Kids streamer Sensical is looking to grow its library as new owner Cricket Media embarks on a multi-platform push. 

Since acquiring Sensical in February, the 50-year-old publisher of children’s magazines has been shaping up a new strategy for its streaming foray. For one, the company is planning a big original content push by mining untapped IPs from a decades-deep catalogue. 

CEO Eric Berger says the company is in early development on original series based on recurring characters in its magazines, such as Ladybug, Thud and Muddle. The Cricket team is currently working on locking down formats for the new content and will be seeking out production partners once the creative direction is firmed up.

The idea is to have a multi-platform approach from the get-go, with audio stories and a book rollout in the works. Sensical is also looking to acquire new formats for its library, with a focus on animation. “We are looking at short-form [programming], as this is at the heart of the content on Sensical and what kids are watching today,” Berger explains, adding that “read-along content,” where kids can play content as they read a book, is a format he’s interested in.  

Berger adds that Sensical is also looking to acquire family-friendly music videos from established artists and labels for a new music vertical on its platform. Stemming from a recent partnership with US music magazine Billboard, this will serve as an age-appropriate MTV of sorts. “This content will be supplemented with music-related preschool content for our youngest users, as well as long-form concerts and music-themed movies for our eight-plus viewers.”

The Billboard pact is a good example of the kind of strategic partnerships and new content opportunities Sensical wants to explore. The streamer is also planning multiple verticals, including hubs for science, sports and other “areas of passion for Gen Alpha,” Berger says.

To support its streaming shift, Cricket Media is also streamlining its longtime nine-magazine catalogue into four main magazines going forward: Cricket (for 9 to 14s), Spider (for six to nines), Ladybug (for three to six) and Babybug (for ages under three). The publications will drive readers to the streamer with QR codes that link articles to related series, specials and educational content. 

“Our programming team is curating playlists around what Gen Alpha loves, from DIY to animals to video games,” Berger says. “It’s a human-led process grounded in our child-development research, cultural insight and an obsession with performance data to optimize the content experience.”