Altice USA said it is making live and on demand content from several networks available to its Optimum and Suddenlink customers through April 22 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Beginning March 27, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, Science Channel, and Discovery Family will be available to its customers through April 22nd at no additional cost.

“We are pleased to provide our customers with an expanded selection of engaging family-friendly content during this unprecedented time,” Altice USA chief operating officer Hakim Boubazine said in a press release. “We hope our customers enjoy the wide variety of original programming as well as the live and on-demand content offered by these great networks.” 

In response to COVID-19, Altice USA has been active to ensure people within the communities it serves have reliable access to high-speed broadband connectivity and is providing its Altice Advantage offering to new households with students that don’t have internet access for free for 60 days. The company also signed the FCC’s ‘Keep Americans Connected’ pledge to provide relief to customers impacted by this pandemic.

Discovery Family Channel has acquired rights to the movie My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, the first acquisition for the former Hub network service.

The network, which will officially transform to Discovery Family Channel on Oct. 13, will air My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks on Oct. 17, said network officials.

“At Discovery Family, we are committed to airing the latest in high-quality, family-friendly entertainment,” said General Manager Tom Cosgrove. “Our young audience adores the My Little Pony brand, and their parents can appreciate the positive themes of friendship and teamwork featured throughout the My Little Pony Equestria Girls films.”

Hasbro Studios’ Transformers franchise has a new home in Cartoon Network.

The studio said it will premiere its brand new series Transformers: Robots in Disguise on the Cartoon Network in first quarter of 2015, which comes nearly a month after Hasbro modified its four-year partnership with Discovery Communications’ Hub Network.

The latest installment in the Transformers franchise follows events occurring years after the end of the Transformers Prime series, said Hasbro officials.

 “As the regularly top-rated U.S. TV network in prime among Transformers’ core audience of boys ages 6-11 and 9-14, our beloved Autobots and Decepticons will feel very much at home on Cartoon Network,” said Finn Arnesen, senior vice president of global distribution and development for Hasbro Studios. “And to seal our new partnership with Cartoon Network on the 30th anniversary of the Transformers franchise makes this a truly iconic event.”

Discovery Communications made it official today, acquiring a controlling interest from Hasbro Studios in The Hub, which will be renamed Discovery Family next month.

Veteran Tom Cosgrove was named general manager of the service, which will be transformed on Oct. 13.

Discovery will up its ownership position to 60% from 50%, as Hasbro Studios drops to 40%. Hasbro Studios will continue to program the converted network’s daytime hours, while primetime program initially will showcase Discovery library fare spanning history, adventure, nature, and science genres targeting families.

The transformation of The Hub is the latest in a long line of conversions by the programmer. Discovery has made a business out of repurposing channels and with 70 million homes, The Hub is what Discovery CEO David Zaslav has called “beachfront real estate.”  The programmer has had success in the past converting Discovery Health into the Oprah Winfrey Network, Planet Green into Destination America and The Military Channel into American Heroes Channel.

 Under the executive management of group president Henry Schleiff, Cosgrove will manage all network operations and programming, working closely with the Hasbro Studios team. Most recently the chief of 3net and 3net Studios, Cosgrove’s career includes stints as executive vice president and COO of Discovery Channel and Science Channel. Prior to joining Discovery, he also held senior leadership positions at ABC Family, Fox Family, Fox Kids and TV Guide Channel.

“Hasbro is a world-class company with franchises and characters that appeal to kids and families around the world.  They have been terrific partners over the past several years as we developed our kids television audience in the U.S., and we look forward to a continued strong collaboration as we evolve to the Discovery Family Channel together,” said Zaslav.  “Henry’s proficiency in developing and growing strong brands combined with Tom’s experience on Discovery’s flagship brand and deep background in family programming make for a perfect leadership team to drive the network toward future growth.” 

“The next chapter of our collaboration will harness the incredible content strengths of both Discovery and Hasbro to program Discovery Family Channel with highly-rated award-winning storytelling around Hasbro’s brands and Discovery’s most popular non-fiction shows that appeal to both children and families alike,” said Hasbro president and CEO Brian Goldner.  “Discovery Communications has a nearly 30-year track record of building television brands that create maximum value for advertisers and distributors through their world-class raft of programming and we look forward to evolving this network together.”