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.
Podcasts for Kids: The New Ear Candy?
The soaring popularity of podcasts is not new news but the strong uptick in podcasts aimed at kids may be a surprising development no one saw coming.
In an increasingly high tech world getting more mobile by the second, this compelling content platform seems to be gaining a lot of traction among kids and their parents.
Consider how much sense podcasting to kids makes:
Podcasts are a great solution for parents who want to reduce the amount of time kids spend gazing into screens.
They’re easy to access on portable, smart devices; they can be downloaded or streamed.
Podcasts are safer, and easier to control and supervise than You Tube videos or internet roaming.
There are tons of opportunities across everyday life for kids to listen—by themselves, with parents and siblings, in the car.
They’re a new way for kids to learn and to enhance auditory learning skills.
They are a new platform for fun learning on the go.
Podcasts require kids to listen, to think creatively, to conceptualize, to visualize words in their imaginations, to ask questions, and to participate in conversations about what they’ve heard.
They're a great platform for storytelling—and what kid doesn’t love listening to a good story?
Already, kids are podcasting in school, creating their own podcasts with friends (with recording technology made easy), listening to mini podcasts on smart speakers while brushing their teeth, and tapping into podcasts apps.
So how do brands make podcasting work for them? How can podcasts for kids be a new and compelling touchpoint for brands to build solid and long lasting relationships with tomorrow’s shoppers?
Stay tuned!