Irish public broadcaster TG4 has launched a new free-TV Irish-language kids channel, which will be available 14 hours per day, and mobile app to make children’s programming more accessible in the region. 

Cúla4’s content lineup includes recently commissioned domestic series such as Abú Media’s water sports game show Uiscenauts and age-appropriate local news show Nuacht Cúla4 from Fíbín Media. The channel is also airing animated acquisitions including CoComelon (Moonbug), Elmo & Tango’s Mysterious Mysteries (Sesame Workshop) and Timmy Time (pictured, Aardman). 

Central to the programming strategy is a six-minute informative news block, which will run from Monday to Friday. The block was developed in response to research from Ireland’s RED C finding that 80% of the country’s Irish-speaking primary school teachers and 250,000 primary-school children regularly use TG4 in the classroom.

The public broadcaster was prompted to launch Cúla4 by a national survey conducted by Ipsos MRBI last year in which 89% of Irish citizens said they wanted a free kids channel available in their language. 

The channel is also an important outlet for Ireland’s kids production industry, said Catherine Martin, minister of tourism, culture, arts, Gaeltacht, sports and media. “Young people need to be able to visualize themselves achieving great things in all walks of life, and Cúla4 allows young people [who speak Irish] to see themselves represented on screen.”