Boys & Girls Clubs of America and PTA Launch Digital Video Service for Families

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and Parent Teacher Association (PTA) in conjunction with HP today launched a first-of-its-kind national digital video service program that allows families to access and purchase age-appropriate digital content in a safe and secure online environment.

Created and managed by Harmony Digital Media Consortium with the support of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), this initiative encourages families to make informed media choices by serving as a tool for parents to help them manage their children’s exposure to electronic media. Additionally, the program helps raise funds for two child-focused non-profit organizations, BGCA, which serves 4.8 million youth through club membership and community outreach, and PTA with more than 5.5 million members.

“Boys & Girls Clubs of America provides a safe place for young people to learn and grow, helping them develop into caring, responsible citizens,” said Cyndi Court, senior vice president, Resource Development, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “This program extends our vision by providing a secure environment for youth to enjoy entertainment that is appropriate for them, while raising funds for important programs that benefit youth in cities across the country.”

One of BGCA’s programs to benefit from this collaboration is the Family PLUS (Parents Leading, Uniting, Serving) initiative, which serves as a model for Boys & Girls Clubs wanting to implement family support activities into their programming.

The digital video service program also supports PTA’s mission, which is to help children reach their full potential by providing tools for parents to get involved and manage their children’s health, education and safety.

“As the largest volunteer child advocacy organization in the country, PTA believes that it is the responsibility of parents, teachers and caregivers to influence children’s exposure to electronic media,” said Jan Harp Domene, national president, PTA. “The resources offered through this program help parents fulfill this responsibility by bringing educational and age-appropriate entertainment and technology to children and families.”

Beginning today, consumers can browse and purchase content on one of the two online video stores powered by HP – www.ptavideostore.com and www.bgcavideostore.com. Video gift cards also are available on these sites.

BGCA cards will also be available at Circuit City stores nationwide and PTA video gift cards will be available at Office Depot stores nationwide later this year. Additionally, this program will be available as a fundraising tool for local PTA units beginning in the fall. Proceeds from the purchases on these sites will support the child-focused work undertaken by both organizations.

Gift cards can be redeemed at one of the two online video stores. Collectively, these sites offer more than 10,000 movie and TV titles from all major studios, including all MPAA member companies and most independent studios, as well as numerous specialty content providers. Movie titles include Alvin & The Chipmunks, Bee Movie, Enchanted, Nancy Drew and National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets; TV titles include Avatar: Last Airbender Book 3: Fire Volume, Sponge Bob Square Pants: Pest of the West and Speed Racer the Next Generation: The Beginning.

In addition to age-appropriate TV titles, the BGCA online video store will carry movie titles with a G or PG rating from the MPAA. The PTA video store also will offer movies rated PG-13 by the MPAA. Movie and TV titles will be offered in a variety of formats, including DVD, Blu-ray and as digital downloads.

With a variety of appropriate G, PG and PG-13 titles available, the video gift card program is supported by the MPAA, which, through the film ratings system, plays an important role in providing information to parents about the content of films so that they can make informed viewing decisions for their children..

“For 40 years, the MPAA’s film ratings system has helped millions of parents make informed decisions about appropriate film content for their children,” said Joan Graves, chairman, Classification and Ratings Administration, Motion Picture Association of America. “This effort further arms parents with the information they need to make more educated choices for their children.”

Development of the online video stores for this fundraising program is made possible through HP Digital Content Services, which created a platform that enables consumers to acquire video content in various forms, such as digital downloads, traditional-packaged DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

“HP is providing the technological backbone of a program that offers digital content, such as movies and TV shows, in both familiar and emerging formats for the whole family to enjoy,” said Willem de Zoete, vice president and general manager, Digital Content Services, HP. “This program provides busy parents with a simple, secure solution for ordering age-appropriate video entertainment, while also benefiting the child-focused missions of these important nonprofit organizations.”