Why Are Streamers Sleeping On The Kids' Content Niche?
Understanding the demand vs supply of genres, a platform’s portfolio, or a given region’s sea of content is immensely helpful in directing resource allocation. For example, in the US last quarter, TV genres such as war and history were in low demand and low supply, while action and animation were in high demand and high supply, according to Parrot Analytics. This implies that the former may not be worth further investment at the moment while the latter is potentially over-saturated.
One genre that is consistently in high demand but low supply in the US, suggesting continued investment is warranted, is children’s programming. When digging deeper and looking at the demand vs supply ratio broken down by platform, it’s clear the majority of the industry could use more. Demand for kids’ programming outstrips supply on Disney+, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu and Max. The only premium SVOD services that might be over-extended within the genre are Apple TV+ and Peacock.
Now Xilam CEO and Chairman Marc du Pontavice previously warned of “a year of transition” for kids animation in 2024 that will include reduced spending. That appears to be true based on conversations I’ve had with executives. Yet at the same time, younger consumers and families remain a top target for streamers. Often, this demographic is a reliably lower churn risk.
This overarching reality makes trusted kids brands such as Disney, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon valuable assets. The same goes for the potential upside of Skydance Animation, which recently surprised the industry by jumping from Apple TV+ to Netflix. This reality also reinforces the growing value of YouTube, which has become a go-to destination for kids programming despite security concerns. There’s a reason Netflix licensed the massively successful CoComelon and why YouTube is treated as a developmental league for mainstream entertainment distribution (both in animation and live-action).
The trend cuts the other way too. Given the importance of kids programming, it remains curious as to why Warner Bros. Discovery has barely utilized the Looney Tunes brand (even going so far as to shelve the completed Acme movie). Why did it take Disney+ so long to re-edit popular musical movies into condensed kid-friendly sing-a-long versions? Why hasn’t Avatar: The Last Airbender been adapted into a video game universe beyond the poorly received recent mobile game?
Kids drive multimedia revenue efforts connected to their favorite properties. As every parent knows, action figures, video games, clothing and other merchandise comes with the territory of fandom. Establishing a connection and nurturing engagement with the next generation of consumers that are highly active audience members is never a bad idea. Kids programming is one of the few growth genres in entertainment and, yet, feels undervalued at the moment.
