- New Disney Channel App launches giving fans access to snackable content
- Comes as research shows that kids in the UK watch, on average, 54 minutes of short form content a day
- Figures also show that 80% of 4-12 year olds have access to a tablet at home
Disney Channels EMEA’s first Disney Channel app is now live. Aimed at kids aged 6-12 in the UK and France, it provides the best snack-sized Disney Channel content on demand and gives children access to short form interactive content including games, videos, memes, GIFs and images. Users also get exclusive behind-the-scenes access to their favourite Disney Channel stars and programmes.
Helene Etzi, SVP Disney Channels EMEA, says of the launch: “The Disney Channel app will be a great addition to our multi-platform content offering for kids, who will be able to access our great content when and where they want it. The app proved hugely popular during product testing, with kids engaging positively with the gaming, polling and video content, especially relating to their favourite Disney Channel programmes and characters.”
The app launch comes as new insight from Disney UK reveals that kids aged 6-12 in the UK spend 54 minutes per day watching online short form content – with peak viewing, perhaps unsurprisingly, before and after school[1].
Figures also show that there is a ‘Device Normality’ for kids, with 80% of those aged 4-12 having access to a tablet at home and two-thirds of 7-12 year olds using one at least once a week. As a result, the role of apps is driving usage over websites, with more than 90% of gaming on tablets and 60% of short form viewing now reached through apps[2].
The app, which complements linear viewing of the Disney Channel, features popular and exclusive content from favourite shows, including Descendants, Liv and Maddie and K.C. Undercover, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes content and tutorials from favourite Disney Channel stars.
Etzi continues, “As well as long form content on our TV channels and on demand services, this app forms part of a new roster of short form content for our multiple digital platforms. For example, the launch of Disney Channel’s UK TV production, The Lodge, was supported by a range of immersive digital content, including music videos, character profiles, 360 degree set tours, live Q&A Facebook chats and exclusive diary room-style cast interviews across Disney Channel’s social channels, Disney Channel app, VOD and YouTube. Our aim is to drive powerful emotional connections between our content and audience through immersive consumption that fits with the way they live their life and the devices they use. This strategy is underpinned by research from our Insights team – we understand kids and their families are engaging with this new form of storytelling and are looking for brands, like Disney, to communicate with them via this form.”
The app also features exclusive Disney Channel content such as all-new mini-games, polls, music videos, sing alongs and tutorial videos. Example content titles include The Lodge Skye fashion tutorial, which goes behind-the-scenes with The Lodge stylist, and dress-up game, K.C. Undercover Dress for Success.
The app is now available to download on iOS & Android for free in France and the UK.
Notes
[1] SFC Preferences and Viewing Habits amongst kids aged 6-9 and 10-12 years old
78% of kids in the UK watch SFC on tablets and 22% on smartphones- compared to 50% on tablets and 40% on smartphones in France and 76% on tablets and 21% on smartphones in Sweden
2 Source: Disney’s Kids Media Diary on-line interviews with 2155 4-12 year olds
The SF and online content study was conducted by insight and innovation consultancy, FreshMinds, amongst 72 children aged between 6-12 years old over an intensive 14 day period. 338 hours’ worth of online activity was analysed across three key markets (UK, France and Sweden.) Passive tracking apps, written diaries and 60-90 minute in-depth interviews were used to collect the data with over 5,000 online videos analysed.
*The SF study data was corroborated against the Disney Insights Kids Tracker which saw 1,515 kids assessed on the frequency of their online viewing habits; 65% (UK), 58% (France) and 79.5% (Sweden) of kids aged 6-14 watch short form video content on at least a weekly basis.
