Planeta U
Children's programming block on Univision
title: "Planeta U" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["univision-original-programming", "television-programming-blocks-in-the-united-states", "2008-american-television-series-debuts", "preschool-education-television-networks"] description: "Children's programming block on Univision" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planeta_U" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Children's programming block on Univision ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox programming block"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Planeta U |
| image_size | 300px |
| alt | Current logo for programming block; 2019-present |
| caption | Current logo for programming block; 2019-present |
| premiered | {{plainlist |
| * (Current)<ref name | "planetau" |
| channel | Univision |
| country | United States |
| parent | TelevisaUnivision USA |
| (some content is sourced by Disney Branded Television) | |
| replaced | La Piñata Loca (1996-2000) |
| format | {{plainlist |
| runtime | 3 hours |
| website | |
| language | Spanish |
| :: |
| name = Planeta U | image = | image_size = 300px | alt = Current logo for programming block; 2019-present | caption = Current logo for programming block; 2019-present | formerly_known = | premiered = {{plainlist|
- (Original)
- (Current) | channel = Univision | division = | country = United States | key_people = | headquarters = | major_contracts = | parent = TelevisaUnivision USA (some content is sourced by Disney Branded Television) | sister = | replaced = La Piñata Loca (1996-2000) | format = {{plainlist|
- Weekend Morning
- E/I block | runtime = 3 hours | website = | language = Spanish | footnotes = Planeta U (English: "Planet U"), usually referenced as Tu Planeta U ("Your Planet U") is an American children's programming block that airs on the Spanish language television network Univision, which debuted on September 15, 2001. The three-hour block – which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and Pacific Time – features animated series aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 8.
Programs featured on the block consist almost entirely of Spanish-dubbed versions of series that were originally produced and broadcast in English (with the exception of Pocoyo, which was produced in Spain). All shows featured on Planeta U are designed to meet federally mandated educational programming guidelines defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) via the Children's Television Act.
History
The block's origins stem from a settlement that preceded the FCC's approval of network parent Univision Communications' $12.3 billion acquisition by Broadcasting Media Partners Inc. (a consortium of investment firms led by the Haim Saban-owned Saban Capital Group, TPG Capital, L.P., Providence Equity Partners, Madison Dearborn Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners). As part of a consent decree in the deal that included the payment of a $24 million fine – the largest single fine levied against any corporation by the FCC at the time – that was issued against Univision in February 2007, following an investigation stemming from complaints filed in 2005 by the United Church of Christ and the National Hispanic Media Coalition during pending license renewal proceedings for two of its owned-and-operated stations (WQHS-TV in Cleveland and KDTV in San Francisco) that uncovered violations of Children's Television Act (CTA) guidelines, which require over-the-air television broadcasters to air a minimum of three hours of compliant educational programming each week, by the network's 24 O&Os. The violations regarded youth-oriented telenovelas from Televisa and Venevision aired by the network (the Televisa-produced Cómplices Al Rescate, ¡Vivan Los Niños!, and Amy, la niña de la mochila azul), which were cited due to their questionable educational value and the former's incorporation of occasional adult-themed plotlines and complex subplots that were unsuitable for younger children) that were claimed by the stations as core educational programs in 116 weekly CTA compliance reports filed between 2004 and early 2006.
On April 5, 2008, Univision announced that it would launch a new Saturday morning block featuring live-action and animated series aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 16. Unlike other children's program blocks in existence at the time (and since), the network opted to fully program the block with shows acquired from various programming distributors. Two days later, "Planeta U" debuted, marking the first time that Univision carried an exclusively animated children's program block for younger audiences, having previously carried live action variety-based series alongside half-hour cartoons prior to the shift towards filling its weekend morning schedule with youth-targeted novelas in 2003. The block's initial lineup consisted mainly of Spanish-dubbed versions of American and Canadian children's programs, with Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, Pinky Dinky Doo, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, Inspector Gadget's Field Trip and Beakman's World as part of its inaugural lineup.
Dora the Explorer was previously broadcast on rival network Telemundo from 2000 to 2001 as part of “Nickelodeon en Telemundo”, then again from 2004 to 2006 as part of “Telemundo Kids”. However, Univision's broadcasts of the show added on-screen captions of the Spanish words spoken in English.
