A cable competitor to PBS's children's offerings, it broadcast twice on weekday mornings and comprised three hours of original, imported, and rerun programming plus music videos geared towards preschoolers.

Amid a $10 million investment from TLC, a line of home video and software releases, and plans to spin it off into a standalone channel, the parent company used Ready as a loss leader to expand the network's carriage.

The block helped TLC receive a CableACE Creators Award in 1995, and was also honored by the National Education Association, the American Academy of Children's Entertainment, and the Parents' Choice Foundation.

[4] According to TLC employee John Ford,[8] the block was inspired by Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation,[4] a 1990 Carnegie Foundation report[4] which stated that 35% of U.S. children began their education unprepared.

[8] Assisted by director of programming Mike Quattrone (who had previously undertaken similar endeavors at PBS),[8] Ford selected the shows on the strengths of their educational value along with their visual vibrancy.

[9] A competitor to the PBS lineup,[3] its three-hour schedule aired twice on weekdays, first at 6:00 a.m. and again at 9:00 a.m. (in the Eastern Time Zone)—a slot that Ford viewed as "a safe haven".

[2] According to the Associated Press, TLC invested $10 million in the block's initial development (excluding tentative fees from underwriting, a supplement that never came to fruition[10]);[8] original programming was also planned.

Around 1994, music videos began appearing during this feature, starting with clips from Joanie Bartels (an artist signed to Discovery's former in-house record label).

By 1996, TLC played 10–12 videos per day on Ready—showcasing children's artists as varied as Fred Penner, Parachute Express, Joe Scruggs, and Sharon, Lois & Bram—to the point where they would all but replace the older "Short Stuff" segments from 1992.

[17] Paz, created by Irish author Mary Murphy, was seen in both puppet and animated forms;[17] Discovery's Marjorie Kaplan saw him as "the avatar for his audience, the optimistic, persistent learner we want each of our viewers to be", and with his introduction, "hop[ed] for a 'less hyper, more unified programming environment.

[32] A merchandising line for Ready Set Learn!, featuring coloring books and videotapes, was actively considered from the time of its planning stages.

[2][4] Discovery chose Professor Iris to represent the first products under the brand—first through three VHS collections in August 1993,[33] and then through two CD-ROM titles, Fun Field Trip: Animal Safari in November 1994[34][35] and Seaside Adventure in May 1995.