The revived Noggin subscription app is no longer just a video game hub where kids can explore new hobbies—it’s also now a library of creator-led videos that take those passions to the next level. 

Starting today with the launch of NogginTV, the newly independent app is getting into streaming content in a big way. This new feature is rolling out with 11,000 creator-led videos (roughly 1,500 hours) that relate to the hobbies it’s looking to help kids develop, such as baking, building and fashion. For baking, for example, NogginTV has licensed content from Lizzie Bakes Co. (1.3 million YouTube subscribers), Matthew Merril (2.6 million TikTok followers) and Matt Adlard (800,000 TikTok followers). 

The service includes a live channel that cycles through videos on a variety of topics, as well as themed channels where kids can select videos on specific topics like music, chess and nature. The company’s aim with NogginTV is to offer safe, ad-free content that’s all human-curated. 

The company is looking to license more titles from both the creator ecosystem and traditional TV producers and distributors, says CEO Kristen Kane. And Noggin also wants to work with studios to develop original content including micro-series and character-led formats. 

This push into short-form videos is the second part of a larger road map for Noggin that Kane shared with Kidscreen when the app launched in August. The long-term goal is to eventually create branded real-world experiences, where kids can go do the hobbies they’ve explored in the app in person. 

What the Noggin interface looks like with NogginTV integrated in. Kids can explore their passions through watching videos, and then play games that deepen their interests. Images courtesy of Noggin.

To stand out from competing streamers, NogginTV has brought in young, college-aged hosts to tee up the licensed content in an effort to steer away from a passive viewing experience involving the kind of endless scrolling that’s prevalent on social media, says Kane. For series like Top Five Music Edition and Best of the Internet, the hosts intro the videos, offering fun facts and serving as inspiring role models who help make the learning fun—as if they were just talking to a friend about something new.

It’s meant to emulate the feel of MTV in the ’90s, when hosts provided the lead-in to songs and guided young listeners to engage with the music, says chief experience officer Sean Farrell. It’s also a return to Noggin’s roots; the original platform featured Bill Nye the Science Guy as a host, adds Farrell. 

Noggin’s long-term strategy includes a plan to eventually feature user-generated content. The idea here is that its young users could make videos of themselves exploring their passions IRL or in the Noggin video game, and these clips would end up living in and among the other NogginTV content.

“This really is the beginning of NogginTV,” says Kane. “We want to help kids discover what they love and encourage them to actually do it.” 

The door is open for creators and businesses in the industry that want to be part of that mission, she adds. “There are opportunities for creators looking to reach kids in a safe way, partners who want more distribution, and people who want to develop new stuff.”