Pakapaka is an Argentine television channel and website providing shows and original programming intended for children aged 2 to 12 and their families. Launched initially as a programming section in the Encuentro television channel on September 23, 2007, and later as a digital terrestrial television and FTA channel on September 17, 2010, although regular transmissions begun on September 9. It is operated by Argentina's Ministry of Human Capital.
The word paka paka in the Quechuan language means â³hideoutâ³ or â³children's gameâ³, referring to hide and seek. In 2015, they aired shows such as Shaun the Sheep, LoliRock, Minuscule, The Little Prince, Aesop's Theater, Mr. Moon, Ruby Gloom, Magic Planet, Pipi Pupu Rosemary, Dixiland and Pequeñas criaturas cuadradas.
Pakapaka was the children's programming block on the educational channel Encuentro, and later became the country's first public and educational children's channel. As an educational channel, it belonged to the Ministry of Education of the Argentine Republic. It was launched by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner as part of the then-current communications policyâÂÂwhich also included the creation of other educational channels such as TEC TVâÂÂand in compliance with the media law that required a portion of programming to be geared towards children. pakapaka era la franja infantil en el canal educativo Encuentro, y luego se convirtió en el primer canal infantil público y educativo del paÃÂs. En cuanto señal educativa, pertenecÃÂa al Ministerio de Educación de la República Argentina. Fue lanzado por la presidenta Cristina Fernández de Kirchner como parte de la por entonces polÃÂtica en materia de comunicación âÂÂque también incluÃÂa la creación de otros canales educativos como TEC TVâ y como cumplimiento de la ley de medios que exigÃÂa una porción de la programación esté orientada a los niños.
Its first test broadcast was on September 9, 2010, and from September 17, 2010, via Open Digital Television, available free of charge to all cable operators
In 2011, it was included in the DirecTV lineup from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Starting in January 2014, Pakapaka was included in Cablevisión's basic package lineup, following repeated requests for the application of Article 65 of the Audiovisual Communication Services Law, which stipulated that pay-TV providers must include all public broadcasters and channels of the national government, as well as all those in which the government has a stake, in their lineup. This increased the channel's reach to over 3 million subscribers.
In February 2015, DirecTV added Pakapaka to its 24-hour channel lineup, along with other state-run channels such as INCAA TV and DeporTV (Argentina). This followed approximately eighty complaints filed by its own viewers with the Ombudsman's Office. According to an official statement from the Ombudsman's Office, fifty of the eighty complaints were related to the inclusion of Pakapaka.
One year after Mauricio Macri won the presidency, in November 2016, the channel's aesthetics were changed, including its logo and slogan. On December 7 of that year, decree 1222/16 was enacted, incorporating Pakapaka, along with the Encuentro, DeporTV, Acua Mayor and Acua Federal channels, as well as the Argentine Universal Audiovisual Content Bank (Bacua) into the Federal System of Public Media and Content, creating the state-owned company "Contenidos Públicos S.E." with the purpose of carrying out the management, operation, development and exploitation of these signals and any others that replace them or are created within the System.
In 2018, the channel was excluded from the basic package of Cablevisión to the cable operator's digital package, which generated controversy and rejection from subscribers..
In 2020, in the context of the suspension of in-person classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, an agreement was reached between Flow (Argentina) and the Federal System of Public Media and Content to return the channel to the lineup.
Following Javier Milei's arrival to the presidency in 2023, the Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentinians was approved in June 2024. A month later, Decree 644/204 provided for the conversion of State-owned companies into the new form of Single-Member Public Limited Company. Thus, the former "Contenidos Públicos S.E." became "Contenidos ArtÃÂsticos e Informativos S.A.U." In August of the same year, a new visual identity was launched for the channel.
On May 22, 2025, the new programming for July of that year was announced, highlighting the acquisition of series such as "Tuttle Twins" and classic anime such as "Dragon Ball Z", "Dragon Ball GT", "Dragon Quest" and "World Trigger".. Such programming, accompanied by a Rebranding,It finally premiered on August 17th of the same year.
The channel transmits 24 hours a day. Its programming is divided in two blocks. The first block, called Ronda Pakapaka, is aimed for children aged 2 to 5 years old (preschoolers), and contains the following programmes:
The second block, intended for children of ages 6 to 12 years old, contains the following programmes: