Children enjoy watching streaming video, but a lot of content out there really isn’t suitable for them. This is why Google introduced YouTube Kids, a curated, family-friendly version of the video streaming site.
Following in YouTube’s footsteps, the BBC is today rolling out a version of iPlayer aimed at younger viewers which cleverly filters available content based on the age of the child.
Dan Taylor-Watt, Head of iPlayer, BBC Digital, explains:
Rather than create separate BBC iPlayer apps for CBeebies (which is aimed at children aged 0-6) and CBBC (which is aimed at 6-12 year olds), we decided to create a single app that enables kids to tell the app their age and instantly be presented with content curated specially for their age group. So 6 year olds are able to enjoy a mix of CBeebies and CBBC programmes without having to switch between two different apps.
Of course a family might have multiple children of different ages sharing a single device, so the BBC allows support for up to four profiles.
The Shows area offers full A-Z lists of all CBeebies and CBBC shows available to stream, which amounts to over 1,700 episodes. These can all be downloaded for watching offline, thereby making long car journeys a lot more enjoyable for adults.
There’s a search option available for older users that will automatically filter out content for under fives.
The app also offers accessible features, including universal subtitles and the ability to switch between standard and signed and audio described versions.
BBC iPlayer Kids is available to download now for phones and tablets from the Apple, Google Play and Amazon app stores.