BBC launches first CBBC channel-focused app for children
The BBC has launched its first channel-focused app for children today in response to the growing multi-platform needs of CBBC viewers.
The new Go CBBC includes interactive games, clips and full episodes from popular CBBC shows, and a bulletin news service called Newsround all geared towards kids aged six to 12.
Go CBBC was developed after research collected from CBBC website usage showed that kids are spending an increasing amount of time playing games online.
Ofcom research completed earlier this autumn found that the majority of children in the UK own a mobile phone and also have access to a tablet at home.
Children’s shows are the first genre of BBC programming where a higher proportion of iPlayer viewing comes from tablets and mobile phones rather than computers or TVs, according to the BBC.
Although the CBeebies Playtime app has been available since 2013, the BBC felt there was nothing that specifically catered to the CBBC audience.
Patrick Healy, head of product for BBC Children, said: “Increasingly, we’re seeing our youth audiences interacting with their favourite CBBC brands online and Go CBBC is an extension of this. It offers our audiences the opportunity to discover more from their favourite shows and characters, wherever and whenever they are.”
Features include chaos management game “Midnight Sneak” based on CBBC favourite The Dumping Ground, and “Micro Mania”, a set of 20 mini-games that incorporate characters from five popular shows: Deadly 60, Shaun The Sheep, Wolfblood, The Dumping Ground and Horrible Histories.
CBBC controller Cheryl Taylor said: “Go CBBC is a ‘one-stop-shop’ - a portal with access to endless opportunities for playful entertainment - the modern day equivalent to Willy Wonka's everlasting gobstopper.”
The app is available for free on Android, iOS, and Kindle devices.