The BBC Trust has signed off BBC executives’ plans to spend an extra £1 million on their CBBC childrens websites to arrest audience declines.
A February review of BBC childrens services by the trust found users declining by an average eight percent per year between 2006 and 2008, despite a big 2007 redesign.
Now Auntie has had plans approved to spend an extra £25.5 million on its childrens output (announcement). Not clear whether this comes from BBC.co.uk’s budget or BBC Childrens.
BBC Childrens interactive and on-demand head Marc Goodchild blogs some strategic priorities: “Maintaining our safe credentials but also working hard to ensure we remain relevant to world in which they inhabit.
“We’re also working on new ways for them to discover content and navigate around it, and share both our “stuff” and their own in safe ways. We want to help them extend their playground friendships into the virtual spaces so they can have the equivalent of the adult water cooler moment and at the same time inspire them to be more active in the real world.”
In February, the trust review had found: “In the 12 months up to June 2008 the website reached an average of 1.5 million users each month which compares favourably with other broadcasters