The BBC’s pre-school brand CBeebies is to make its debut in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.CBeebies will appear as a non-commercial branded block on the new children’s channel being launched by Canal+ in June following an agreement between Canal and BBC Worldwide.
The block will be dubbed into Danish, Norwegian and Swedish in addition to being available in the original English audio.
CBeebies will air every day in two three-hour blocks from 06.30-09.30 and 15.30 and 18. 30. A number of CBeebies shows will also be available as a Video-on-Demand catch-up service.
Ian McDonough, SVP and general manager EMEA, BBC Worldwide Channels, said the channel had been immensely popular internationally. “Preschoolers enjoy CBeebies’ unique mix of new and landmark, high-quality programmes and their parents and carers appreciate that CBeebies educates and entertains the BBC’s youngest audiences in a safe and trusted environment. I am confident that CBeebies will be a popular addition to Nordic households with children and their parents and carers alike.”
“Canal+ has a lot to offer most viewers whether their preference is films, sports or TV-series,” added Johan Kleberg, CEO at Canal+. We are now broadening our offer for the family households with CBeebies and children’s films. The BBC makes what are perhaps the best children’s programming in the world, educating as well as entertaining the youngsters”,
The introduction of the CBeebies block means that all of the BBC Worldwide thematic channel brands now have a presence in the Nordics. BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Knowledge and BBC HD launched across the Nordic markets in December 2008. At the time the absence of children’s programming was a subject of much consternation from local audiences.