We’ve come a long way from the days when parents kept a tight reign on their tablets and portable electronics, keeping the kids firmly ensconced in print books, PC-based educational games, and other forms of learning and instructional content. Now, with new figures that show more than three-fourths of children show an increase in tablet use and forty percent of children under the age of two use a tablet on a regular basis, content providers are meeting these young consumers on their preferred digital playgrounds.
To this end, Disney will be launching its newest young demographic program “Sheriff Callie’s Wild West” on tablets prior to its launch on cable television through its own branded app. While the show won’t launch until November 24th–shockingly convenient for parents who want to reclaim their television sets in time to watch Thanksgiving week football coverage–consumers are already eagerly anticipating the ability to put Disney-vetted material in their two- to seven-year-olds’ hands.
Is there really a market for programming that lets parents pass off their expensive tablets to their toddlers? If the figures of the Disney Junior app are correct, some five million households in the past five months believe so, as that number of app downloads for Watch Disney Junior has already resulted in 650 million video views.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.