A new cable channel with choice pedigree papers will launch come Sunday morning.
The Hub -- Discovery Communications' (Nasdaq: DISCA) (Nasdaq: DISCK) repositioned Discovery Kids with the help of Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) -- aims to entertain youngsters with shows often tethered to Hasbro properties.
We're not just talking about animated My Little Pony and Transformers shows, though they certainly will be part of the lineup. The Hub seriously wants to compete against Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Nickelodeon and Disney's (NYSE: DIS) namesake channel.
The flagship show will be Family Game Night, where families compete against one another in a game show complete with larger-than-life versions of Hasbro board games. How amusing will it be to see a family tackle a gargantuan buzzing Operation board or drop giant checkers in Connect 4?
It won't be as lame as you may think. Families have to score baskets to get a shot at the large Connect 4 contraption. Yahtzee is blown up to the point where gamers have to roll a giant bowling ball to knock down dice in the form of bowling pins. Guesstures, Twister, and other Hasbro properties will be brilliantly supersized.
If the show is a hit, do yourself a favor and load up on Hasbro stock, because some of these retro games could be in for a major revival.
Will it be a hit, though? Discovery Kids was a rare dud in Discovery's portfolio. According to the New York Daily News, it was attracting viewers in just 240,000 homes the most recent time the channel was rated. Kids can be pretty loyal to existing networks, and Disney and Nickelodeon have several spinoff channels already that specifically target The Hub's ideal audience of kids -- primarily boys -- between the ages of 6 and 12.
The network, particularly the Family Game Night show, is going to run into a bit of resistance from concerned groups who feel the show is a glorified Hasbro commercial. Then again, the commercial success of Hasbro is likely what attracted Discovery to the country's second-largest toymaker after Mattel (NYSE: MAT) to breathe new life into Discovery Kids.
Discovery is a much smaller media mogul than Disney or Viacom, so even a whiff of success at The Hub would go a long way.
Will The Hub be a hit or a flop? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
