Smart TV maker Vizio said it has added 12 free linear kids and family channels to its SmartCast platform.
Vizio said it has seen a hike of about 35% more in engagement for kids and family content because of the stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 compared to the average SmartCast app.
“Today Vizio is making thousands of hours of free children's programming available to our SmartCast users, as people increasingly make streaming part of their daily routines,” said Katherine Pond, VP of business development for Vizio. “With the uncertainty of the upcoming school year, parents will be looking for alternate ways to entertain and educate their children from inside the home. Vizio is pleased to make these programs available to ensure high quality content for children and peace of mind for parents.”
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The channels added to SmartCast are:
● Ameba: a children's video streaming service full of engaging kids TV shows, family movies and kids music videos designed to spark children’s curiosity and empower them to explore.
● Brat TV: a fan-favorite for Gen Z audiences, Brat TV features teen stars like Dixie D’Amelio and Annie LeBlanc in live-action original series.
● Giggle Mug: collections of videos that kids and the entire family can enjoy featuring fan favorite TV shows like Tara Duncan, Robot Trains, YooHoo & Friends, Besty’s Kindergarten Adventures and Miniforce.
● HappyKids Junior: a destination dedicated to educating and entertaining preschoolers with popular shows such as Cat in the Hat, Thomas & Friends, Care Bears, Super Simple Songs, Blippi and Mofy.
● HappyKids.tv: programming that educates and entertains kids 6 and up with popular and safe shows, music and movies including Sonic, Hot Wheels, Barbie, Bakugan and Winx Club.
● Kid Gamer TV: witness popular gamers as they create engaging experiences in the fantastical universes of Minecraft and Roblox.
● Kidoodle.TV: a Safe Streaming platform with content hand-picked by parents including popular shows like PAW Patrol, Lego City, Abdallah Smash, Talking Tom, True and the Rainbow Kingdom, Little Baby Bum, Pocoyo and Oddbods,
● The Official Lego Channel: a channel dedicated to inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow where kids can watch their favorite Minifigure characters.
● SQAD: eSports, sports and gaming content targets teens, tweens and video game lovers of all ages. SQAD brings together the best from gaming culture, and straight up weird shows.
● Tankee Gaming: a safe channel where kids and families can watch gaming content featuring Minecraft, Roblox, Nintendo hits and more by their favorite gamers.
● Toon Goggles: Toon Goggles has favorite kids shows for free including Angry Birds, Talking Tom, Om Nom, Gummy Bears, Sonic and Yu-Gi-Oh! and many more!
● WowNow Kids: the home of original animated adventures, educational series, and sing-alongs. WowNow delivers popular, Dove-approved movies and TV for families and children of all ages.
“We are excited for the HappyKids launch as part of Vizio SmartCast’s kid programming, which is so timely. We will be bringing our expansive library of premium shows, movies and educational content to millions of Vizio SmartCast families all delivered in a kids-safe environment,” said Vikrant Mathur, co-founder of Future Today.
The new channels can be found under the Free Channels section from the SmartCast Home screen and will complement Vizio’s WatchFree service. SmartCast viewers have access to over 200+ free linear TV channels of news, TV shows, movies and sports.
"Kidoodle.TV's inclusion on Vizio SmartCast is a great way to support millions of families with our Safe Streaming service and we couldn't be happier to work with a world-class platform,” said Neil Gruniniger, president and chief product officer of Kidoodle.
"We're excited to officially launch our Giggle Mug kids channel on Vizio SmartCast. The growing platform has a wonderful lineup of kids channels available and we're proud to be included," added Jesse Janson, executive VP of acquisitions & business development for Janson Media.