Additional educational content was included in the form of the interstitial segment Hoy en la Historia ("Today in History"), featuring facts of relevance to historical events, and a series of public service announcements featuring popular Hispanic celebrities (including Juanes, Fanny Lu and Jenni Rivera) sharing focused on ethical and personal safety messages, and environmental conservation tips. "Planeta U" originally aired as a single three-hour, Saturday-only block until September 2008, when the network began airing an hour-long extension on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. The Sunday lineup was discontinued in September 2013, with the remaining Saturday block reverting to three hours.
On June 3, 2014, Walt Disney Television entered into an agreement with Univision in which it launched a new sub-block within the "Planeta U" lineup called "Disney Junior en Univision", featuring dubbed versions of original series from Disney Junior during the first two hours of the block; Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny (the latter's dub incorporated basic instruction of English words and phrases instead of those in Spanish, as the English version features) were the first series to air as part of the sub-block. The sub-block was discontinued on May 26, 2018 which the sub-block was later being replaced by Naturaleza Humana the following week on June 2nd, then replaced by Franklin and Friends on June 18th, 2022 at the last hour of the block.
On August 1, 2015, Univision added its first original children's program as part of the block, Sesame Amigos, a half-hour Spanish language version of Sesame Street produced by Sesame Workshop for the network, featuring learning games and educational intersitials similar to those featured on and select characters from the HBO series, with Univision talent and other Hispanic and Latino celebrities making guest appearances during some segments (the network previously aired the Televisa adaptation of its parent series, Plaza Sésamo, from 1995 to 2002, before it was moved to sister network TeleFutura, now UniMás).
On July 7, 2024, Univision's Planeta U block moved to Sunday mornings for one week only before reverting back to Saturday mornings a week later.
In 2025, Univision stopped using the Planeta U branding, and replaced it with a robot as their mascot. The block's new name is not confirmed as of December 2025.
As of 2026, Univision is one of only two commercial broadcast networks that still airs animated programming within a Saturday morning timeslot, the other being MeTV with its Saturday Morning Cartoons block.
Programming
All of the programs aired within the block featured content compliant with educational programming requirements as mandated by the Children's Television Act. Although the Planeta U block regularly aired on Saturday mornings, affiliates in some parts of the country deferred certain programs within the lineup to Sunday morning timeslots to accommodate locally produced programs or due to scheduling issues with regional or network sports broadcasts (such as 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournaments) that start in time periods normally occupied by the block.
Current programming
::data[format=table title=""]
| Title | Premiere date | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Atención Atención | October 6, 2018 | |
| Franklin and Friends | June 18, 2022 | |
| Babar and the Adventures of Badou | September 6, 2025 | |
| :: |
Former programming
::data[format=table title=""]
| Title | Premiere date | End date | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaza Sésamo | September 15, 2001 | January 12, 2003 | title=Upfront Day 3: Univision 2002-2003 |
| Juanito Jones | title=Small fry lost in U.S. Hispanic duopoly's wake | url=https://variety.com/2003/scene/markets-festivals/small-fry-lost-in-u-s-hispanic-duopoly-s-wake-1117879105/ | author=Variety Staff |
| Mimi & Mr. Bobo | January 13, 2002 | ||
| Pinky Dinky Doo | April 7, 2007 | September 3, 2011 | |
| Dora the Explorer | April 5, 2008 | May 24, 2014 | |
| Go, Diego, Go! | |||
| Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks | August 28, 2010 | ||
| Inspector Gadget's Field Trip | May 29, 2010 | ||
| Beakman's World | |||
| Dive, Olly, Dive! | April 18, 2009 | June 18, 2011 | |
| Pocoyo | November 7, 2009 | December 30, 2017 | |
| Zigby | September 4, 2010 | August 31, 2013 | |
| The Backyardigans | June 25, 2011 | July 25, 2015 | |
