Children's content for streaming are king when media companies pursue profits

In the struggle between streaming services to capture and keep subscribers, children's shows such as “Cocomelon” and “Bluey” become performance -enhancing tools to gain the war.

Keeping customers has proven to be one of the greatest hurdles in expanding streaming. When Netflix The registered subscription losses in 2022, which worked through the industry and the media companies, laid out in advertising and other business models to concentrate on profitability.

In the meantime, companies like Warner Bros. Discovery And Disney They were loud about the need for quality content to promote subscriber growth. Children's programming offers a unique promise of value for streaming equation: it is cheaper and has more longevity than other forms of content.

“The content of the children is driving a large amount of commitment because children have been looking at it over and over again. She never tired,” said Kevin Mayer, co-CEO of Candle Media, the Moonbug, the sales dealer of Hit Kids' shows such as “Cocomelon” and “Blippi”.

Mayer said that the reduction in emigration – industry jargon in the event of customer loss – is the most important factor for improving the economy of streaming services, to achieve even more than new subscribers or to achieve income from these customers.

“If you turn, you lose subscribers, your top line is reduced. You have to spend marketing dollars to replenish again, either after lost subscribers or to find new ones,” said Mayer.

Children tend to see shows and films, and it shows in the data. When there was only one season of “Cacomelon” on Netflix, children looked at the same consequences several times, said Brian Fuhrer, Senior Vice President for product strategy and pioneer near Nielsen.

The 154 episodes of the animated Australian HIT series “Bluey”, which flows on Disney+, said more than 25 billion minutes in the first half of 2025, according to a report published by Nielsen in July.

Children's films In general, both the box office and this year have driven many of the best titles, said Nielsen. Disney's “Moana” is the most streamed film in history, and the sequel “Moana 2” had 7.2 billion minutes since it was released on Disney+ Per Nielsen in March.

Live sports and hit TV series are often attributed to draw the largest audience and promote short-term subscribers for streamers, but services with strong portfolios of child content offer parents a reason to stay in the long term in subscriptions, industry analysts and experts CNBC said.

In a video trend report of the fourth quarter of Tivo it was found that almost 4,500 respondents in the USA and Canada 13.6 services compared to 8.2 without benefit. Overall, the report from the fourth quarter of 2024 showed that the respondents had an average of 9.9 services, compared to 11.1 in the previous year. Tivo's report showed that people dropped streaming apps due to a lack of use and not due to higher prices.

In the meantime, children in summer contributed to increasing streaming and TV use in June. The total TV use of 6- to 17-year-olds rose by 27% compared to the previous month, and streaming made 66% of their entire time in June.

The strategy for media companies varies when it comes to using children's content as a retention instrument. Disney, Paramount Global And Netflix are among the streaming services with deep libraries of children. However, WBD has resigned from the genre, in particular with his decision to give up streaming rights to “Sesame Straße”.

The new season of the legendary children's show will be released later on Netflix this year, with two more seasons to follow. In the meantime, new “Sesame Street” pisodes will also be available from PBS Kids and its YouTube channel.

Netflix has reported that children and family content make up 15% of the company's total consideration.

Part of the broader media strategy also means to join in with the largest competitor in the traditional media industry – – – alphabet'S YouTube.

Even Netflix, the streaming juggernaut who has built up the media industry, faces reality that the social media platform YouTube dominates streaming on the television screen.

According to Nielsen, YouTube is consistently the highest number of TVs among all streaming platforms. From June, YouTube made up 12.8% of total streaming on television and exceeded Netflix and Disney+, Nielsen reported. Overall, the streaming viewer exceeded the radio and cable TVs.

“I would say that YouTube is part of the media strategy of all time,” said Andy Heyward, a long -time media leader in the children's television industry and CEO of Kartoon Studios. “More children consume YouTube than anything else. But there are so much stuff that they are very, very unique to rise above.”

The YouTube strategy used to be a subsequent idea for many media companies, but according to Alexia Raven, generation research has changed as a former executive at Warner Bros. Discovery and has since been co-founded by the research and strategy company Maverix knowledge.

“If they are not on YouTube, it is as if they don't exist for children,” said Raven. “Here are the eyeballs.”

In response to this, traditional media companies are increasingly working “as a close partner” with YouTube -Create and curate YouTube channels with clips from certain content and TV networks and even for the platform, said Katie Kurtz, the global director of young people and learn on YouTube.

“I think we certainly know that some partners YouTube see as engine as an engine.

The content that produces Disney for YouTube serves to add deeper to his characters and stories to Disney+ and tank, a spokesman for Disney told CNBC.

Paramount attributes his library of children's programming as one of the fastest growing streaming services, according to a spokesman, a large part of which comes from the cable TV network Nickelodeon. Franchise companies such as “Paw Patrol”, “Spongebob Squarepants” and “Dora the Explorer” were particularly successful.

With this depth in children's programming, Paramount published the original animation series “Kid Cowboy” exclusively on YouTube at the beginning of this year.

“We also know that many of our partners not only build large YouTube channels. They also think about building a really big next generation of characters.

In the meantime, traditional media companies are also looking for you on YouTube to increase new forms of content that you can add to your platform. In recent years, content makers who started on YouTube have signed license contracts with top streaming services.

“We want to be in business with the best creative people on the planet, regardless of where they come from,” said Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos during the win on Thursday with investors.

In particular, “COCOMELON” is noticeable.

The animation series comes on YouTube and still reaches a large part of your viewers. When Netflix 2020 acquired a subgroup of its content, it was a boost for the Netflix audience.

It appeared in Nielsen's top -10 list of the titles acquired 179 -with 155 consecutive appearances in the ranking. However, it was last presented on the list in September 2024.

Despite the slowdown of the audience, “Cocomelon” managed to stream a new subscription to Disney+ home this year. According to people who were familiar with the matter who refused to speak publicly about private negotiations. Disney Outbid Netflix for the rights to the program from 2027 and Netflix did not manage to make a higher offer, the people said. Netflix refused to renew his “Cacomelon” license due to a decline in the audience, one of the people said.

Netflix prompted the hours that “COCOMELON” went back to almost 60% compared to the early 2023 – when she began publishing engagement data – to the end of 2024.

A Disney spokesman said that “Cocomelon” is still a top goal for preschool children. The show fits seamlessly into its preschool ecosystem and supports the commitment and bond with its young audience, which is an essential driver of platform health.

Although Netflix has released “Cocomelon”, he still invests in child content. At the beginning of this year, Netflix added “Ms. Rachel” content that are programmed by a YouTube creator of toddler and preschool children with the same name, the channel of which has almost 16 million subscribers.

According to the company, the series in Netflix 'Top 10 is the most on the most watched “shows” worldwide.

“There are some creators on YouTube like Ms. Rachel, who fits well,” said Sarandos on Thursday. “If you have just seen in the engagement report, she had 53 million views in the first half of 2025 on Netflix. So she clearly works on Netflix.”