HubWorld

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Some fun, lots of ads on TV network's fan site.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that HubWorld.com is very heavily ad-, brand-, and character-driven. The Hub network is owned by Hasbro Inc. and Discovery Communications and often seems a bit overly promotional, kind of like one big ongoing ad for their toys and games. There are some sweet, harmless shows here like My Little Pony and Family Game Night; others like The Haunting Hour and G.I. Joe may be objectionable to some parents. Most of the games are fun, and a few even have some real educational value.

  • Playing board games with your family as a way to learn analytical and educational skills is one positive message here. Getting bombarded by ads? Not so positive.
  • A few battle action-heavy Hub TV shows, like G.I. Joe Renegades and Transformers Prime, have episodes or clips kids can watch on the site. There's also an entire section of online games here called "Blasting" games:  "Get hit by three bombs and the mission is over."
  • The Jem and the Holograms show sometimes has flirtatious scenes and cat fights over men between stereotypical characters and scantily clad, heavily made-up female characters.
  • Not applicable.
  • The Hub TV network is owned by toymaker Hasbro Inc. and Discovery Communications. With that in mind, it's difficult to overemphasize that the site is ad heavy (you have to watch an ad before entering every game, for example). Almost all of the characters in the shows, as well as the games in the game shows, such as Pictureka!, and the online games themselves, are all like built-in product placement ads for the Hub network and for Hasbro toys. The new Club Hub features "Club Bucks" for kids to buy online virtual "stuff" for their Club Hub rooms.
  • Some safety concerns. To join the site's Club Hub, kids need to register with a username (they can use a computer generated one), gender, date of birth, and password. The rules say kids under 13 need to provide a parent's email address and parents need to give online permission to join. But in a recent test registration, a child under 13 registered without being prompted to enter a parent's email address and, as a result, no parental approval was needed. The site's privacy policy discloses the use of cookies and other tracking tools to gather information about users' browsing behavior. There will be online communities in the new Club Hub.

Is it any good?

 

Despite the constant ads, there's some fun here in the handful of quality games and some cute videos on HubWorld.com. If your kids like the shows on The Hub network, they'll like this site. A big question remains whether the new Club Hub -- where kids can register, get an online  "room," earn points, and join online communities (currently in beta) -- will have age-appropriate controls and be more than just an in-training shopping mall for its parent companies. If so, this may become a fine place for Hub show fans to hang out occasionally and enjoy.


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What families can talk about


This review was written by Dana Villamagna
Kid, 11 years old
December 30, 2010
 
For Older Kids Of Ages 8+ And Up
My Arcade Website

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Parent of 2 year old
January 9, 2011
 
HUBS SUCKS WANT DK BACK MORE EDUCATIONAL
I THINK HUB SHOULD HAVE NEVER TAKEN ALL THE EDUCATIONAL SHOWS OFF THE AIR FROM DISCOVERY KIDS. WE NEED BIG FOOT AND WILBUR HIP HOP HARRY AND PAZ BACK ON TV. EVEN BINI THE JUNGLE GIRL AND SOME OTHER SHOWS OTHER MOTHERS SPOKE TO ME ABOUT I THINK THERE WAS TRADING SPACES AND SOME OTHER SHOWS AS WELL. ALL EDUCATIONAL. I THINK HUB JUSTWANTS TO SELL TOYS AND GAMES DOESNT CARE OF ABOUT EDUCATION. ITS UNFORTUNATE BECAUSE I AM A HUGE TRANSFORMER FAN FROM WHEN I WAS A KID BUT I AM SO DISSAPPOINTED IN HUB FOR TAKEN EVERYTHING EDUCATIONAL ON TV OFF. SO GO OUT AND GET YOUR POUND PUPPIES OR YOUR HASBRO BOARD GAMES BUT MY SON IS SO NOT INTERESTED IN ANY OF YOUR SHOWS EXCEPT TRANSFORMERS AND SINCE DK WAS TAKEN OFF I DONT KNOW ONE MOTHER WITHIN 25 MILES THAT I KNOW EVEN BOTHERS TO PUT CHANNEL 120 IF U R A CABLEVISION USER ON THEIR TVS ANYMORE. I THINK HUIB SHOULD BE CANCELED AND DK PUT BACK ON

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Kid, 9 years old
January 3, 2011
 
Good for all ages.
I think it is a good educational website.

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Parent of 12 year old
December 29, 2010
 

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Kid, 11 years old
February 12, 2011
 
I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT THE HUB
I hate the Hub. It took away the only TV channel I ever watched which was Discovery Kids. Hasbro totally ripped off Discovery Communications. Grossology is my favorite show in the entire world and now I have to get up at 4:00 AM (CT) on EVERY MONDAY MORNING just to watch one measly episode! All of the Discovery Kids shows air at times that are either too late at night or too early in the morning. I advise you not to watch The Hub unless you're going to watch Pound Puppies, Happy Days, Doogie Howser M.D., or Discovery Kids shows. Personally, I think The Hub is just a way for Hasbro to make money.... I wish Discovery Kids would come back...for just one more day... p.s. the website sucks too.

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Kid, 10 years old
April 30, 2011
 
I don't really like this website

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Parent of 8 and 16 year old
January 4, 2011
 

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Kid, 11 years old
July 26, 2011
 
It's Good, But I Understand Everyone's Anger
I can understand everyone's anger, but I think the games aren't that bad, and I even have an account to keep track of my scores! All the shows have good messages, thus leaving the games totally harmless!!

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Kid, 13 years old
September 16, 2011
 
Hub Is Good for kids
Its a good network with nice shows for your children(haunting hour might be to dark,though)and each show has there own little message for kids.I wont really worry to much on this one,unlike other channels *Cough*Cartoonnetwork*cough*

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Parent
October 20, 2011
 
The Site is Flashy With Many Promises, But Fails To Deliver.
In the beginning I thought this was a wonderful website for my daughter. I even joined in with her! However, once the site experienced issues where she could no longer play the problems started. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I tried contacted the site by submitting help requests; they never responded. I tried emailing them...several times; got no response. I called, got the run-around actually never speaking to a person so I had to hangup. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * -------------------------------------------------------------------------- While trying to figure out HOW to get a hold of a human being to get help with the site which was still experiencing this problem after two weeks, I found that the site was illegally posting the TRUSTe Privacy seal on its site. I did try to contact them about it, but of course got no response, so I filed a complaint. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bottom line, it looked wonderful, but it was a big bomb that really disapointed my daughter and me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * -------------------------------------------------------------------------- They should be ashamed that such a big name television company can't provide a better quality website...or at least be forced to provide children what they advertise. Where I come from that's called false marketing. Doing it to kids doesn't make it okay Discovery Channel. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * -------------------------------------------------------------------------- If I sound a bit angry, well yes, I am. I had to listen to my little 5 year old daughter cry and cry when I told her she could no longer play her favorite games on Hub and that she couldn't "Get her ""Cutie Mark"" on her Pony." I don't like making my daughter cry, but apparently the Hub doesn't mind. So yes, I am a bit miffed and I don't mind where my venomous words strike. This won't be my last review... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Clean up your act Hub.

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This review was written by Dana Villamagna
Genre:Brand Sites

This review was written by Dana Villamagna

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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