enterprises kardan n.v. bellco capital llc picture format 480i sdtv 720p hdtv 16 9 letterbox slogan watch your baby blossom language english spanish french turkish german portuguese polish thai broadcast area united states mexico europe asia headquarters los angeles california website babyfirsttv.com availability satellite directv united states channel 293 dish network united states channel 823 sky latin america channel 327 digiturk turkey channel 64 dish home nepal channel 802 cable xfinity comcast channel 314 time warner cable channel 256 rogers canada channel 233 upc polska poland channel 667 zon tvcabo portugal channel 46 first media indonesia channel 128 skycable philippines channel 121 parasat cable tv cagayan de oro channel 103 iptv orange spain mobile vodafone spain mobile turkcell turkey mobile hypptv malaysia channel 551 tvb network vision hong kong channel 64 starhub tv singapore channel 301 cht mod taiwan channel 122 macau cable tv macau channel 32 babyfirst is a media company that produces and distributes content for babies through television the internet and mobile apps . the content is intended to develop a baby s skills such as color recognition counting and vocabulary . there are about 90 babyfirst tv shows and 41 apps for mobile devices . as of 2014 the network is distributed to 81 million homes and is based in los angeles california . babyfirst was founded in 2004 by guy oranim and sharon rechter . its first broadcast was through directv in 2006 . it was founded by regency enterprises kardan and bellco capital . distribution expanded through agreements with the echostar dish network comcast at & t u verse and others . it also developed a premium babyfirst youtube channel and mobile apps . one app developed with at & t u verse allows babies to interact with the television programming by drawing on a mobile device . contents 1 history 1.1 origins 1.2 distribution expansion 1.3 recent history 2 programming 3 references 4 external links history edit origins edit babyfirst was founded in 2004 1 by guy oranim and sharon rechter . 2 the network was launched on may 11 2006 on directv and was later made available through echostar s dish network that june . 3 4 it was made available through echostar s dish network that june . 5 the babyfirst network is based in los angeles and was initially funded by regency enterprises a hollywood movie studio kardan a holding company and bellco capital a private fund . 5 babyfirst was controversial when it was introduced because it was the first 24 hour channel for children six months to three years in age . 5 6 however the channel was popular among parents 7 8 9 and grew quickly . 3 distribution expansion edit in 2007 babyfirst obtained agreements to distribute the channel in the united kingdom through the bskyb satellite network as well as in mexico through sky mexico and cablevision . 10 a french version was introduced with canalsat in 2007 . 1 by the end of 2007 it had arranged broadcasting agreements throughout europe 11 the middle east 10 11 and canada 12 among others . babyfirst also started broadcasting in ten territories in the asia pacific such as china and korea . 13 in october 2008 singtel started distributing the channel to the singapore audience . 14 it was also being broadcast in africa and latin america . 3 in may 2008 it signed a distribution agreement with time warner cable . 3 15 in 2009 hbo asia became the exclusive distributor for the channel in asia . 16 a bilingual latin english channel babyfirst americas was launched with comcast in 2012 . 17 18 a premium babyfirst youtube channel was introduced in june 2013 . 2 in the early 2000s the federal trade commission responded to a complaint by the campaign for a commercial free childhood alleging that babyfirst s advertising that it helped babies develop skills was misleading . the ftc did not impose any sanctions . 3 19 as of 2014 it has 81 million viewers 20 and is broadcast in 33 countries in ten languages . 21 recent history edit in 2013 former abc network president steven mcpherson 2 and rich frank the former chairman of disney channel 22 became investors and board members as the company worked to develop new content and improve advertising revenues . 22 in may 2014 babyfirst and at & t u verse released a co developed second screen app for mobile devices that allows children to interact with the television programming through tablets or smartphones . 23 programming edit play media a sample of babyfirst programming babyfirst s television channel provides 24 hour programming for babies . 24 about 90 percent of the 90 shows babyfirst produces are original content created at babyfirst s studios . 5 21 it produces and broadcasts short videos three to five minutes in length that are either live action or animated . 6 21 the new york times described the content as decidedly unhurried and said it makes extensive use of bright colors and upbeat music . 