| Maya & Miguel | September 10, 2011 | September 14, 2013 | |
| The Jungle Book | September 21, 2013 | July 25, 2015 | |
| Mickey Mouse Clubhouse | May 31, 2014 | May 26, 2018 | title=Univision Network Adds Disney Junior Hit Series "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" & "Handy Manny" to its "Planeta U" Saturday Morning Children's Block |
| Handy Manny | |||
| Sesame Amigos | August 1, 2015 | October 7, 2017 | |
| Calimero | October 14, 2017 | September 29, 2018 | |
| Planeta de Niños | January 6, 2018 | August 30, 2025 | |
| Naturaleza Humana | June 2, 2018 | May 28, 2022 | |
| :: |
Acquired programming
::data[format=table title=""]
| Title | Premiere date | End date | Source(s) | ¡De Cabeza! | Univision children's programming/novelas (FCC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenchi Universe | October 7, 2000 | September 8, 2001 | |||
| Bruno the Kid | |||||
| Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm | March 31, 2001 | ||||
| The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat | September 8, 2001 | ||||
| Lost Universe | December 2, 2000 | May 26, 2001 | |||
| Tenchi in Tokyo | |||||
| Red Baron | February 10, 2001 | August 4, 2001 | |||
| Mimi & Mr. Bobo | April 7, 2001 | September 8, 2001 | |||
| Amigos por Siempre | January 18, 2003 | October 12, 2003 | |||
| Aventuras en el Tiempo | October 18, 2003 | June 27, 2004 | |||
| El Club de Los Tigritos | January 24, 2004 | December 31, 2005 | |||
| El Reto Burundis | August 6, 2005 | ||||
| Cómplices Al Rescate | July 3, 2004 | May 22, 2005 | |||
| ¡Vivan los Niños! | May 28, 2005 | May 28, 2006 | |||
| Amy, la Niña de la Mochila Azul | June 3, 2006 | August 18, 2007 | |||
| Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? | March 3, 2007 | March 29, 2008 | title=La Historia de Una Gran Ladrona - ¿Dónde en el Mundo está Carmen Sandiego? | url=http://univision.com/content/content.jhtml?cid=1101270 | author=Univision Online |
| Bill Nye the Science Guy | April 7, 2007 | ||||
| :: |
References
References
- Elizabeth SanjenÌs. (April 5, 2008). "Univision Launches New Children's Programming Block "Planeta U"". Univision Communications.
- (March 29, 2007). "Broadcasting Media Partners Completes Acquisition of Univision".
- Rosemary Mercedes. (March 29, 2007). "Broadcasting Media Partners Completes Acquisition of Univision".
- (February 24, 2007). "Report: FCC to fine Univision a record $24 million over children's programming". [[Gannett Company]].
- Frank Ahrens. (February 25, 2007). "FCC Expected To Impose Record $24 Million Fine Against Univision". [[The Washington Post]].
- (February 24, 2007). "FCC to Fine Univision $24 Million for Lacking Children's Programming". Fox News Network, LLC.
- Stephen Labaton. (February 24, 2007). "Record Fine Expected for Univision". [[The New York Times]].
- (March 27, 2007). "FCC APPROVES $12B SALE OF UNIVISION STATIONS". NewsCheck Media.
- (April 5, 2008). "Univision hopes to block further problems". Streamline-RBR, Inc..
- Will Hagle. (June 3, 2014). "Univision Adds Two Disney Jr. Series To "Planeta U" Block". [[NewBay Media]].
- Adam Jacobson. (June 17, 2014). "Univision, Disney Junior Play With Saturday-Morning Block". NewBay Media.
- (June 4, 2014). "Univision adds Disney Junior –"Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and "Handy Manny" to morning children's block". Hispanic Media Sales, Inc..
- Nardine Saad. (August 21, 2015). "Elmo, Cookie Monster get new casa: Univision launches Spanish-language 'Sesame Amigos'". Los Angeles Times.
- Veronica Villafañe. (August 7, 2015). "Sesame Street returns to Univision".
- Reece Ristau. (August 14, 2015). "'Sesame Street' Spanish-Language Show Launched by Univision". [[Penske Media Corporation]].
- (April 20, 2002). "Upfront Day 3: Univision 2002-2003". Hispanic Media Sales, Inc..
- Variety Staff. (January 19, 2003). "Small fry lost in U.S. Hispanic duopoly's wake". Variety.
- Meghan Newton. (September 12, 2011). "Scholastic Media's "Maya & Miguel" Debuts on Univision's "Planeta U" Programming Block". Scholastic Corporation.
- (3 June 2014). "Univision Network Adds Disney Junior Hit Series "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" & "Handy Manny" to its "Planeta U" Saturday Morning Children's Block".
- Univision Online. (October 15, 2007). "La Historia de Una Gran Ladrona - ¿Dónde en el Mundo está Carmen Sandiego?". Univision Communications.
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