Why Publishers Should Consider Offering More Kids Content

Published: September 23, 2024

Why Publishers Should Consider Offering More Kids Content

Movieguide® Contributor

As competition heats up on streaming platforms, everyone is thinking about how to maintain their subscriber base, and offering more kids’ programming could be one way to do that.

“Figures from Ampere show that 36% of all streaming viewers without children are at risk of churning as of Q1 2024,” The Streamable It was reported Sept. 17. “But among families with children, that number drops to 28%. That’s a sign that kids have a strong say in whether a family keeps a streaming subscription or that families with kids are too busy doing other things to worry about dropping their streaming service on a weekly basis.”

You might think that these numbers would prompt publishers to produce more content aimed at kids, but The Streamable says the opposite is happening.

“Commissions for on-demand original shows in the kids & family category are down 18% between 2022 and 2023,” the website said.

“One of the biggest reasons for this is YouTube’s dominance among kids,” The Streamable told us. “A report published in late 2023 found that YouTube had a higher share of streaming time among viewers ages 2-11 than any other subscription streaming service, including Netflix. In July, YouTube accounted for more than 10% of all total TV watched in the U.S., the first time any streaming video platform has surpassed that threshold.”

IBC It was reported “Those who can finance their own new children’s books will have an advantage in a busy buying market,” it says, but this can be very expensive.

Streamable says platforms don’t need to produce original content to increase their viewership, they can simply renew old programs or buy titles.

“During the same period between 2022 and 2023, the number of non-original or acquired titles available for streaming increased by 4%, while commissions for on-demand originals fell by 18%,” The Streamable said.

“Renewals continue to account for a larger share of commissions in the kids & family category. Ampere found that renewals will account for 50% of commissions for kids titles in the first half of 2024, the first time in the past five years that first-run programming has not accounted for more than half of commissions.”

Peter Csathy, founder and president of consultancy firm Creative Media, believes broadcasters should invest in children’s productions, saying children are not bothered by repetition and want to see characters they are familiar with.

“With less than 15% of titles on major publishers reported as family-friendly, it seems to me that most major publishers are not fully embracing that fact,” Csathy said. “Franchise content is a smart thing to prioritize. Very smart.”

Movieguide® recommends caution when streaming content aimed at children. Previously It was reported:

Children’s content, like all other forms of media, has migrated to streaming services, but allowing kids to decide what they watch and when may do more harm than good.

“Children will always go for the biggest, fastest dopamine hit… We live in a culture of instant gratification and actually delayed gratification is much better for happiness and mental health in the long term,” said Konnie Huq, the longest-serving female presenter on CBBC’s BLUE PETER. It has been said Sky News…

Shows similar to: INDIO MELON—a popular children’s YouTube channel with over 168 billion views—is stimulating and sometimes overstimulatingTo ensure that children’s brains release as much dopamine as possible.