Sky, WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS Networks UK have partnered to improve the literacy skills of thousands of children across the UK and Ireland by turning on the subtitles of more than 500 of their most popular episodes of kids’ content.

The new collection, in support of the Turn on the Subtitles campaign and available from March 8th to Sky customers with Sky Kids, aims to improve the reading and writing skills of children while they’re watching their favourite shows.

Poor literacy skills can hold a person back throughout their life and currently one in four children in the UK leave primary school without being able to read fluently. Turning on same-language subtitles for children’s content can double the chance of them becoming a proficient reader.

Lucy Murphy, Director of Kids Content at Sky, said: “At Sky, we connect millions of children to stories they love.

"We’re delighted to partner with WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS to support the Turn on the Subtitles campaign and help improve the literacy skills of thousands of children in the UK and Ireland through something as simple as turning on the subtitles to their favourite shows”

Vanessa Brookman, Head of Kids, WarnerMedia EMEA, said: “We are so pleased to be a part of this important initiative from Sky. By providing a range of our best loved titles from Cartoon Network and Boomerang, such as The Amazing World of Gumball and Be Cool, Scooby-Doo, we hope to contribute to improving children’s reading skills across the UK and Ireland.”

Louise Bucknole, VP Programming Kids, ViacomCBS Networks UK & Ireland, added: “Turn on the Subtitles is a great way to help improve children’s reading and writing skills in the UK & Ireland. We’re thrilled to support this great initiative with Sky and to add subtitles to our much-loved shows from the Nickelodeon catalogue such as PAW Patrol, SpongeBob Squarepants, Henry Danger, The Thundermans and many more”.

Oli Barrett MBE, Co-founder of Turn on the Subtitles, added: "Some ideas are so powerful that something must be done about them. Subtitles improving literacy is one of those ideas. This campaign takes an incredibly simple insight and uses it to improve people's lives. We are incredibly grateful for the support of Sky, Viacom and Warner Media who are now taking this seriously, and to the many high-profile names who are helping us to spread the word." 

Eye-tracking behaviour research shows that 94% of children engage with subtitles while watching their favourite shows which can improve spelling, grammar, and vocabulary, with the child often unaware they are learning.

The Sky Kids ‘always-on’ subtitled collection has been curated with some of the most popular children’s content including SpongeBob SquarePants (Nicktoons), PAW Patrol (Nick Jr.), The Amazing World of Gumball (WarnerMedia), Be Cool, Scooby-Doo (WarnerMedia), and Sky Kids Originals like Pirates Love Underpants and Moominvalley.