ABC3, which launched in 2009 and has been the home for children's content on the national broadcaster ever since, is about to undergo a redbranding, with ABC3 becoming ABC ME on September 19.
According to an ABC statement, the revamp was developed with primary school children and their families.
The channel will premiere new programs News to Me, a weekly pop culture review show, sci-fi action animation series Prisoner Zero and short-form documentary series This Is Me, alongside returning series Nowhere Boys, You’re Skitting Me, Little Lunch, Good Game SP and Behind the News.
ABC ME will broadcast both short and long form Australian content and will be delivered via a new app that can be personalised by the user (in addition to the broadcast channel).
“We’ve been listening to our young audiences and it’s clear that they want flexibility, mobility and control," ABC Director of Television Richard Finlayson said.
"In the past 12 months we’ve seen an extraordinary uptake of kids programming on our digital platforms. In 2016, 78 percent of ABC3 online program plays were viewed via a mobile device. Families who have children aged 4-12 in the home are 28 percent more likely than average to watch TV/Video on a mobile device. Such insights are at the heart of ABC ME and continue to inform our ongoing commitment to today’s digitally savvy Australian audience.”