The app will combine the global popularity of The Koala Brothers’ characters with the editorial experience of BBC Pre-school Magazines, to bring these characters to life in a new and exciting medium. It is being developed by the digital team behind BBC Magazines’ Focus magazine app and Good Food magazine app.
BBC Magazines’ pre-school team produces a range of leading children’s titles, including CBeebies Weekly and the recently launched Something Special Magazine. The team’s understanding of this young audience and how they play, learn and use the technology enables them to bring content to life, delivering interactive, fun and educational magazines, websites – and now apps.
Pauline Cooke, Publisher of Pre-school titles at BBC Magazines, says: “We have a long-standing relationship with Spellbound and a great understanding of the Koala Brothers brand, so we are very excited about working together to create something that’s truly unique in this market: a multi-layered super app for pre-schoolers.”
Peter Curtis, Joint Managing Director of Spellbound Entertainment, says: “We are delighted to be working with BBC Magazines, the market leaders in pre-school magazines, on this exciting new venture. The app market is growing fast and we believe a digital magazine app for The Koala Brothers will be very popular with our fan base across the globe”.
The Koala Brothers was originally commissioned by CBBC in the UK and has been acquired by over 50 broadcasters covering over 155 territories worldwide, and has been translated into 31 languages. The show is licensed exclusively to the BBC in the UK and is one of the top rating pre-school shows airing on CBeebies.
The Koala Brothers pre-school magazine app will launch to coincide with the programme’s relaunch on Disney Junior in the US in 2012.
The app will launch initially on iTunes for the iPad, iTouch and Mac users and expand to Android devices via Google later next year.
