One of the setbacks caused by lockdown policies worldwide in light of covid is its impact on physical learning. Though schools and colleges in most countries of the world have worn a deserted look since 2020, on the brighter side, school management and education ministries have turned a new leaf in the education sector by adopting digital learning to a whole new level. This has paved the way for an advantageous merger between online technology and learning. So looking at the way kids are emerging as the fastest – growing audience market online, content creators and media houses have reasons to rejoice.
Netflix reported that in 2019, nearly 60% of its users watched kid and family content globally . Experts in the media space claim that while the younger generation is curious to seek new content, parents who want to keep their children engaged are seeking enriching value-driven programming. The way the OTT ecosphere has acknowledged this separate space for kids, CTO’s and CEO’s of media businesses have been encouraged to look at a niche of broadcasting options such as cartoons, animations, edutainment, e-learning modules etc for children.
So if you are at the cusp of developing a video streaming service for kids, here are 4 things you will need to consider to make the launch a successful one:
1. Bespoke Content for Kids
Studies say that kids have the tendency to rewatch a show if they love a certain character. Therefore, the production of new kids’ content doesn’t need an aggressive strategy, unlike other programming. According to experts, content owners prefer to invest in a character that is tried and tested and will grab the viewership, therefore, a lot of kids’ content on OTT tends to be acquired at the moment. This is merely the tip of the iceberg. A child’s content-viewing habit is a world of its world. Therefore, having a thorough understanding of the way kids view content and the type of content they watch will set an early foundation for success.
2. Offering Edutainment
With remote learning becoming the new norm, edutainment is typically the ‘learning made fun’ concept that streaming services have incorporated onto their platforms. Content that is both educative and entertaining is a fruitful hybrid that not only inspires kids but also keeps them entertained. Hence it may be a wise investment to focus on this form of learning which expands the scope for kids to explore puzzles, quizzes, interactive Q & A sessions and e-learning videos beyond the standard broadcasting choices of cartoons and animations.
3. Parental Supervision & Security
OTT technology has enabled parents with maximum facility to curate available content for their kids. The fact that parents get to choose what their kids watch apart from when and where they watch it has had a positive impact and improved their level of trust when choosing to subscribe to an OTT platform. Netflix was one of the first ones to introduce a kid-friendly section on its platform. They provided the option of creating a separate profile for kids apart from giving the choice of locking the parents’ profile with a pin as part of their parental control updates. This prevented the kids from wandering into content that is not suitable to them. Also, from an OTT developer’s point of view, it is important to build a robust infrastructure in order to secure kids from digital hacking attacks which may compromise their viewing with age-inappropriate content.
4. An Ad-free Experience
When it comes to kids, it is preferable to keep your OTT content either advertisement free or broadcast ads that are safe for kids to watch. That is why a Subscription Video on-Demand (SVOD) model works best. Parents are more likely to opt for a monthly or annual subscription that enables the kids to use the platform without disruptions. At the same time, partnering with children’s brands that provide sponsored content is a great way to earn additional revenue without the need to put across advertisements.
At the end of the day, building an OTT platform for kids is no doubt a challenging endeavour and requires expert guidance. But look no further. Enveu is here to partner with you and offer trusted expertise at every step of the way. Contact us today!
