Tuesday, December 6, 2011

PBS KIDS Expands Video App to iPhone & iPod touch, Offering More Free Educational Video Content on Mobile than Any Other Kids Media Brand

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PBS KIDS today announced the PBS KIDS Video App is now available on iPhone and iPod touch, bringing more free educational video content to families than any other children’s media app.  The app gives families free, streaming access to more than 2,000 videos – including clips and full episodes – from their favorite PBS KIDS series. The PBS KIDS Video App launched on iPad in May with great success; it has served more than 430 million video streams – an average of two million per day – and has had over 450,000 downloads to date.

PBS KIDS video has been incredibly successful online, making PBSKIDS.org the number one kids entertainment site for free streamed videos,[i]” said Jason Seiken, Senior Vice President, Interactive, PBS.  “When we launched the PBS KIDS Video iPad app in May, it was equally well-received, with 50 million streams just in the first month and growing to more than 86 million streams in November.  And kids watch more video streams on the PBS KIDS Video iPad app than on nearly all other children’s broadcast and cable network websites.[ii]  After seeing this high demand for our children’s programming on the iPad we were committed to extending the app’s reach to the iPhone and iPod touch, which will bring our popular content to even more kids and parents.”

Demand for high-quality, educational apps continues to rise, particularly as families plan to bring their mobile devices with them during holiday travel. In a recent survey[iii] conducted by PBS, parents ranked educational value as one of the top reasons for purchase (74 percent) when choosing apps for smart phones.

“We know that parents are seeking apps for their children that are both fun and educational, and the PBS KIDS Video App is an ideal combination of both, featuring characters from kids’ favorite PBS KIDS series, with clips and full episodes that are built to support core curricular areas like science and literacy,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, Children’s Media, PBS.  “At PBS, our mission is to reach all children with the best educational content across all platforms.  On television and online, there is no other media entity that offers as many educational programs as PBS KIDS.  And now for the first time this content is available on the iPhone and iPod touch, which we know are incredibly popular with families, opening up worlds of possibilities for even more children.”

The app includes clips and full episodes from PBS KIDS series like THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!, DINOSAUR TRAIN, CURIOUS GEORGE, SUPER WHY, SESAME STREET, WORDGIRL and WILD KRATTS .

The PBS KIDS Video App also features helpful tools for parents such as:

· Access to local PBS station TV schedules

· Additional information about TV series, including intended age and learning goals

· The ability to download related educational apps and TV episodes directly from the App Store and iTunes

· Marking series as “favorites”

· Sharing videos via email, Facebook and Twitter

The PBS KIDS Video App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore.

The PBS KIDS Video App joins PBS KIDS’ suite of apps, which help kids practice key skills such as literacy, science and math. “We continue to offer fans more content via mobile, and parents are really responding. Our fourteen educational apps for kids have seen more than 1.5 million downloads to date,” continued Seiken.  “PBS is continually developing content across a variety of platforms and experimenting with cutting-edge technologies like augmented reality and 3-D gaming to help increase learning for kids.”

More information about PBS KIDS mobile apps is available on PBSKIDS.org/mobile

Images of the PBS KIDS Video App are available on PBS PressRoom.

About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for children, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and community-based programs.  For more information on specific PBS KIDS programs supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit PBS.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter and Facebook.

1 comment :

  1. The PBS Kids app is an awesome app to have. My kids use it all the time on my iPad. The other one they do use a lot too is the DISH Remote Access app through my provider DISH Network. I have the Sling Adapter hooked up to my employee account and that gives them access to all our subscription channels anywhere we can get a Wi-Fi connection. They can watch all their favorite shows live while we traveling or running errands, and they can even access our DVR recordings too. Having both of these apps it keeps the kids quiet and they are so happy to be able to watch all the things they want to and not movie after movie. I would highly recommend both of the apps and I know that PBS Kids is an awesome one to have.

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