We’re now halfway through another decade (at least according to some readings of the calendar), and a lot has happened in the kids media landscape in the last five years. After recovering from a global pandemic that forced everyone onto their screens (and then back off them again), emerging technology has propelled the industry into yet another revolution. For many, the business still feels like it’s in the middle of a major transition, with everyone trying to find their equilibrium. It’s time to take stock of what’s changed, and maybe gain a little insight into what’s to come in the process.

Here are the 10 major kids entertainment trends that have defined the first half of this decade: 

Co-viewing 

Even after locked-down families were free again in the wake of COVID-19, they still wanted to watch TV & films together as a unit. Research companies have amply documented this trend,  with London’s Kids Industries finding in 2023 that half the time children are watching content, mom and dad are right there on the couch with them. And Precise TV and Giraffe Insights dug a little deeper to discover that YouTube surpassed TV and streaming services as the top co-viewing platform among British families. 

Roblox 

Despite being 19 years old, Roblox only started to pick up major steam after millions of kids flocked there during the stay-at-home era. Since this initial boom, the platform has skyrocketed to more than 151 million daily active users worldwide, surpassing subscriber numbers set by streamers like Disney+. That makes it a critical tool for kids brand owners looking to expand the reach of their franchises into digital gaming—but with millions of experiences already on offer, it takes a lot of hard work and effort for new entries to get noticed. 

The emergence of AI

While artificial intelligence isn’t new, the viral adoption of ChatGPT opened the floodgates to every industry looking to save money and improve efficiency by using AI tools. Kidscreen has chronicling the tech’s journey into the kids content space, from ROI in production to the creation of corporate AI policies. Like it or not, AI is here to stay. 

YouTube monetization 

Kids brand owners have been stuck in limbo trying to make sense of how to build revenue on YouTube since COPPA forced the platform to stop collecting data for kids videos. With targeted advertising disabled, content suppliers saw their revenue cut in half and scrambled to test new money-making strategies. But these challenges aside, the industry agrees that it’s crucial to continue having a strong presence on YouTube, because kids spend more than 100 minutes every day there, making the platform a prime launchpad for new brands. 

Toycos unite

The US toy industry has been battered by a combination of tariffs, inflation and slowing retail demand, but these challenges led to several major toycos putting aside their differences and coming together in co-branded collaborations. Hasbro and Mattel inked their first co-licensing deal back in 2023, and we’re still seeing this relationship going strong, with the rollout of a Play-Doh and Barbie collab earlier this year. (They even agreed to share master toy partner duties on KPop Demon Hunters, an arrangement that would have been unfathomable in the past.) Kidscreen has since reported on several other big brand mash-ups, including Care Bears and Hello Kitty, LEGO and Formula 1, and Transformers and Beyblade X. 

Mining YouTube for the next major entertainment brand

YouTube-first brands CoComelon and Blippi broke the mold when they jumped off the platform to spawn waves of other content and consumer products. Now all the major studios are combing YouTube to find emerging creators with family-friendly fandoms and the potential to expand into merchandise. Ms. Rachel and MrBeast have each done a bunch of business with ancillary partners, and Kidscreen recently highlighted six up-and-coming YouTubers who may be poiseed to take the spotlight next. 

Going green

What started in consumer products as a demand from parents for sustainably made toys has rapidly expanded into a much wider wide push to reduce humanity’s carbon footprint on the planet in all parts of the industry. Hitting certain carbon-neutral requirements can now net studios new funding and commissions, and government bodies are keeping toycos accountable with the creation of digital product passports. 

Stylized animation

Two back-to-back blockbuster successes for Sony’s Spider-Verse film franchise opened the industry’s eyes to the fact that family audiences don’t just want to watch polished animation that looks like Pixar made it; they’re craving more stylized aesthetics on the big screen. And hits like KPop Demon Hunters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and The Bad Guys all delivered. 

Gaming adaptations 

1993’s live-action Super Mario Bros. flop seemingly put the prospect of video game adaptations on ice for good. But fast-forward three decades, and these IPs started getting optioned left and right, thanks to industry icons Mario and Sonic kicking off a real boom. Warner Bros. set the highest box-office record for the genre this year with A Minecraft Movie, which raked in almost US$1 billion at the global box office. 

Representation

Back in 2019, UCLA and Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) reported that kids content creators weren’t doing enough on the diversity and representation front. The industry has made great strides to correct this since, with major players like Disney and Netflix rolling out many shows featuring racially diverse casts, LGBTQ characters and a wider range of body types. But seven years later, the overarching message remains the same: There’s still more work to do, and it’s more important now than ever to keep going. 

Honorable mention: K-pop goes international 

Whether it’s BTS or the fictional band Huntr/x, it’s safe to say that K-pop has entered the mainstream and will continue to hunker down there in the second half of the decade. Perhaps the genre’s biggest coup, KPop Demon Hunters was announced by Sony Pictures back in 2021 (check out its concept art), but it took the world by storm when it launched on Netflix earlier this year, becoming the streamer’s most-watched movie ever and taking the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Golden”.