Sitting babies in front of the box is catching on

By Agence France-Presse CANNES, France--Love it or loathe it, television channels designed for babies, some still too young to talk, are catching on around the globe. America's BabyFirst TV and Israeli-based Baby TV, round-the-clock channels dedicated to infants and toddlers under three, are proving increasingly popular with advertisement-free content produced with the help of child psychologists. "It's the educational television tool that parents have been waiting for," Shar on Rechter, who co-founded BabyFirst, told Agence France-Presse at the MIPCOM g lobal audiovisual trade show taking place in this southern French town. "We're getting interest from all over the world," she added as the channel anno unced its launch on France's CanalSat. BabyFirst, launched in the United States on Mother's Day last year, offers brig htly colored short programs that run between two and seven minutes, designed to help a child's development. Its older competitor, Israeli-based BabyTV, is also on the rise after media gia nt News Corp.'s Fox International Channels (FIC) announced here this week that it has bought a major stake in the channel now watched in more than 50 countrie s. Fox International CEO David Haslingden said BabyTV had "established a new niche " in providing a new service for parents and babies." Babies could also be about to take their first step into the digital world afte r Fox said it planned to extend the product "to video-on-demand, broadband and other platforms, in order to complement our offer with more interactive games a nd services for parents." Both channels have banned advertising, and BabyFirst's Rechter said that in add ition there was no violence, no inappropriate content and no over-sensory stimu lants. Instead, content aimed to encourage parents and babies to learn and play together. While babies often are exposed to television from an early age, these are mostl y programs designed for adults or older children. BabyFirst, available on satellite and cable in 28 countries including Canada, M exico, Britain, Latin America, Taiwan and 21 Arab states, claims its shows are adapted for every stage of a baby's development -- helping to develop language and maths as well as sensory skills and creative play. Programs for the tiniest are in black and white as their eyes cannot recognize colors in their first few months of life. But it's not all hard work for tots in front of TVs. Specially-designed evening content helps soothe a baby to prepare for sleep and hundreds of hours of popular baby DVD/video content is also available. Rechter said such shows also help parents who need time to prepare dinner or a few moments to themselves. "I believe it's a good tool that can be part of a ba lanced life," she said. The company expects to launch in another five countries shortly with future gro wth principally in Asia and Europe, Rechter added.