The Stage

ITV children’s channel to focus on entertainment

Published Monday 27 February 2006 at 15:40 by Liz Thomas

Entertainment programming will be central to ITV’s new kids’ digital channel, which launches on March 11.

Targeting young people aged ten and under, the new station is the first dedicated commercial channel for children on digital service Freeview, and will broadcast from 6am to 6pm. The network hopes that its station will rival the current dominance of the Corporation’s hugely popular offerings CBBC and CBeebies.

Successful shows from its terrestrial portfolio including My Parents Are Aliens, Jungle Run and Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids will be broadcast daily on the CITV channel and the network has said it is committed to ensuring 60% of the children’s programmes it airs are made by UK producers and tailored for UK audiences. There will also be new series such as Uncle Dad, made by SMG’s production arm, which is a show about an eccentric scientist who is forced to look after his six nieces and nephews after they are dumped on his doorstep.

CITV editor Estelle Hughes said: “We will still premiere our shows on ITV1 but this new channel allows more freedom to try out different things and there is a real focus on entertainment. There has never been more choice for children and more demands made on their time. But we hope we are offering something a bit different that will allow siblings of different ages to watch programmes together and still enjoy them, but also something that parents are comfortable with their children watching.”

She added that the schedules would vary to take account what aged children would be most likely to be watching at that time of day and stressed that while there were new cartoons and international acquisitions the network was keen to ensure that much of the production was indigenous. This will also help ITV’s commercial interests as ancillary rights, such as merchandise connected to programmes, can net millions of pounds worth of additional revenue.

Simon Shaps, the network’s director of programmes, said: “ITV has a proud heritage in kids programming. Quality UK produced children’s programming has always had an important part to play and as we move into a digital world the CITV channel will play an important part in growing a new generation of ITV viewers.”

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