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For Pedro Leitão,
Board Member of PT, Meo’s
success Meo is the result
of the bet on the offer of
diversified content |
At a date when the first anniversary of the commercial launch of Meo service is celebrated, 2 April, PT reinforces its focus on the younger generation by launching Meo Kids. PT’s television service distinguishes itself from the outstart for its offering in the scope of entertainment for children, either through the titles on the VideoClub or the channels made available. Meo was the first Portuguese operator to include the Disney Channel in its base offer for free, and introduced a new channel for kids in Portuguese – Jim Jam.
“Internet use is growing among the younger generation. Nevertheless, television is what children aged between four and ten use most. With Meo Kids, we want to prevent children from spending this time in front of a TV set in a static way by making them become interactive. Therefore, we have games, karaoke, videos, curiosities and a lot more, so that they can benefit from the time spent in front of a TV set in an educational way”, explained Vera Pinto Pereira, product and pricing manager, television, PT at the press conference to present the new service, at Forum Telecom in Lisbon.
Meo’s new interactive service is exclusively for children. Meo Kids is a specific area for the younger generation, with content adapted for distinct ages. The success of this initiative lies in the work developed with specialised partners, such as the case of Sapo Kids, Texto Editors, Panda Channel, Children’s Theatre Infantil of Lisbon, Lisbon Zoo, and Portuguese Federations of several sports disciplines, among others.
With Meo Kids, youngsters may access a “service aggregating all Meo content for the young public, in a secure and intuitive way, as the content is adapted for different ages”, said Vera Pinto Pereira.
Vera Pinto Pereira presented Meo Kids and stressed the importance of the new service for children
who will stop watching TV in a static way accessing interactive content.
Featuring an interface specifically designed for children and two areas targeting distinct audiences – kids aged from 4 to 6, and from 7 to 10 years – these spaces provide adapted content on:
- Television – Direct access to TV channels for kids available in the Meo offering, with TV Guide adapted for the age of the respective users;
- Videoclub – Access to all movies and TV series for children available for rental. Video rental may be conditioned by entering a pin code;
- Music - Latest news on music stars, videos and karaoke sessions for children;
- Sports - News about sports stars, information and videos on several sports disciplines;
- Discovery - Area containing scientific curiosities, reading suggestions and culture agenda;
- Play – Interactive games, jokes, riddles, pastimes and the best shows on Panda channel.
To celebrate Meo’s anniversary and the launch of novel Meo Kids, the Florinhas da Rua shelter home for children received a free one-year subscription of Meo service, so that the 25 children of this institution may freely play with Meo Kids.
Launched commercially on 2 April 2008, Meo topped 300,000 customers in less than one year and came to re-define TV-watching in Portugal, introducing services and functionalities into the Portuguese homes, enabling a more interactive and personalised television experience.
“When we looked at Meo, we looked at a new way of watching television, the television of the future. When we launched the project, we had goals defined and we expected a certain reaction from the market. We got a big surprise and Meo is today already a reference in the European and World markets.
The launch of Meo Kids is part of the transversal strategy of making available educational and entertaining content, not only on Meo, but also in the Sapo portal, with Sao Kids, a portal just for children that incorporates the MIT-developed Scratch programming system, adapted for children.
“Meo Kids is a much cherished project for Portugal Telecom. We have just entered a new revolutionary phase in television in which the TV set can be used for more things than mere TV watching”, stressed Pedro leitão.
Portugal Telecom will continue to focus on the younger generation, trying to meet the requirements of this public. The aim is to offer a television of the future to a generation of the future.