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Tell me everything about the digital strategy of the top 5 TV networks/channels for children (e.g.- Nickelodeon) in the US: digital monetization strategy, digital business models, monthly users and revenues generated by their digital activities between 2014-2017.
The top children's TV networks/channels is a pretty conclusive list regardless of where you look. Disney ranked at the top followed by Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, PBS Kids, and Animal Planet regardless of what sources you research. We used Ranker and the Top Tens to determine our top 5 children TV/networks. Viewers over a seven-day period ranged anywhere from 11 million to over 30 million depending on the station. While specifics on each individual channel's revenue was not publicly available, we were able to locate media network revenue for each company. Each specific digital strategy varied, but they were all focused on online content, shows, and games versus the cable channel viewing.
DISNEY CHANNEL
The Disney Channel launched in April 1983, so it has been around nearly 35 years. A lot has changed since the days of cable television and while Disney stands to lose some $8 million dollars from cable publication, it has some new strategies that it's excited to launch. In 2015, Disney came out with a strategy that paid off. They tried to launch a show called Violetta in an attempt to reach 8-12-year-old girls in Germany. It had failed in the U.K., but they gave it another attempt. Unfortunately for Disney, it was not a success. Disney took a chance and decided to launch it on YouTube and was successful in reaching 50% of 8-12-year-old girls and it had 8 million views. From here, Disney decided its new strategy would be to launch a Disney watch app. Its goal was 20,000 downloads but instead, it saw 1 million in the first 6 months. For Disney, cable television is dying. Today, Disney's newest strategy according to Chief Executive, Robert Iger, is a digital push online. They are planning to offer channels online instead of through costly cable. Disney's two popular kids choices are the Disney Channel and Freeform. Each has dropped about 4 million viewers over the past three years. Disney is aware its revenue will substantially decrease with the loss of cable television, so it's digital revenue needs to pick up fast. They are determining when to launch the direct-to-consumer apps similar to HBO Now. Although online viewing has fewer ads, they still see the potential as digital video increases online. While the company may take a hit during the switchover, they feel they will win in the long haul as technology and demands of consumers are changing.
In August 2017, Disney announced it will be launching two Netflix style services over the next two years. One will be sports-related and the other kid/family related. The new kid/family will release Disney/Pixar movies and some new Disney programming. According to Statista in Spring 2017, Disney had 31.07 million within a period of 7 days.
Disney viewing numbers based on its 2016 annual report are as follows for each of its Disney channels.
Domestic Channels
International Channels
While individual revenue for each channel was not publicly available, we were able to locate media network revenue as follows:
NICKELODEON
Pinwheel launched in 1977 and became Nickelodeon in 1979. Viacom, parent company of Nickelodeon has a goal to drive digital revenue. The company plans to use its live experiences as well as its consumer products business to push this drive. In addition, they have created a short-form content piece, which is its first-ever. This will feature existing programming as well as new content. Viacom reported that Nickelodeon kidsnet had its best performance in the past five years in the 6-11-year-old range.
An example of Viacom's live experiences includes its attempt to do augmented reality with the launching of a moon person. It had 20 million impressions and 2.4 million views on social media platforms in one week.
In 2015, the consumer products division is led by retail growth, mainly with the sales of the Nickelodeon brand. It opened a few stores with a new one in London. The consumer products division was valued at $3 billion. Viacom reported in late 2016 that it's 2015 consumer product sales were around $5.5 billion and it ranked them the ninth largest licensor in both U.S. and International sales. According to Statista in Spring 2017, Nickelodeon had 15.57 million within a period of 7 days.
While individual revenue for each channel was not publicly available, we were able to locate media network revenue as follows:
The 2016 report indicated that media network revenue accounted for the majority of the company's revenue at 79%, 78%, and 73% respectively for the fiscal years 2016, 2015 and 2014.
CARTOON NETWORK
Cartoon Network was started in October 1992. Cartoon Network is a channel of Turner Broadcasting Network which is owned by Time Warner. According to Christina Miller of Cartoon Network, they have a new digital strategy as of 2016. Its calling game jam its new idea. It's the first form of a game for them. In early 2016, they held their game jam festival in which they opened the game up. There were 200 independent developers in attendance, hacking and sharing ideas. They believe this open source developing will lead to a better creative digital strategy. They are trying to shoot the moon for more than one development source to build multiple platforms. Cartoon Network President says it will create elasticity for them.
Turner Broadcasting revenue for 2016 was $11.36 billion. This equates to 38% of the Turner's total revenue. Revenue for prior years is as follows:
ANIMAL PLANET
Animal Planet started in 1996. It now has over 94 million viewers. Animal Planet's parent company is Discovery Communications. They are teaming up with Dodo, with a powerful online audience. Dodo is regarded as a much-loved publisher on Facebook due to its massive audience. They have more than 20 million monthly page views and almost 2 billion monthly video views. Animal Planet is hoping to draw the big crowd with a linear television model. The team will air the six hour-long episodes in 2018. Viewers will be able to watch the world stories of people and what they will do to rescue animals. According to Statista in Spring 2017, Animal Planet had 30.39 million within a period of 7 days.
Additional digital strategy data wasn't publicly available after further research on articles pertaining to Animal Planet. It is just one of several channels that Discovery Communications has on its long list.
While individual revenue for each channel was not publicly available, we were able to locate distribution revenue as follows from the Discovery Communications annual report:
PBS KIDS
PBS Kids launched in 1994, so with over 30 years experience, the company is still trying to perfect its offerings to viewers.
The Public Broadcasting Network is all about learning with its two new mobile apps. They are designed for learning while playing games. While this isn't a new concept, they have interacted watching with playing. As mobile continues to be the big draw for consumers, the network is trying to capitalize on targeting children and using interactive marketing.
In addition, PBS has launched their mobile store where families can shop for merchandise. This has proved lucrative for both Disney and Nickelodeon so the network isn't afraid to dive in.
While the kids are playing games, the PBS app is recording mobile phone numbers entered in order to target consumers for future deals relevant to their needs. PBS plans to continue to launch apps that will educate and entertain its users.
PBS recently launched a new 24/7 service for children. It allows consumers to live stream digital channels. Viewers can do this through the pbskids.org website or on the PBS Kids app, which makes it available on mobile devices, tablets, as well as TV streaming devices like Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Firestick. PBS' strategy is to continue offering live streaming with integrated games so children can toggle back and forth. This provides for a single digital experience.
PBS reports that its monthly visitor total on its sites is 28 million. Of that, 8.4 million go to pbskids.org. Unfortunately, because of its size and number of channels, PBS does not publish individual data for revenue or for viewers. Revenue data included is for PBS as a whole not just the PBS Kids channel. Revenue listed is based on member assessments.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the top 5 TV/channels for children are Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, Animal Planet, and Cartoon Network. The viewer numbers are staggering for each of the channels, but on a 7-day basis, they range from 11 million to over 30 million depending on the channel. Individual channel revenue was not publicly available, however, we were able to locate media network revenue for each company. All the digital strategies were to utilize online resources for viewing, interactive games, and live streaming to mobile devices, tablets, and other streaming devices.