Virgin TV launches personalised Video on Demand channel for kids in partnership with zone·tv™

Virgin TV is launching an intelligent Video on Demand (VoD) Channel for children, My Virgin TV Kids, which will enable them to create their own personalised playlists. The new feature will be available through Virgin Media’s smallest, smartest, fastest set-top box – the V6, powered by TiVo – later this month.

Kids will be able to enjoy a range of TV favourites, including Teletubbies and Bob the Builder, by entering the VoD channel through the Virgin TV programming guide. They can then watch TV or scroll forward or backward in the guide to pick the show they want – regardless of when it’s scheduled to run. My Virgin TV Kids will use advanced technology from zone·tv^™ to learn and personalise programming as kids choose what to watch or to skip; developing recommendations based on the child’s favourite themes, characters and programmes and generating intelligent, personalised playlists.

Amongst the programmes on My Virgin TV Kids are household favourites including:

• Teletubbies – Pre-schoolers can catch up with the adventures of Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po
• Pingu – The Claymation series features your favorite heartwarming penguin hero
• Caillou – This young boy proves that “growing up is the greatest adventure of all”
• Bob the Builder – Children worldwide have shared Bob’s love of construction
• Franny’s Feet – Franny tries on various pairs of shoes which lead her to global adventures

The new VoD channel will be powered by technology and programming provider, zone·tv^™, and will combine artificial intelligence with human editors to curate the content, designing an experience which reflects kids’ individual interests while they are watching TV.

My Virgin TV Kids is a safe environment for children, no personal data will be collected or stored, and once in the VoD channel, all of the content is child friendly and free from adverts. Kids can create their own profile or simply watch TV as they would on any other linear channel.

David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media said, “My Virgin TV Kids’intelligent and personalised playlists, powered by the technology of zone·tv^™, are a genuine innovation for a Pay TV platform. This represents the latest smart technology and combines it with the functionality of an on-line playlist and quality TV to deliver a unique experience for Virgin TV customers. Children will have even more freedom to enjoy and learn from the programmes they love within the safe and contained environment of our great TV service.”

Jeff Weber, CEO, zone·tv said, “Our human curated technology, powered by AI, combined with Virgin Media’s vision means subscribers in the UK will be first in Europe to experience a revolutionary, personalised channel expressly designed for Virgin Media’s youngest customers. Our Dynamic Channels platform brings some of the world’s most popular children’s shows to life in a way that is totally unique among video services.”