Sony’s new kids hub could become the biggest thing on YouTube

Children’s content on YouTube is currently in the midst of a gold rush, and Sony is taking advantage. The entertainment company has launched a YouTube channel called Kidzuko, where it will deliver videos related to properties like Octonauts, The Creature Cases, and Peter Rabbit.

Kidzuko’s official launch comes with a three-year back catalog of videos and a subscriber base of 377,000 fans. Sony Pictures Television is using the new venture to expand the reach of its IP by meeting kids on their favorite platform. Joe D’Ambrosia, the head of Sony Pictures Television – Kids, told The Hollywood Reporter that the name Kidzuko came out of market testing with kids and parents.

“The watch time for kids on YouTube is just growing every year,” D’Ambrosia told THR. “One of the reasons we wanted to launch Kidzuko is today, almost 60 percent of kids are most likely to discover new IP on YouTube, so we knew we had to be there.”

The evidence supporting D’Ambrosia’s claim is clear. YouTube viewership among toddlers continues to surge year-over-year, and YouTube-based brands like CoComelon have evolved into multiplatform franchises. In our Tubefilter charts, family channels regularly rank as the most-watched channels on YouTube, often hauling in hundreds of millions of views per week.

Globally speaking, Sony is no stranger to that level of viewership. Sony-owned Indian channels like Sony SAB and SET India often wind up in our Top 50 charts. Kidzuko has a great chance to become Sony’s next chart-topper, especially if it keeps hosting Shorts with more than one million views.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uiPg6pqR6zc

Sony’s long history in the online video realm dates back to the days of Crackle, when the conglomerate threw its weight behind original web programming. Crackle’s heyday is now in the past, but Sony continues to recognize the relevance of social video as it looks to engage with a new generation of consumers.

Parents will have reasons to watch Kidzuko, too. Shows like Octonauts and The Creature Cases have been praised for their high quality, becoming hits on streaming services like Netflix.

If those programs shine on YouTube as well, Sony could expand Kidzuko onto free ad-supported TV (FAST) hubs. It all depends on the YouTube community’s hunger for Sony’s lauded IP, and so far, Kidzuko looks like it can meet its potential.