A Netflix-style app for children is to be offered with TalkTalk’s TV packages. Hopster hosts shows targeted at under-6s — such as The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Pingu and Sesame Street — as well as educational games that teach children how to code. It was launched in 2013 by Nick Walters, a former executive at Nickelodeon owner Viacom. He decided to create it when his then 3-year-old daughter, Matylda, was starting to browse the internet and he saw a need to make “entertainment safe and educational”. Video platforms have been dogged by claims that they are not safe for children after it was discovered that the Google-owned YouTube hosted disturbing videos, including instructions on how to sharpen knives. Parents pay to subscribe to Hopster and
It is to offer Hopster 's Nextflix - style app with its TV packages . Targeting children under six , the app offers ad - free shows such as The Adventures of Paddington Bear , Sesame Street and educational games that teach children how to code . It is the first pay - TV firm to tie up with the educational entertainment provider , although it is understood to be in discussion with others . According to a study by musicMagpie , 80 % of children under the age of six has a computer and almost half spend as much as 21 hours a week on them .