Disney’s digital arm is preparing to launch a version of its parenting website Family.com in the UK.
Dani Zur, a former publisher of Emap’s Mother & Baby group, joined Walt Disney Internet Group last year and has been overseeing the launch of UKFamily.com, which is expected to soft launch on 1 July ahead of a public launch later next month.
Zur has recruited a team of eight – including former BBC, Emap and Natmags staffers – to run the advertising-funded site.
Disney is entering a crowded market of parenting websites, including magazine companion sites like Bauer’s Mother Askamum.co.uk, BBC Worldwide’s Parenting and sites like iVilliage as well as well-established forum sites like Mumsnet.
Zur believes there is a gap in the market for a parenting title that is not specific to the age of parents’ children.
‘This is just about Disney offering that audience from the credibility and trustworthiness and incredible development skillset that we have in house to extend the offering that we have to parents,’Zur told Press Gazette..
The site is expected to incorporate multimedia including how-to videos and a podcast.
User-generated content will feature heavily, particularly through parents’ feedback to advice given in parenting experts’ columns. Editorial and user-generated content from forums will be linked using a tagging system to allow readers to find related content on the site regardless of who created it.
The site will also offer a set of databases including guides to schools, healthcare services and local activities. Users will be able to personalise the site to see content relevant to the age of their child and their location.
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