MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK pubcaster the BBC, has announced the relaunch of its channel websites with the unveiling of a brand new consumer site for its preschool property, CBeebies.
The launch of the international site, www.CBeebies.com, is the first of the branded channel websites to be refreshed and forms part of a wider strategy to offer an enhanced user experience and provide more extensive information relating to the programming online.
The website will offer geo-targeted content in key CBeebies territories including South Africa, Asia, and Australia, as well as local language content for Latin America and Poland supporting BBC Worldwide Channels‘ commitment to tailor its services to specific regional audiences.
The new-look site provides the CBeebies bugs with a brand new home – a specially created underwater world which is stimulating, playful and fun, reflecting the key values of the CBeebies brand. The underwater world is a unique element for international pre-school audiences and was considered to be a universally recognised environment for this demographic.
A short animation on the site explains to children how the bugs have arrived in this new environment. The focus of the home page is a submarine, which houses video content, including promos for highlighted shows, and allows the user to scroll through a carousel to the desired title and click through.
The submarine joins a raft of new features on the home page including: Presenter page; Make and Colour; Song Time; Story Time; Watch and Listen; Play Games; and Shows (including full length episodes of some programmes). A Grown Ups section features articles from educational experts which explain to parents how CBeebies programmes and the online site can help their young ones in their development.
Exploring the benefits of encouraging pre-school children in activities such as drawing, cooking and music, there are plenty of ideas and suggestions on offer to help grown-ups stimulate the imagination of their youngsters.
The content is presented by genres and enables preschoolers to interact with some of their favourite CBeebies characters and titles, including Penelope k, by the way, Charlie and Lola, In the Night Garden, 3rd and Bird and Boogie Beebies.
BBC Worldwide Channels VP marketing Becky Diver says, "The new CBeebies site is jam-packed with interactive features, allowing kids to truly involve themselves with their favourite programmes. There is a huge selection of games featuring CBeebies much-loved characters including Humf, Penelope K and the Teletubbies. Catchy tunes are among the favourite elements of many CBeebies programmes and with the new Song Time feature on the website, children have their own jukebox of musical favourites to sing along with. For our budding artists, the Make and Colour section allows preschoolers to get colouring with online brushes, pencils or markers and then print-off their finished masterpieces."
The CBeebies website is now live and the refreshed pages for BBC Worldwide’s other channel brands – BBC HD, BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle and BBC Knowledge – will follow in the coming months.
