Down Angle Symbol A symbol in the form of an angle pointing downwards. “CoComelon,” an animated series that debuted on YouTube, is one of the most popular series on Netflix. Business Wire/AP
- One of Netflix’s most popular series is an animated children’s series called CoComelon.
- In the first half of 2023 alone, “CoComelon” was watched for 601 million hours.
- Still, streaming platforms are struggling to attract young viewers as more children turn to YouTube.
Although Netflix has invested heavily in original streaming content for years, one of the streaming giant’s most popular shows currently is a children’s animated series that continues to air on YouTube titled “CoComelon.”
In the first half of 2023 alone, “CoComelon” and its six seasons currently streaming on Netflix were watched for 601 million hours, Business Insider correspondent Katie Notopoulos noted. That’s more than the watch time of all four seasons of Stranger Things combined.
But despite the series’ huge popularity, Netflix continues to struggle to attract younger viewers, new data shows. Streaming giants are trying to figure out what type of content attracts these young viewers, a demographic that is critical to attracting and retaining subscribers.
Nielsen data on Netflix’s streaming viewership showed that viewers ages 2 to 11 made up 21% of the audience in September. According to the Wall Street Journal, that’s four percent less than the 25 percent that Netflix had in September 2021.
YouTube, on the other hand, continues to grow its younger audience.
According to the Journal, the share of 2- to 11-year-old YouTube viewers increased from 29.4% to 33% over the same period.
YouTube’s dominance among young viewers can be attributed in part to the site’s offering of short-form content.
“These viewers are watching on their iPads or on other platforms that have moved to shorter and shorter segments, and that’s a real problem for the streamers,” Michael Hirsh, co-founder of WOW Unlimited Media, a Canadian animation company, told the Journal.
Streaming giants like Netflix, Disney+ and Max have been looking for ways to attract and retain young viewers, as these viewers can convince families to maintain their subscriptions.
Tom Ascheim, the former president of Warner Bros. Kids, Young Adults and Classics, told the Journal that families with children cancel their services at a lower rate than households without children.
One way to compete in this space is to capitalize on hit shows like “CoComelon” and bring them to their streaming platforms.
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Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider’s parent company Axel Springer, is a board member of Netflix.