Kids Prefer YouTube to Streaming Services Like Netflix

Streaming services like Netflix are pulling back on their investments in children’s content after learning that kids increasingly prefer to consume content on YouTube, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Netflix’s share of U.S. streaming viewership by young kids between the ages of 2 and 11 dropped from 25% to 21% in September compared to two years ago, per data from Nielsen.

The landscape is shifting for this demographic, and the strategy that streaming services have previously used to capture children through entertainment is no longer what works. As a result of this, some streamers have started to invest less in kids’ content on their platforms, and some are channeling investments toward platforms such as YouTube and Roblox.

According to Michael Hirsh, co-founder of WOW Unlimited Media, a Canadian animator, entertainment companies have acknowledged that more kids are drawn to short-form content instead of longer shows they can find on streaming services. He noted, “These viewers are watching on their iPads or on other platforms that have moved to shorter and shorter segments, and it’s a real issue for the streamers.”

Jeremy Tucker, global chief marketing officer at Spin Master, the studio that produces hit children’s franchises like “PAW Patrol,” said, “It’s really about following the consumer.”

Recently, Spin Master unveiled its children’s animated film based on a school where students learn to ride unicorns, which premiered on Roblox in September and became available on Netflix a couple of months later. In October, Spin Master released half of the “Unicorn Academy” movie on YouTube, while Netflix simultaneously premiered the second half on its official YouTube channel.

With permission from Netflix, Sony launched a YouTube channel a few weeks ago with episodes and clips from “The Creature Cases,” which is a preschool series on Netflix. Sony did this to pivot in order to try to capture a larger audience.

Warner Bros. Discovery started growing its animation division after identifying that cartoons and youth programming play a key role in retaining subscribers. Families value services that offer content that caters to their children’s preferences, making animated shows essential, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to a person familiar with the situation, “Warner executives found that if young children watched franchises like Batman, the longtime value of that household as a subscriber was three times as large as one that hadn’t watched them.”