Many publishers will of course continue to limit the amount of content available through subscription channels and then point to this self-fulfilling prophecy as proof there is no demand.
While publishers cling to traditional distribution models, other media continue to move with the times.
In the UK the children’s TV platform CITV will close this autumn, once its replacement ITVX Kids is rolled out across devices.
Per Animation Magazine, ITVX Kids will “consolidate the network’s 6-12s content into a streaming-only offering from early Autumn 2023, when the 40-year-old CITV linear channel will go off air.”
BARB viewing statistics show that in the UK the the average amount of broadcast TV minutes of kids’ TV channels watched by 4-15 year olds per week has declined by -62% since 2019, while unmatched viewing (home video, SVOD/AVOD, video sharing, etc.) has risen by +30% in the same period, “demonstrating the streaming first trend in kids viewing.”
Given the purchase of children’s books is primarily driven by parents, who show similar inclination to subscription consumption when the option is meaningful, it’s not rocket science to see where this trend is heading.
Many publishers will of course continue to limit the amount of content available through subscription channels and then point to this self-fulfilling prophecy as proof there is no demand.
But with the Resistor-in-Chief Markus Dohle no longer dictating industry trends through the leadership of PRH, we will hopefully see a more balanced position on digital books streaming emerge over the next year or two.
Read more about the ITVX Kids platform here:
