and CBBC, too.

It's not possible to take these channels separately from NOW Entertainment, so BT TV customers will need to take either the BT Entertainment plan or add NOW Entertainment to their bundle for £9.99 per month.

NOW Entertainment also includes:

These BT TV packages include NOW Entertainment and the kids' channels as standard:

Whichever plan a customer takes however, they'll get access to Freeview via the BT TV Box Pro, and those who connect with an aerial can expect to be able to watch from many of the below free-to-air kids' TV channels:

Customers who watch Freeview over the broadband connection however, will only be able to watch CBBC and Cbeebies.

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Kids TV on TalkTalk

Best for: TalkTalk broadband customers and those who want access to a wide-range of extra apps.

TalkTalk TV is similar to BT TV in that premium content is provided by way of NOW Memberships, and those who want the most popular kids' TV channels, will need to add a subscription to NOW Entertainment, or take TalkTalk's pre-made Entertainment plan.

TalkTalk TV does include NOW Boost at no extra cost, which boosts viewing quality to full HD and removes adverts, so that is a plus over BT's service.

There is no way to watch Freeview over the Internet however, so customers will need to connect an aerial if they want to watch any free-to-air kids' content like CBBC and POP.

The new Android Hub provided with TalkTalk does support over 10,000 apps downloadable via the Google Play Store, so that could be a lot of extra kid-friendly apps and games that could provide additional entertainment for young ones.

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Kids' TV on streaming services

In addition to the pay TV and premium live kids' TV channels we've covered above. It's also possible to access extra kids' content through streaming services.

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ are all supported by the boxes provided with Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk TV (current Hub), while BT TV supports Netflix and Prime Video.

Here's a run-down of the childrens' content available on these services and which is best for kids' TV.

1. Amazon Prime Video

Best for: All-round kids entertainment.
Price: £8.99 per month (+£2.99 to remove adverts)

Amazon Prime Video might not be the first name that springs to mind when we think about kids' content but their film and TV library is hard to beat.

Families can access popular movies and TV shows including some big-name titles like Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol alongside plenty of lesser-known content for extra variety.

It's this extensive library of content that sets Amazon Prime Video apart from their rivals. They have content from various studios and providers, bringing live action and animated films and shows to kids of all ages.

There are special age categories to help families find age-appropriate viewing for their kids plus a growing range of Amazon Originals that includes viewing options for all ages.
One thing that's missing is content from Disney and their associated brands but, unless customers go direct to Disney+ (see below), they won't be able to watch those films and shows.

There's a separate category for Kids content in Prime Video and families can create a Kids profile to only allow them access to content suitable for children 12 and under. Purchasing is disabled by default on Kids profiles, so they can't buy content that isn't part of the free plan.

One thing to note, however, is that all downloads associated with an account will be visible on a Kids profile, including anything with more mature content.

This is a niggle, yes, but it doesn't detract from the huge library available for £8.99 per month.

2. Disney Plus

Best for: Disney and Pixar fans
Price: From £4.99 (£8.99 for ad-free viewing)

Since Disney closed their UK TV channels in 2020, the only place to find Disney content has been on Disney+.

While it's possible to sign up for as little as £4.99 per month, this is the ad-supported plan, and those who want to watch ad-free will need to pay £8.99 for Disney+ Standard.

As the name suggests, Disney+ is home to the extensive back-catalogue of Disney films and TV shows that would have previously aired on the Disney Channel or Disney Junior.

There are categories for series and specials connected to those channels to help families find the right content for them as well as broader categories to help viewers find fresh things to watch. There is also non-fiction and factual content too that families can enjoy together or kids with an interest in nature can watch on their own.

Families can create individual profiles for each family member and ensure kids are only accessing their Kid's profile. Up to seven profiles can be created per account and content ratings can be set at a profile level to stop kids accessing things that are too mature for them.

One of the problems with Disney+ is that there's so much on there that families might need to employ the search function to find the things they're specifically looking for, especially older films from the Disney archive.

It's also true that Disney+ is focused mainly on Disney and Pixar's own back-catalogues and fresh content, so, while there's a great selection, it's still limited by those constraints.

Even so, Disney+ is the third most popular streaming service in the UK for a reason: it's extremely family friendly and great for kids.

3. Netflix

Best for: Varied kids' viewing.
Price: From £4.99 (£10.99 for ad-free viewing)

Netflix is the most popular streaming service in the UK, with customers able to get a Standard with Ads subscription to view on one screen in HD for £4.99 per month.

In practice, most families are going to opt for the Standard subscription (ad-free and 2 screens in HD) for £10.99 per month, or possibly even the Premium subscription (4 screens in UHD) for £17.99 per month.

As with Amazon Prime Video, the beauty of Netflix for kids lies in its variety. There are plenty of popular films available with live action sitting alongside animation with some of the most popular characters in kids' TV.

It's straightforward to search by those characters plus there are various categories covering animals, girl-centric shows and shows about friends to name but a few. There are also shows that are exclusive to Netflix.

Like other streaming services, Netflix offers a specific Kids profile which has a customised maturity rating to help parents choose the right level of restrictions for their children.

However, one issue with Netflix is that, while it has plenty of content, there's plenty of poor-quality stuff hidden among the gems. This isn't to say the kids won't enjoy the content there is available on Netflix, but it's just a reminder than quantity doesn't always signify a great viewing experience.

4. BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer is technically a free option for kids' TV - as long as a household has paid the annual licence fee.

As part of their broadcaster remit, BBC iPlayer has to maintain a collection of educational and fun kids' content, so there's often a decent amount of content for families to choose from, although it can't compare to the extensive libraries of other services we've discussed above.

It's always worth checking out the kids' content on BBC iPlayer, but it might not be one to keep the kids occupied for very long.

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Summary: Which TV service is best for kids?

Sky and Virgin Media both offer a dedicated kids' pack add-on, which can be added to any of their TV plans from £5 per month or under.

As well as popular names like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, Sky and Virgin Media also offer access via apps, so content can be downloaded to a tablet to watch offline later.

BT and TalkTalk also offer access to this content through NOW Entertainment Memberships, with TalkTalk providing support for over 10,000 apps on the Google Play Store for additional games.

While we think Sky is the best platform for kids' TV, it's also possible to access extra children's content through many of the on-demand streaming services, including Netflix, Prime Video, and of course, Disney+.

Netflix and Prime Video both maintain and update huge libraries of content suitable for kids of all ages. Prime Video wins that battle by virtue of being a cheaper service, but there's still plenty for kids to enjoy on Netflix - and remember it's included as standard with Sky TV deals.

Disney+ has become a dominant force in streaming and the sheer scope of their back-catalogue and original offerings mean they are the go-to choice for many families. Another positive upgrade to the Disney+ experience for parents came with the addition of Star content in 2021 which gives the grown-ups plenty to watch as well.

Nevertheless, there are various options for families to choose from when they're looking at family friendly TV and streaming services.