CBBC

CBBC (originally Children's BBC) is a BBC children's television strand aimed at children aged from 6 to 12. BBC programming aimed at under sixes is broadcast on the CBeebies channel. CBBC broadcasts from 7pm to 7am on the digital CBBC Channel, available on most UK digital platforms.

The CBBC brand was used for the broadcast of children's programmes on BBC One on weekday afternoons and on BBC Two mornings until these strands were phased out in 2012 and 2013 respectively, as part of the BBC's "Delivering Quality First" cost-cutting initiative. CBBC programmes are also broadcast in high definition alongside other BBC content on BBC HD, generally at afternoons on weekends, unless the channel is covering other events. BBC-produced children's programming, in native languages of Scotland and Wales, also airs on BBC Alba and S4C respectively. CBBC HD launched on 10 December 2013.

History

The BBC has produced and broadcast television programmes for children since the 1930s. The first children-specific strand on BBC television was For the Children, first broadcast on what was then the single 'BBC Television Service' on Saturday 24 April 1937; it was only ten minutes long. It lasted for two years before being taken off air when the service closed in September 1960.

CBBC (TV channel)

CBBC is a BBC Television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different channel position from BBC Three. CBeebies is its sister service for younger children. Since 27 March 2013, CBBC has been carried by the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), sharing a channel with BBC Two.

The channel was named Channel of the Year at the Children's BAFTA awards in November 2008 and 2015. The channel averages 300,000 viewers daily. In January 2016, after the announcement that BBC Three will shut down in Feb 2016, CBBC's hours will extend to 8pm.

The CBBC strand given a launch date what was originally launched on 9 September 1985 on BBC One, and was eventually launched in a different date as a separate channel running alongside the strand in 2002 on all major platforms. It had to share bandwidth with another channel on the DTT platform: this was initially BBC Knowledge on the ITV Digital platform, but following their collapse, the channel shared bandwidth with BBC Choice on the replacement system Freeview. In both cases, the channels could be accessed by separate numbers.