Advanced Television

BBC children’s iPlayer for family viewing

March 20, 2020

Families and children can now easily discover a wide range of entertaining and educational shows and films, with the launch of a new children’s experience on BBC iPlayer. Rolling out on Internet-connected TVs, it brings together the best from CBBC and CBeebies, and other suitable BBC programming, all in one place.

When selecting who’s watching iPlayer, there’s now a monster-shaped ‘children’ button, which opens a treasure trove of viewing – from hit shows such as Hey Duggee and Bing to David Walliams classics such as The Boy in the Dress, Gangsta Granny and Mr Stink – which return to iPlayer. Children can easily find something to watch thanks to more ‘child-friendly’ categories, that let them pick and browse between Trending, Drama, Funny and Cartoons – as well as giving easy access to the CBeebies and CBBC channels.

The children’s experience has been designed to give confidence to parents and carers that kids are watching suitable shows – with content curated from across CBeebies, CBBC and other suitable BBC programmes and brands.

To make the service even more special, it has been given a distinctive, bright and bold design – helping children understand that this is a dedicated experience just for them.

“Keeping children informed, educated and entertained at home during these unprecedented times is going to be even more important than ever,” commented Alice Webb, Director BBC Children’s and Education. “Whether it’s being a number detective with the Numberblocks, going on a global adventure with Go Jetters, or learning about the planet’s deadliest animals with Deadly 60 – this new experience gives children of all ages a place to go to do that. We can’t promise solving the sibling tiffs over what to watch – but we can make it even easier to bring families and kids an incredible choice of shows and films on iPlayer. Children and parents can be assured the BBC will be for them during these challenging times.”

“We know more and more iPlayer viewing is happening on the biggest screen in the home,” added Dan Taylor-Watt, Director of Product, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds. “We’re now making that experience even better for children – so they have a safe place to enjoy their favourite shows, discover new ones – and learn more, especially at the moment. And over time, this experience will get even better, with recommendations increasingly tailored to them – making sure they get the best kids experience possible.”

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