Kids content on both Disney+ and Netflix is generating high-frequency viewing in Latin America, according to findings from BB Data.

The Florida-based research firm published a report called Is Kids Content a Key Subscription Driver? on December 4, with a breakdown of survey data collected throughout the year.

It shows that children’s programming did motivate regional subscriptions for both platforms. Netflix (47%) and Disney+ (48%) have penetrated a similar proportion of households with kids—but programming for this audience is a bigger deal for the Mouse House since 90% of Disney+ members say they watch kids content, versus 70% of Netflix users. (BB Data says this aligns with Disney’s more kid-forward brand position and its higher-volume children’s library.)

On both platforms, respondents cited animation, adventure and family as the genres they watch the most. A third of Disney+ subscribers (33%) say they tune into the platform’s kids catalogue on a daily basis, with a more or less equal number of Netflix subscribers doing the same (30%). 

Pixar dominated the most popular Disney+ kids content in LatAm for Q3, with both Inside Out films and last year’s Elemental (pictured) filling out the top three spots. Meanwhile, Netflix users in the region gravitated towards older acquisitions such as Sing 2 (2021), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) and The Boss Baby (2017) during the same period.

When respondents were asked to rate the functionality of both platforms’ kids profiles on a scale of one to five, Netflix won the day with higher scores for audio/subtitles (4.5), playback quality (4.5), profile navigation (4.4) and personalized recommendations (4.3)—compared to  3.7s and 3.8s for Disney+ in these same categories.

“This aspect could be pivotal in how each platform builds loyalty among family-oriented subscribers,” the report stated. “To retain family audiences, both platforms must continuously adapt to meet the needs of this essential user base.”

Looking at another recent data report, Netflix is projected to amass more than 54 million subscriptions in LatAm by 2030, which should be a market-leading position over Disney+, which is expected to reach 22 million (Statista, March 2024).