ABC will no longer have two dedicated children’s TV channels from next month as part of its rebranding and restructuring strategy. ABC TV Plus is rebranding as ABC Family, wherein ABC Kids will be on in the daytime and family titles, aimed at older teens, will come in from 7.30pm. ABC ME will be replaced by ABC Entertains with comedy and entertainment.
The Australian television broadcasting company is working towards offering its audiences more original content. It will offer more adult offerings across the day for its viewers.
Chris Oliver-Taylor, chief content officer at ABC TV Plus, says the ABC is the most important creative institution in Australia. “We are continuing to ensure our content is available where our audiences want to engage,” he said. “2024 has marked a major change in the way that the ABC is thinking about its content and it is about all about on demand.”
The executive said ABC iview is their on-demand destination for everything that Australian audiences love. “More people are coming to ABC iview for our content when they want to watch on demand and in 2024 they are staying with us for longer.” Oliver-Taylor said the multichannel channels are designed to simplify and modernize the ABC channels and form part of the ABC’s overall content strategy to adapt and evolve in line with changing audience trends and behaviors.
He added ABC is uniquely placed to offer audiences the best range of entertainment and family viewing and having two clearly defined channels, plus new digital streams that will make it easier for Australians of all ages to discover and enjoy their favorite ABC content. “The ABC plays a fundamental role in telling Australian stories for children, reaching more Australians than any network with its children’s focused content and investing more financially than any other network or streamer and that commitment will be maintained into the future.”
Roberta Allan, ABC Head of Programming, Acquisitions and Streaming, said they are excited to be making these changes to the broadcast channels. “We will be adding more family-friendly shows, long running entertainment titles and comedies, plus movies, and much more, further establishing the ABC as a premier destination for family and entertainment viewing.
ABC is set to make iview more dynamic with four digital streams launching in June 2024. These streams will focus on four dedicated genres, children’s LIVE action, animation, education, and family viewing.
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