To broaden its kids audience reach, Scholastic is hitting the market with its first-ever branded streaming app.
9 Story Media—which was acquired by the publisher last year—partnered with AVOD operator Future Today to launch the service in the UK, the US and Canada. It’s going live today on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, and will expand onto more platforms soon.
Called Scholastic TV, the app is focused on the publisher’s content and features more than 400 hours at launch, including shows based on top Scholastic IPs like Clifford the Big Red Dog and The Magic School Bus; the original Goosebumps series; Clifford’s Really Big Movie; The Baby-Sitters Club; and Animorphs. There are also a few classic 9 Story titles in the mix, such as Garfield and Barney & Friends.
The warm, old-school quality of the catalogue was intended, says 9 Story VP of digital and distribution Elianne Friend, to serve what Scholastic sees as a “strong demand for quality nostalgic content” in the market today. It also has a reliable appeal for parents of the app’s two to 12 target demo, who grew up with these shows.
Scholastic TV supports the publisher’s broader goal to have more of a multi-platform presence and create more access points into its classic catalogue.
It’s also the latest app from Future Today, which partnered with Chuck E. Cheese this summer to help launch the brand’s first set of FAST channels.






