Safespace video network launching this fall
Tankee, a Texasbased video service, is aimed at 6 to 12yearolds
Parents who feel a cold chill up their back whenever their kids venture into the world of online gaming have a new resource. In July, an Austin, Texasbased video service aimed at 6 to 12yearolds called Tankee came out of stealth mode with plans to launch officially in the fall.
The company is cofounded by Gerald Youngblood, who headed up AMD’s marketing in the gaming space, and Dan Chiu, a former executive at ESPN Digital.
Youngblood, who has a 9yearold son, and Chiu, who has many young cousins who are gamers, have created an online video service where all the content is screened in advance by humans in order to weed out any sex and violence, drug references or abusive online chat.
Youngblood said that as he and his son bonded over gaming and watched online content together, it was difficult to find a safe space. “With esports, there’s no filter. It didn’t work,” he said. “You’d have this situation where you have Nickelodeon content and HBO content and they’re all mushed together on the same channel, so it’s really easy to get to the wrong thing.”
As Youngblood points out, however, it’s not only the content of games that parents need to worry about. Howto and gameplay videos on sites such as YouTube, livestreams of games being played on Twitch and other spaces don’t just feature the content of video games themselves. They may include questionable commentary, abusive posts within ingame chats and usergenerated content that isn’t kidfriendly.
“It’s a lot for a parent to try to do for their kid,” Youngblood said. “We want to take on that responsibility with this content. We’re happy to scan through all of that with reallive human beings to monitor the content so parents can take a little break.”
Tankee takes the form of an iPad app that allows kids (with a parent signin to start) to view prescreened videos; as of now, there’s no livestreamed content. The videos are a mix of gameplay howtos, music videos, playalongs with family friendly influencers and some original content that Tankee is beginning to produce.