BBC Announces Kids Channels Launch

The BBC has announced the launch date for its two new digital children’s channels. Monday 11 February will see both CBBC, aimed at six to thirteen year olds and CBeebies, aimed at pre-school audiences, go live on digital platforms.

The channels, whose funding and development were given the go-ahead by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell last year (see Government Says No To BBC3), will have distinctive logos and branding which will be carried through on CBBC and CBeebies programming on terrestrial channels BBC1 and BBC2. Like their terrestrial counterparts, they will not carry commercials.

The BBC has committed to a high proportion of original programming for the new channels and announced that new shows are set to be premiered across the channels in the coming months, including an extension to the original Teletubbies series from Ragdoll, called Teletubbies Everywhere.

The BBC is said to be investing £20m in a marketing campaign for its new and existing digital channels, in an attempt to shake off its reputation for catering to older, more upmarket audiences (see BBC To Promote Digital Services).

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