Conservative media company The Daily Wire has launched a subscription-based app for kids with a mix of original shows and acquisitions, and it’s on a mission to spend US$100 million on children’s programming in three years. 

With subscriptions priced at US$99 a year, Bentkey launched on October 16 offering 162 episodes of animated and live-action content for preschoolers to teens. The streamer has produced four original series in-house this year, including three live-actioners. 

A Wonderful Day with Mabel Maclay (20 x 22 minutes) is a slow-paced co-pro with Matchbox Hero for the three-plus crowd in which Mabel and her puppet friends make crafts, sing songs and read books. Kid Fit Go!, which currently has two 10-minute episodes available, looks to inspire viewers of all ages to get moving and exercise. And in Kid Explorer (six x 10 minutes), a host tells historical stories about topics such as the invention of the telephone and Abraham Lincoln. 

The app also features a 2D-animated preschool series about a family of chinchillas called Chip Chilla (pictured, 12 x seven minutes), another Bentkey/Matchbox Hero co-production with animation services provided by Brazen Animation, Huminah Huminah Animation, Pure Imagination Studios and Zigzag Studio. VeggieTales writer Ethan Nicolle co-created the series with veteran animation writer Eric Branscum (Duck & Goose, Octonauts: Above & Beyond). 

Bentkey has acquired 13 other titles so far to flesh out its content library, including classic animation and puppet show Clangers (Factory Creates), adventure toon Runes (Les Armateurs), preschool series Counting with Paula (Omen Studios) and Tish Tash (Studio Gale and Karrot Entertainment). It also features YouTube-first series How Ridiculous, in which three Australians pull off crazy stunts, and Big Media’s Walking Wild nature series.

According to a spokesperson, Bentkey is looking to invest in more original and acquired content that targets preschoolers, teens and their families. 

The Daily Wire made headlines last year when it announced its commitment to spending US$100 million over three years on kids programming. The company is unabashedly looking to create alternative content for families that is “about values and all of the things on which politics are built later,” according to co-founder Jeremy Boreing, who has been particularly critical of Disney’s current content strategy. 

New episodes will roll out on Bentkey every Saturday, and The Daily Wire is in production on its first live-action feature film, Snow White and the Evil Queen, which is set to launch on the streamer in 2024. 

Bentkey is available on desktop, mobile devices and smart TVs including Amazon Fire TV, AppleTV and Roku. Ahead of the app’s launch, The Daily Wire had already started selling consumer products based on some of Bentkey’s original shows in its e-commerce store, including A Wonderful Day books and plush and Chip Chilla plush and puzzles.