New Year, New Trends: Media Trend Watch 2020

As a new calendar year is on the horizon, we’re looking forward to what the upcoming months have in store for kids and families. Here are four media trends we’re keeping our eye on:

How Disney is going to shake up the world of streaming services: Disney+ just launched this month, and with their takeover of Hulu announced this past spring, the conglomerate is set to redefine the landscape of streaming services. In fact, on launch day, 10 million subscribers signed up for Disney+, indicating the strength of Disney as a streaming player. (Note: Subscribers got a one-week free trial, so it is unknown at this point how many will continue their subscription.)  And in its deal with Hulu, Disney’s backing will give Hulu access to its financial resources, international reach and marketing playbook – indicating that Hulu could be a streaming powerhouse in the near future. Will Disney be the one to slow the seemingly unstoppable momentum of Netflix and Amazon?

The future of kids’ cable TV giants: Netflix exceeded cable usage for the first time in 2018, pulling in 12% more consumer subscribers than cable or satellite. Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network all saw a 20 percent drop in ratings in 2018, thanks to streaming services. Will these cable channels find a way to get back in front of kids, or will they become relics of the past? Spoiler alert: On the heels of the Disney+ launch, Netflix and Nickelodeon announced a partnership to produce original content drawing from new ideas and classic Nickelodeon properties. It looks like Nickelodeon is taking action.

The declining age creep of kids with phones: A 2016 study found that the average age for a child to receive their first smartphone was age 10, down from age 12 in 2012. Nearly four years later, if this trend kept pace, the average age could be nearing age 8. While 2020 data doesn’t yet exist, we’ve talked to many 8- and 9-year-old kids who say they have their own smartphones in our qualitative work with kids across the country. Will 2020 see that age go even younger?

Tighter regulation of YouTube on behalf of kids: With the prevalence of influencer marketing on YouTube, it can be hard for kids to spot sponsored content. Until recently, YouTube has largely avoided FTC regulations that have long-since targeted traditional TV advertising to children. But the FTC is beginning to crack down, and as more and more eyes shift to YouTube, we expect those regulations to become clear sooner than later.