• Survey: YouTube Kids Tops Kids’ Streaming Viewing

    A new report from nScreenMedia and WildBrain Spark reveals that YouTube Kids is the most popular streaming video source for kids 12 years old or younger. Surveyed parents responded that 52% of their kids this age watch YouTube Kids, followed by PBS Kids (46%), Disney+ (24%) and YouTube (15%). Streaming services including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ are all in single digits.

    The survey data is included in the new report titled “Making Screen Time Family Time.” Two surveys were fielded, one in late October and one in early November, of U.S. adults who stream video on a weekly basis and have at least one child 12 years old or younger.  The first survey had 2,500 respondents and the second had 500 respondents. nScreenMedia’s chief analyst Colin Dixon is my weekly podcast partner.

    Connected TVs dominate as the streaming device of choice for kids, with 71% of respondents identifying CTVs as the device their kid uses, followed by tablets (51%), smartphone (49%) and computers (47%). However, tablets are the primary streaming device young kids actually own, with 44% of parents reporting their kids owns one, followed by smartphones (34%), computers (28%) and CTVs (27%).

    Co-viewing with young kids is also popular, with three-quarters of parents reporting that they watch with their child several times per week or more. Smart TVs were cited by 62% as most often used for these co-viewing sessions, followed by streaming TV devices (48%), tablets (39%) and smartphones (33%). Early morning, 6am-9am was most often cited as co-viewing time for weekdays (32%) and weekends (26%).

    Beyond streaming video, the report also found young kids heavily influencing household purchase decisions. Top on the list was family entertainment (non-TV) decisions, with 70% of parents citing their kid as “more influential.” Other top categories included food delivery (62%), grocery (58%), technology (55%) and hygiene (52%).

    The report also includes data about parents’ attitudes toward YouTube, their trust in media and specific content types, the role of advertising and its effectiveness and parenting styles by gender.

    The report is available for complimentary download.