There’s a new US streamer for kids in the market, and it’s soft-launching with 2,500 videos, which is only a taste of what it wants to offer children and families.

The Miami-based SVOD Mercury Kids is available on iOS and Android devices in the US, and has already lined up a large catalogue of English-language videos from the likes of ACTF (Hardball), PGS Entertainment (Mini Smiley), Studio 100 (Mia & Me, Heidi) and Mediawan Kids & Family (The Three Musketeers). Some of the other titles it has include animated series Baby Einstein, Miffy and Plim Plim.  

Despite the impressive lineup, the streamer still wants to double the amount of content it has to more than 5,000 videos, says Laura Tapias, a spokesperson who was involved in the early development of Mercury.  

Mercury Kids is working as an aggregator at the moment, and curates its programming across three categories: Little Kids (three- to seven-year-olds), Big Kids (eight to 12) and Movies & Family Time. The streamer is looking to add titles with a focus on live-action and content for eight to 12s, as well as family movies. 

Producers, distributors and IP owners looking to connect with Mercury Kids can email orbit@mercurytv.me

The app, which plans to expand to connected TVs, is starting out with content that has universal and “soft” values, like friendship and fun. Over time, the plan is to expand into content that touches on topics like religion (it already has the faith-based series God’s Gang) and sexuality, so the app can become a tool to help parents talk to their kids about these subjects, Tapias adds. 

The streamer’s goal is to give parents a safer, more kid-friendly alternative to platforms like YouTube. And it’s aiming to give content creators and IP owners a new way to reach kids. “We provide analytics and are actively in conversations with broadcasters, brands and other kids-focused streaming services to join the platform,” Tapias says.

The app is in soft-launch mode now, meaning it’s still adding features and upgrading its user interface, with new content being added weekly. 

Consumers can pay US$5 per month to access the content for three to sevens, or US$10 per month to access all the programming.  

Images courtesy of Mercury.