A third of 2.9bn iPlayer TV show requests in 2015 were for children’s programmes.
The BBC has today (Tuesday April 12) launched its new iPlayer app, aimed specifically at children.
The app enables children to tell it their age and instantly be presented with content curated specially for their age group.
It includes support for up to four profiles – with a raft of special characters available to choose from.
At launch, there are more than 1,700 episodes of CBeebies and CBBC programmes available, as well as the downloads area, plus a search option which automatically filters out CBBC programmes for children aged under 5.
The BBC has also invested in making the app as accessible as possible, with universal subtitles and a new toggle on the episode page to make it easy to switch to and from signed and audio described versions where available.
Head of iPlayer, Dan Taylor-Watt, commented: “We knew from research and from developing the BBC iPlayer website for children, that parents really value having a version of iPlayer that’s guaranteed to be free of programming aimed at adults and that kids love a version of iPlayer that’s designed specially with them in mind.
“We also knew that parents and kids alike wanted the great features of the BBC iPlayer mobile app in a child-friendly environment – features like downloads, the saviour of many a long car journey.”
A selection of costume characters – including Elmo and Danger Mouse – were present for the launch of the app at the BBC this morning.
