Sky in the UK has finalized a deal that will bring Disney Jr. back to linear and its streaming services, five years after the channel went dark in the region.

In 2020, the same year that Disney+ launched in Britain, Disney announced plans to shut down  its regional Disney Jr., Disney XD and Disney Channel linear channels in order to focus on building out its SVOD service. But starting on November 13, Disney Jr. will launch on the Sky Kids linear channel and the broadcaster’s streaming platform, according to a Sky post to subscribers.

Going forward from that launch date, Disney Jr. will be part of the Sky Kids package, which offers 24/7 access to an impressive library of kids programming across 10 live channels that also include Nick Jr. and Cartoon Network. Plus, Disney Jr. content will continue to be available on Disney+ in the UK.

It’s surprising that Disney is returning to linear just five years later, especially since other major media companies have been increasingly focused on streaming. Just look at today’s news of the other Sky in New Zealand (no relation to the UK’s Comcast-owned one), which is launching its own kids channel to fill a gap after WBD and Paramount Skydance closed down their own channels there.

But perhaps this same shift to streaming means there’s a growing whitespace to reach kids on linear—especially since there’s not much competition left among kids channels in the UK. It was announced just last week that the region is losing free-to-air channels POP and Tiny POP at the end of this year, leaving the BBC as the only free-to-air linear kids channel provider left standing.

That’s a view that Adam Woodgate, VP of research solutions at The Insights Family, shared yesterday about the news: “Free-to-air and ad-supported models continue to struggle for sustainability, [so] premium, branded environments are selectively re-engaging with linear to complement digital reach with trusted, curated viewing.”

Pictured is Disney’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Image courtesy of Disney.