LONDON, NEW YORK and SAN JOSE, Calif. — WildBrain’s kids and family AVOD network and studio WildBrain Spark and independent digital TV analyst company nScreenMedia today released a report on family co-viewing trends that shows 75% of U.S. parents watch video content with their children several times a week or more.
Commissioned by WildBrain Spark, the Making Screen Time Family Time report is based on surveys with 3,000 American parents during October and November. Family co-viewing is an activity that cuts across gender, children’s ages, household income levels and marital status, says the report.
Two-thirds (66%) of parents surveyed said they expect time spent with their kids watching TV or movies will stay the same or increase once the pandemic is over. In addition, the report found children are often in charge of the co-viewing session, with half of parents saying their child mostly chooses what the family is going to watch together.
According to the survey, television is the most popular device for co-viewing content, and 62% of parents said the smart TV is the most popular platform and 48% said they use a connected TV device.
The data also shows the increasing popularity of ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) services, with more than 90% of parents saying AVOD is an important source of entertainment for their children.
In terms of streaming video sources, the free YouTube Kids and PBS Kids streaming services are the most popular, with 50% of parents surveyed reporting their children use these services exclusively. These platforms are almost twice as popular as any other children’s streaming service about which the survey asked, according to the report.
“These independent findings support our own data that AVOD platforms, in particular YouTube and YouTube Kids, are increasingly the go-to destination for families looking for premium long-form children’s content. Furthermore, the increasing penetration of connected TVs in the home, coupled with new family habits during the pandemic, is accelerating this trend. Parents and kids are going ‘back to the future’ by watching premium long-form kids’ shows that are streamed to their connected TVs from ad-funded platforms,” said Jon Gisby, executive vice-president and managing director at WildBrain Spark, in a press release.
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Image courtesy Wildbrain.
