The BBC has launched CBBC Buzz, a mobile community for under 13s to interact with shows.
The app will be available on Amazon Fire, Android and iOS devices and contains short videos, GIFs, quizzes and memes, all based on CBBC shows and appropriate topics.
Users can also share their own ideas, with a parent’s permission, through a series of challenges.
“CBBC Buzz shows how we’re reinventing children’s content for a new generation. We’re bringing our audiences together like we’ve always done, from the Broom Cupboard to challenges on Blue Peter, but for the digital age,” said Alice Webb, director of BBC Children’s.
“We’re equipping them with the modern versions of a loo roll and a paint brush and encouraging them all to get creative. And we’re doing it in a safe space that children and parents can have total confidence in.”
They plan to do “two big content drops” before and after school, with a total of 40 fresh pieces of material each day.
Children can build their feed by choosing which programmes and topics they want to follow. They can react to content through a range of emojis, but there are no “thumbs down”’s or ways to send “nasty” comments or messages.
A team of CBBC moderators will approve or decline each piece of user-generated content.
“Creating a community like CBBC Buzz was a new challenge for us and we think our audiences will love it. It’s designed to put high quality snack-able content front and centre, while making it fun and easy for children to start remixing and creating content themselves. We’ve also made sure they can share their ideas in a safe environment and to do so with confidence,” explained Lucie McLean, head of children’s products, BBC Design & Engineering.
CBBC Buzz was developed by BBC Childrens in Salford, alongside Chunk.
