Why streaming kids content is essential for subscriber growth

“Tinky Winky. Dipsy. La-la-la. Po!”

These four names are the intro to the iconic “Teletubbies” song that has graced home TVs for nearly 30 years. Although the episodic library has remained unchanged for decades, the role of the episodic in American media has taken on new meaning in the streaming era.

“Television used to be a little simpler,” said Dean Kuchar, a TV expert who spent years bringing international children’s shows like “Teletubbies” and “The Wiggles” to the Americas.

“Back then, there weren’t many gatekeepers, you had PBS and Disney, and Nickelodeon was kind of an upstart company,” Kuchar told CNBC. “The good thing is that if we could get kids’ attention, we could capture a bigger part of the market, because there weren’t that many options for kids.”

Now, programming isn’t just on traditional TV, there are far more places for parents and kids to find content. From YouTube and his TikTok to dozens of streaming options, viewers don’t have to wait for their favorite shows. Saturday morning cartoons are now cartoons any time of the day.

And that’s a good thing for streamers, too, especially as profitability pressures on Wall Street mount.

Children represent a unique demographic for the entertainment industry. Age-specific advertising laws often prevent companies from marketing directly to age groups, but their repeat viewing habits make them very loyal consumers.

As streaming services look to attract new subscribers and reduce churn, having a hub of family-friendly content is one way to ensure paying members (aka parents) stay engaged.

“Kids and family-friendly content is critical to both streaming acquisition and retention,” said Peter Casasi, founder and chairman of advisory firm Creative Media. “The franchise’s family-friendly brand has been welcomed by exhausted parents looking for some downtime before their kids get some screen time.

“Once these kids get hooked on the show, they never leave, and their parents won’t even think about leaving,” he added.

This is critical for streaming services, especially as consumers become more cost-conscious and consider which services to keep each month and which to drop by the next billing cycle.

In recent years, legacy media companies have disney, warner bros discovery, Universal and paramount — eager to compete with Netflix In the realm of streaming. For a while, Wall Street was satisfied with high subscriber growth and the promise of future profitability. But as advertising revenue from linear TV continued to decline significantly, investors quickly reversed course and demanded more immediate profit growth.

What’s unique about children’s content is that streamers don’t need a ton of content to keep kids hooked, he says, in order to provide relevant and enriching content for kids currently between the ages of 2 and 9. said Kuchar, who runs Kidstream, a focused streaming service.

He said that “younger kids don’t mind repeat viewing,” and while adults watch a new season of a show and then mostly move on to another season, kids don’t object to repeat viewing in a short period of time. he pointed out.

“Children are notorious for getting hooked on their favorite movie franchises, shows, and characters, and will watch them over and over again,” Casasi said.

This means streamers don’t have to obtain licenses or create a lot of content to maintain viewers each month.

According to a study by the Parents Television and Media Council released in October, the amount of adult-only original entertainment on streaming services now exceeds the amount of content rated TV-G or TV-PG by nearly 270%. ing.

“Seeing that less than 15% of major streamers’ titles are reportedly family-friendly, it seems like most major streamers have not fully accepted this reality,” Csathy said. “It’s wise to prioritize franchise content. Very wise.”

While many major streaming services have children’s sections on their own children’s TV production platforms, many are also looking outside of Hollywood, bringing content from international production companies to US audiences. Licensed.

“Children in the UK, children in France, children in Australia and the United States have similar wants and needs at that young age,” Kuchar said. As they grow, their content preferences begin to change.

That’s why shows like Australian production Bluey, British production Peppa Pig, Russian production Masha and the Bear, and French production Miraculous have managed to succeed. It is. To perform well not only in America but also in my home country.

Meanwhile, Kuchar found that today’s kids are still interested in old classics like “Barney,” “Thomas the Tank Engine,” “Madeline” and “Wallace and Gromit.” All of these can be viewed on Kidstream.

Kuchar’s platform ($4.99 a month) also has new shows such as “Dot” with Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg. “Bits & Bob” problem-solving animation duo. and the live-action animal show “Gudrun: Viking Princess.”

With parents demanding more content and educational options, there is an opportunity for artificial intelligence to speed up the animation process.

AI not only has the potential to accelerate the animation process, but also democratize entry into the animation space.

“Generation AI will allow streamers to generate new children’s programming faster and cheaper, and they will definitely do so,” Csathy said. “Originality and quality will definitely be compromised, but streamers will be hoping that kids won’t notice.”

Kidstream continues to focus on quality over quantity, Kuchar said.

“As parents and caregivers purchasing services, what motivates us is just to be happy,” he says.

The platform has been around since 2017 and has over 25,000 subscribers, which is just a fraction of the major streaming platforms. But the company can also afford to lose viewers because it doesn’t have to spend billions on new content.

Kuchar, who has 30 years of experience in children’s television, said he’s seen a shift away from linear programming and that viewers don’t want to go back to time-based schedules to watch their favorite shows. Sports.

“In our case, we see the development of more niche channels that can really serve our customers well, whether it’s for parents with young children or European crime dramas,” he said. He alluded to established services like BritBox and horror streamer Shudder.

“I think on-demand streaming is definitely the way to go.”

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.