The ABC will introduce two new channels in June—ABC Family and ABC Entertains—and four new innovative digital streams that will combine the best kids’, family, and general entertainment titles.
The new channels will make it easier for audiences to find the programs they love. They will showcase the ABC’s catalogue of family and entertainment programs and feature new titles and original premiere Australian commissions, such as Hard Quiz Kids, hosted by Gold Logie-winning comedian Tom Gleeson, launching on ABC Family in June.
The four new digital streams delivering children’s LIVE action, animation, education, and family, will launch with the new channels on ABC iview on 3 June.
ABC Chief Content Officer Chris Oliver-Taylor said the changes are designed to enhance audience experience and boost discoverability. “The multichannel changes are designed to simplify and modernise the ABC channels and form part of the ABC’s overall content strategy to adapt and evolve in line with changing audience trends and behaviours,’’ he said.
“The 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 even easier for Australians of all ages to discover and enjoy their favourite ABC content”.
ABC Family, which replaces ABC TV Plus, will be a destination for big kids and their parents, with comedies, game shows, natural history, and movies. Titles will include the sustainable fashion content series Style It Out, family favourites Deadly Mission Shark and Expedition with Steve Backshall, Fresh Off The Boat, the hugely successful, Little Lunch and ABC favourite Tom Gleeson in Hard Quiz Kids.
ABC Family will focus on family-friendly and co-viewing content and will broadcast from 7:30pm after ABC Kids finishes each day. The connection of kids and family content allows for a natural flow of programming from pre-school to school age and then broader family viewing in the evenings.
ABC Entertains, which replaces ABC ME, will build on the ABC’s extensive catalogue of comedy and entertainment. It will be the home of the Australian TV premiere of season 2 of the hit supernatural series Interview with a Vampire. Plus, new seasons of the comedy horror Wreck, the raw and revealing Louis Theroux Interviews.
Friday movie nights are also back with Focus, How to be Single, Gravity, Must Love Dogs and Beowulf with superhero fans able to enjoy Clash of the Titans, Wrath of the Titans and the classic Superman film series starring Christopher Reeve and many more. In the mornings, it will feature programs for primary school kids and school-age educational programming such as Behind the News.
“We 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,” said ABC head of programming, Acquisitions and Streaming Roberta Allan.
In line with the multichannel changes, the live experience on ABC iview will become more dynamic, with four digital streams to launch in June. The streams will focus on four dedicated genres: children’s LIVE action, animation, education, and family viewing. This means content is available as live streams as well as on demand whenever audiences choose.
In recent years, ABC iview has become the primary destination for young ABC audiences aged 7-12 years.
“Primary school children are digital natives and want their content on demand and nearly always through a digital platform. The changes announced today means that content for school-age children will be delivered via ABC iview and an altered channel configuration to maximise audience reach,” said Oliver-Taylor.
“The ABC plays a fundamental role in telling Australian stories for children, reaching more Australians than any network with its children’s focussed content and investing more financially than any other network or streamer and that commitment will be maintained into the future”.
