CBBC launches first channel focused app for 6-12 year olds - ‘GO CBBC’

My name is John Kearney. I’m the acting Senior Product Manager in BBC Children’s Future Media team based in Salford. It’s been my job in recent months to oversee the final phases in the development of the GO CBBC app, which launches today. I wanted to use this post to introduce the app and give credit to the marvellous team who have made it possible.

Apps are now part our everyday language – a reflection of the way they have become an integral part of our daily experience, for the most part. None more so than for the younger generation. But whilst there may seem as though there’s an app for everything – the CBeebies playtime app has been in existence since 2013 and been downloaded over 3 million times - there hasn’t to date been one for CBBC audiences. Until today.

We're really proud to launch GO CBBC, this was a collaborative Children’s interactive and FM teams effort. My colleague Lisa Vigar – currently on maternity leave – has lead the team on this project and that work along with some of the thinking behind this blog is very much her work. I’ve been holding the fort since she’s off.

The GO CBBC app features a range of different clips, programmes and other content showcasing our CBBC audience’s favourite shows and characters. There are games, clips and full episodes as well as the latest Newsround stories. Clips are regularly uploaded, as are the most popular episodes which are refreshed daily. With the GO CBBC app our audience has the latest CBBC content at their finger tips.

The app is free on iOS, Android and Kindle devices and also contains links to more content from CBBC such as episodes on BBC iPlayer.

The cube scrolling interface is playful – almost like a game in itself – as well as showcasing the amount of content on offer. The more content users discover and interact with, the more they’re rewarded with unlocked content. There are even a few hidden gestures and a number of irreverent characters who’ll pop up and surprise from time to time.

Research we’ve collected from CBBC website usage informs us that our audience loves gameplay. So, we’ve made a point of including a number of new games in the app, including:

• Micromania – a skills based game made up of lots of mini-levels featuring a mixture of CBBC shows
• Whack-Attack – a quick fire ‘hit / don’t hit’ game to test your reflexes
• Midnight Sneak – a chaos management game based on popular CBBC show The Dumping Ground
• Soundwarp – sound effects from CBBC shows and character to play to friends and family
• CBBC Selfies – an impage manipulator complete with stickers from CBBC characters

App safety for our users is, as you’d expect, very important to us. Parents should feel reassured that we’ve followed the same principles as our CBBC website, making sure all links are child-friendly and safeguarded with the option for a parental gate.

We’re really excited to be able to showcase CBBC content in the app in this way. We’ll be using feedback from audiences about what they like and what they like less to help develop and improve the app in the future. In the meantime, we’d love to hear what you and your children think of the app as they use it. So, please share your thoughts, suggestions and ideas in the comments field below. We’ll keep the commenting function open for one month to gather your thoughts.

John Kearney is acting Senior Product Manager in BBC Children’s Future Media