 2003–2010 logo (featuring Paz the Penguin) | |
| Network |
|
|---|---|
| Launched | December 28, 1992 |
| Closed | October 8, 2010 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Owner | Discovery Communications |
| Format | Weekday morning preschool block |
| Running time |
|
| Original language(s) | English |
Ready Set Learn! is an American television block broadcast from late 1992 until 2010 across the TLC and Discovery Kids networks, both owned by Discovery Communications. A cable competitor to PBS' children's offerings, it comprised three hours of original, imported, and rerun programming plus music videos geared towards preschoolers, broadcast twice on weekday mornings. In its early years, it was hosted by children's entertainer Rory Zuckerman, who was billed mononymously; an early 2003 relaunch replaced her with Paz, a penguin who was represented in animated and puppet form.
A 1990 Carnegie Foundation report inspired Discovery to develop the block; shows were selected based on their educational value and visual vibrancy. Amid a $10 million investment from TLC, a line of home video and software releases, and plans to spin it off into a standalone channel, the parent company used Ready as a loss leader to expand the network's carriage. A counterpart for older children debuted on the main Discovery Channel in early 1997. By mid-2002, the TLC block ended up under the management of Discovery Kids, whose schedule it also appeared on.
Ready Set Learn! ran on TLC from December 28, 1992 to September 26, 2008, with Discovery Kids following suit during the 2000s. Despite brief skepticism on its chances as an "educational television" outlet, it was positively reviewed during both its 1990s and 2000s incarnations. The block helped TLC receive a CableACE Creators Award in 1995, and was also honored by the National Education Association, the American Academy of Children's Entertainment, and the Parents' Choice Foundation.