6 programming development is guided by child psychology experts and is designed to encourage a child s skills development such as counting vocabulary and color recognition . 2 5 11 25 the babyfirst logo in the corner changes colors to indicate the skills a segment is intended to develop . late night programming is intended to lull viewers to sleep . 6 there are also 41 babyfirst apps for mobile devices . 21 an app available to at & t u verse viewers allows children to draw on a mobile device and have the drawing appear on the television screen . 23 some experts argue that exposing children to television at such an early age is taking technology too far or that parents are using babyfirst as a digital babysitter . parents in turn refute that argument claiming that experts have lost touch with the realities of raising a child . 26 babyfirst suggests the programming is intended to be watched by parents and their children together in an interactive way . 27 the american academy of pediatrics recommends against exposing children under the age of two to television while a 2003 study by the kaiser family foundation found that most children under two years of age are already watching tv . 5 according to the washington post very little is known about whether young children watching television has a negative or positive effect on them . 7 references edit a b guid elizabeth ; leffler rebecca october 10 2007 . fox canalsat members of a baby boom . hollywood reporter . retrieved june 17 2014 . a b c d miller diangelea june 6 2013 . babyfirst with premium youtube channel and new investor expands . los angeles times . a b c d e carvaja doreen may 19 2008 . what can tv do for your baby 2 channels specialized in child fare are thriving but critics cite risks of too much viewing . international herald tribune . robinson may 12 2006 . screen test toddler kid & folks rate baby tv . the new york post . p. 8 . a b c d e f davis joyzelle june 14 2006 . echostar to offer babyfirst channel . rocky mountain news . retrieved may 22 2014 . a b c d itzkoff dave may 21 2006 . tv moves a step closer to the womb . the new york times . p. 1 . a b shin annys february 24 2007 . diaper demographic ; tv video programming for the under 2 market grows despite lack of clear educational benefit . the washington post . karen b. tv for tots a turnoff . courier mail the brisbane serial online . october 14 2009 ; 33 . available from newspaper source plus ipswich ma . accessed may 22 2014 . clemetson lynette 25 may 2006 . parents making use of tv despite risks . the new york times . p. 16 . a b brennan steve march 20 2007 . babyfirsttv crawls its way to u.s. . the hollywood reporter . retrieved may 23 2014 . a b c proudfoot shannon july 27 2007 . 24 hour tv for kids under 3 is on the air . winnipeg free press . vlessing etan july 26 2007 . babyfirst crawling onto canadian tv . the hollywood reporter . wong christine november 1 2008 . crossing the channels despite the economic crisis this year has seen a slew of new channels roll out in the region with some still set to launch . television asia . babyfirsttv on singtel s mio tv . television asia . october 1 2008 . schneider michael may 9 2008 . time warner to carry babyfirst . retrieved may 23 2014 . hbo asia strikes agreement to represent babyfirst warnertv across asia . television asia . december 1 2009 . moore frazier february 21 2012 . comcast to start new minority owned cable channels . associated press . comcast outlines plan to carry 4 minority owned channels . the new york times . p. 2 . retrieved august 28 2014 . lafayette hayes september 2 2013 . mcpherson seeks more carriage for kid tv net . broadcasting & cable . access date requires url help jackson cherese february 22 2014 . kneebouncers joins babyfirst to develop interactive tv series . retrieved june 2 2014 . a b c d baby boom profile babyfirst . spring 2014 . a b getzler wendy december 9 2013 . with rich frank on board babyfirst kicks into ad mode . kidscreen . retrieved june 3 2014 . a b baumgartner jeff may 8 2014 . at & t babyfirst team on u verse app . multichannel news . taylor kate august 8 2007 . ok i admit it treehouse is a parent s dream . globe and mail . retrieved may 22 2014 . proudfoot shannon july 27 2007 . new network for the newly born ; commercial free 24 hour station for babies to launch in canada . the star phoenix . pp . b8 . karen brooks 2008 . consuming innocence popular culture and our children . univ. of queensland press . p. 129 . isbn 978 0 7022 3645 7 . villalpando nicole august 24 2012 . babyfirst develops baby s first apps . the statesman . retrieved may 23 2014 . external links edit official website current list of distributors and channels v t e premium television services in the united states movies series and specials movies series and specials home box office inc. hbo cinemax showtime networks showtime flix the movie channel starz inc. starz starz encore movieplex studio 3 partners epix adult playboy tv penthouse tv hustler tv other fox 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