Children continue to have more options for on-demand viewing. Improved broadband connectivity and the spread of connected devices has increased the number of children’s video on-demand services by 136 percent over four years, growing from 74 services in 2012 to 175 in 2016, IHS Markit says.
Easy online payment, an increase in original content, and the ability to offer a protected environment for young children to watch age-appropriate content has further driven consumers’ embrace of on demand-viewing, according to the firm’s latest Online and On-demand Children’s Content report.
“The number of children’s video on-demand has boomed in the last five years, with traditional linear broadcasters reaching their audiences online and a wave of new players led by Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube competing for eyeballs,” Tim Westcott, senior principal analyst at IHS Markit, comments. “Children do not have the same ingrained loyalty to existing media brands as older viewers, so it is not just a battle for today’s under-12 audience but also about establishing awareness among future consumers.”
Western Europe leads the pack for the highest number of children’s video on-demanded services, with 65 by the end of 2016. While North American and Western European companies were early adopters, the Asia Pacific region is seeing an uptick. Asia Pacific overtook North America in 2012, and is now in second place with 52 services.
The widespread adoption of smartphones is also driving adoption, as 90 percent of the services are accessible by mobile devices, with one-third of children’s on-demand services being accessible only via mobile devices, IHS finds.
“The smartphone-fueled emergence of app stores has led to a new wave of subscription services,” Kia Ling Teoh, analyst at IHS Markit, notes. “Besides the ability to offer a protected environment for young children, they can be rolled out internationally more quickly and at a fraction of the cost of linear TV channels.”
The predominate model is subscription video on demand with 51 percent of services following this format, according to IHS Markit, followed by free-to-view video on-demand with 26 percent. The rest followed a ‘freemium’ content model, with some made available for a one-time fee or subscription.
