TVO taps into the Chinese mobile market with the help of ClevrU
TORONTO, Oct. 15, 2012 /CNW/ - TVO is pleased to announce a new partnership with ClevrU, a Waterloo-based mobile education company, to bring existing TVOKids content to smartphone users in China. ClevrU operates a web site and provides mobile apps in China which allows smartphone users easy access to a high-quality mobile learning experience.
TVO is presented in China as the Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TVO's legal name) under the brand Learn English. The content offered includes over 430 videos from TVOKids programs like Melvin's Marvelous Words and Alphabet Goop that teach children how to read, write and spell in a fun and engaging way.
Initially this content is being test marketed with a group of China Unicom subscribers in Beijing, with plans to expand marketing efforts across ClevrU's other marketing partners including Renren (the Facebook of China) later in 2012. The Learn English content is now available for free with e-commerce capabilities being added to the ClevrU web site in coming months.
"What's so exciting about TVO's partnership with ClevrU is that it allows us to repurpose existing digital assets for an entirely new audience that we know has a tremendous thirst for quality educational content," said Lisa de Wilde, Chief Executive Officer, TVO. "This innovative new initiative has the potential to drive an entirely new revenue stream for TVO that will support the delivery of our educational mandate in Ontario."
Each TVO educational video is complemented by material such as printable resources and follow-along slides in Chinese which help guide the child as he or she learns English.
"Smartphone use in China is exploding and parents are looking for quality educational experiences for their children," said Dana Fox, President, ClevrU. "TVO's reputation for trusted educational content for kids makes TVO an ideal partner in this new venture."
To complement the funding TVO receives from the province, TVO is exploring new business models for digital content and working to increase self-generated revenues including partnerships with private sector organizations like ClevrU.
About TVO
TVO is Ontario's public educational media organization and a trusted source of interactive educational content that informs, inspires and stimulates curiosity and thought. TVO's vision is to empower people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media. TVO is funded primarily by the Province of Ontario and is a registered charity supported by sponsors and thousands of donors. For more information, visit tvo.org.
Where to Find TVO
| On air: Cable channel 2 (may vary in some areas) Bell TV channel 209 TVO HD on Bell Fibe TV channel 1209 Rogers TVO HD channel 580 Rogers-On-Demand channel 100 Shaw Direct channel 353 |
Websites: tvo.org tvokids.com tvoparents.com ilc.org |
Online: Yahoo! YouTube Rogers-On-Demand-Online iTunes BlackBerry App World™ |
Connect: |
About ClevrU Corporation
ClevrU.com is an adaptable, on-demand e-Teaching platform designed to allow educators to deliver knowledge to users anywhere, on any device, anytime. The ClevrU Education Marketplace acts as a bridge bringing the best educational and professional development content to consumers in emerging markets. Using ClevrU's dynamic platform, educators now have the power to deliver rich, multi-media, customized e-Teaching content to students in an environment that supports learning, provides interactive discussion, assesses student performance, and provides feedback to both students and educators. Most importantly, it allows millions of people to enjoy access to learning material on a mobile basis in their language of choice through our intelligent cloud. Educational content can be presented using videos, audio files, slides, and other learning resources. It can be achievement-based or without assessment and we support open-source as well as fee-based content supported by our integrated e-commerce capabilities. ClevrU registered a patent pending on its Intelligent Collaborative Platform Technology.
SOURCE: TVO
Media contacts:
Jeff Rohrer
Director, Communications
TVO
416-484-2735
[email protected]
Dana Fox
President and CEO
ClevrU Corp
1-564 Weber St N
Waterloo, Ont, N2L 5C6 Canada
[email protected]
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