Kids TV Is Dead, Long Live Kids TV

Available to WrapPRO members

As Gen A pivots entirely to streaming and creator-driven content, studios are struggling to adjust to a remaking of kids entertainment

and
Adam Chitwood, TheGrill 2023
kids watching TV
Kids watching "Bluey," "SpongeBob Squarepants" and "Paw Patrol" (Chris Smith/TheWrap)

For decades, the act of watching kids TV was by appointment only. The networks dictated what was shown and when, whether after school or Saturday mornings, creating legions of fans for “Sesame Street,” “SpongeBob Squarepants” and “Blue’s Clues.” And a stable production pipeline and revenue stream was in place.

Now, that model is all but dead.

Linear ratings for kids television have cratered over the last decade and changed the programming landscape completely. Ratings for Nickelodeon plummeted 86% from 2016 to 2023, while the Disney Channel fell 90% in the same period, according to Nielsen ratings. Instead, viewers aged 2-17 accounted for nearly 30% of YouTube’s viewership in July, according to Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge report.

Kayla Cobb

Kayla has covered the TV industry for more then seven years. Before joining TheWrap in April of 2023, she was the Senior TV Reporter at Decider, the New York Post’s entertainment vertical that focuses on the streaming industry. She was instrumental to the site’s growth, helping transform a fledging site to a respected name in…
Adam Chitwood, TheGrill 2023

Adam Chitwood

Adam joined TheWrap in 2021 after working for over a decade at Collider, where he spent five years as Managing Editor after previously serving as Deputy Editor at the entertainment website. He helped build and manage the site’s content strategy, streaming recommendations library and even dabbled in awards season coverage while also overseeing day-to-day operations…

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.