Following a couple of very challenging pandemic years, the kids entertainment industry came back with gusto in 2022, delivering a wide range of creative content and ancillary products, and making good on diversity commitments. Now that the votes for this year’s Kidscreen Hot50 ranking are in, here are the industry’s picks for the hottest companies of 2022. 

In broadcasting, streamers Disney+, AppleTV+, Netflix and YouTube Kids all landed in the top five. But after tying Netflix for number-one status last year, Disney+ stood alone at the top of the heap this year, ending its rival’s eight-year domination in the category. It did so on the strength of its success at the 2021 Emmy Awards, better-than-expected subscriber growth and a commitment to commissioning inclusive content, such as Out of My Mind, a new movie spotlighting disability awareness based on the best-selling novel by children’s author Sharon Draper. 

As for other standouts, 9 Story Media Group—and its production arm Brown Bag Films—made the list in every category it entered, and was tops in both production and distribution. The company won its second production title in a row, thanks to key achievements including a deeper commitment to diversity both on screen and off. In the past year, 9 Story hired Farrell Hall as its first-ever chief inclusion officer, saw Karma’s World (pictured) land a 2022 NAACP Image Award nomination for best children’s program, and put together a 50% neuro-divergent cast and crew for upcoming live-action series A Kind of Spark. 

British animation house Aardman was the runner-up to 9 Story in production, and also placed in three other Hot50 categories, spurred by the growth of stalwart brands like Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, as well as new IPs Robin Robin and The Very Small Creatures.

In licensing, Canada’s WildBrain took the crown away from The LEGO Group, implementing a successful expansion in Asia Pacific, relaunching Strawberry Shortcake, and racking up more than US$2.5 billion in global annual product sales for Peanuts in 2021.

Meanwhile, Sesame Workshop broke PBS KIDS’s three-year winning streak in digital media with a strong YouTube-first content strategy and the launch of Learn with Sesame, a new SEL-based app developed in partnership with edtech company BEGiN.

This year also saw Pipeline Studios (Alma’s Way), Headspinner Productions (Gisele’s Mashup Adventures) and LEGO Creative Play Lab (LEGO City Missions) make it into the Hot50 ranks for the first time.

Here are the complete Hot50 lists by category for 2022:

BROADCASTING

1. Disney+
2. PBS KIDS
3. AppleTV+
4. Netflix
5. YouTube Kids
6. CBC Kids
7. TVOKids
8. BBC Children’s
9. Nickelodeon
10. WildBrain

PRODUCTION

1. 9 Story Media Group/Brown Bag Films
2. Aardman
3. DreamWorks Animation
4. Daily Madness Productions
5. Blue Zoo Animation Studio
6. Sinking Ship Entertainment
7. Atomic Cartoons
8. Ludo Studio
9. Fred Rogers Productions
10. Pipeline Studios

DISTRIBUTION

1. 9 Story Distribution International
2. WildBrain
3. Jetpack Distribution
4. Aardman
5. Hasbro/eOne
6. Sesame Workshop
7. BBC Studios Kids & Family
8. CAKE Entertainment
9. Boat Rocker Media
10. Sinking Ship Entertainment

LICENSING

1. WildBrain
2. The LEGO Group
3. The Pokemon Company International
4. Spin Master
5. 9 Story Brands
6. Funko
7. Aardman
8. Sesame Workshop
9. Mattel
10. Jazwares

DIGITAL MEDIA

1. Sesame Workshop
2. PBS KIDS
3. Moonbug Entertainment
4. WildBrain Spark
5. 9 Story Media Group
6. LEGO Creative Play Lab
7. Aardman
8. Headspinner Productions
9. Cartoon Network
10. Spin Master

These companies are featured in a special digital issue that’s now available for download. The number-one companies in each category will also be honored at the 2023 Kidscreen Awards ceremony, set to take place on Tuesday, February 14 during Kidscreen Summit in Miami.

Now in its ninth year, the Hot50 rankings are determined by an industry vote that Kidscreen’s 16,500-plus print and digital subscribers are invited to take part in.