Why subscribers cancel 

It’s not just a lack of kids content or the price. The results of a survey from Hub Entertainment Research and CTAM show that more than a third (36%) of consumers have canceled a subscription because they were frustrated by the user experience. A lesson for streamers: It’s not enough to build an app with a ton of exclusive content, it also has to be enjoyable and easy to use. (TheWrap)

Anime Expo highlights the genre’s boom

The LA event put a stamp on the year of global growth that anime is experiencing right now. Even Crunchyroll’s execs at the event say they’re “just starting” to realize how global the genre has become, and how it has penetrated into mainstream culture. (Variety)

Demon Slayer thinks global

Meanwhile, Demon Slayer is setting the pace for anime. Aniplex, the studio behind it, has a new president who’s armed with ambitious plans for the company and its franchises after the latest Demon Slayer film proved its demand by earning almost US$800 million at the global box office. As a refresher, Kidscreen did a dive on the film and other similar IPs that have taken off. (Variety)

Tilly Norwood is ready for her closeup 

London-based Particle6, the studio that has made digital kids content for the BBC and the Sky Kids series Look, See, Wow!, is preparing to bring actor Tilly Norwood into a feature film. The catch: Tilly is an AI-generated actor. Particle6 previously made headlines (and drew a lot of criticism) over Tilly, and it’s happening again, now that Tilly is set to star in the studio’s live-action/AI-produced coming-of-age film Misaligned. (THR)

Minions box office is meh

Minion & Monsters led the Fourth of July weekend with a US$61-million debut since Wednesday, falling short of the anticipated US$80-million five-day opening and marking a significant drop for the comedic franchise compared to its past releases. Are the Minions losing their box office might? (Variety)

Streamers unite…over paying less

Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ have linked arms to appeal the French government’s plans to introduce new content spending obligations. Netflix France’s content chief even took to a local newspaper to say the requirements, which would include an obligation to spend on French and European animation, “cross a line.” (Broadcast Now)

Disneyland hits a billion

The California park, which is almost 71 years old, has welcomed its one billionth guest. While investors and shareholders are concerned about the growing costs of theme park visits, this milestone shows there’s still major potential in parks. (Deadline)

WiT recognizes Westin

Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment plans to honor Sherrie Westin, president & CEO of Sesame Workshop, with a Global Impact Award. It’s also giving Steve Totzke, president and executive advisor at Mattel, the Inclusive Leadership Award. WiT is handing out these trophies during its 2026 Wonder Women Awards in September.

Wake up, advertisers

Moonbug’s Dan’l Hewitt says that while 25 percent of all screen time in North America is family content, the genre “represents only four percent of ad investment,” and argues that it’s time for advertisers to re-engage with kids content and recognize that parents aren’t a niche audience; they make up 40 million households in the US. (THR)

…and yet…

Industry consultant Emily Horgan points out that it’s not in YouTube’s interest to improve the ad landscape for kids content, because while COPPA decimated kids creators’ revenue by 70 percent, its implementation “didn’t even dent” the platform’s overall revenue growth. (The Kids StreamerSphere)

Midjourney’s challenge

After Disney, WBD and NBCUniversal sued AI firms to stop them from generating images of their copyrighted IPs, Midjourney is asking a judge to force the studios to reveal how much they’re using AI internally. The studios responded that what they do behind the scenes isn’t relevant to Midjourney’s consumer-facing model. (Variety)

Another Moana

Dwayne Johnson confirmed in a press conference that Moana 3 is in the works, with Disney Animation Studios CCO Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller penning the screenplay. Moana 2 brought in more than US$1 billion in ticket sales, and the live-action Moana remake is expected to be one of the biggest movies of the summer.

Anime licensing

Kun Gao, the founder and former CEO of Crunchyroll, has launched a new B2B platform AniBiz, billed as a digital-first solution to help streamline the “uniquely complex” process of anime licensing. The website is now open to all global buyers and licensees. (Variety)

MIPJunior programming

The annual market and conference running October 10-11 before MIPCOM in Cannes will be headlined this year by media strategist Evan Shapiro and Animaj co-founder Gregory Dray, who recently launched Lumee, a joint-venture with Hasbro that promises to solve kids content monetization on YouTube and recently took on Disney as a client.

Bye-bye physical

Sony is embracing a digital-only gaming future with physical disc production for PlayStation games officially set to end in 2028—a much faster phase-out than most analysts expected, fast-tracking a framework for consumers to rely solely on digital downloads. 

Feeling spooky?

The Halloween & Costume Association has opened up submissions for the Spooky Awards, which were launched in 2024 and recognize Halloween-themed excellence in a variety of categories, like costumes, masks and accessories.

Alona Abt

The industry is mourning the loss of kids media veteran Alona Abt. The founder of Israel’s Hop! Media Group passed away last week at the age of 67 after a long battle with cancer. Sesame Workshop CEO Sherrie Rollins Westin shared a tribute, remembering Abt as a visionary leader who “believed that children’s media could foster greater understanding and empathy across cultures.”

Illumination lawsuit

A screenwriter is suing Illumination over the 2023 kids film Migration, alleging that the Mike White-penned screenplay has “substantial similarities” to his own 2007 script, South for the Winter. Last year, a similar case regarding Moana ended with the jury absolving Disney of any copyright infringement. (THR)

KIDS Act moves forward

The US House of Representatives has passed the controversial KIDS Act, a legislative package that would require online platforms to do more to ensure kids’ online safety, including limiting addictive features. The legislation has many detractors who feel it’s too soft on techcos, or won’t do enough to protect kids. The bill now heads to the Senate, where lawmakers have signalled support for stricter regulations on platforms. For more context, check out Kidscreen’s breakdown of how to stay KOSA/COPPA compliant. 

Box-office heat

The scorching heatwave across the UK and Europe has left kids and families craving the relief of air-conditioned theatres more than ever—and it appears to be translating into increased ticket sales for recent releases like Toy Story 5, which received a strong mid-week bump in UK admissions, according to Variety.

Ban efficiency

How is Australia’s world-first under-16s social media ban working out? A new study suggests that it’s still business as usual, with roughly 85% of kids still using platforms. As more countries follow Australia’s footsteps, the findings raise questions about the efficiency and practicality of bans—leaving more question marks for kids brands, tech giants and young internet users. 

Supergirl stumbles

The latest installment of the DCU has grossed around US$68 million globally in its opening weekend. A disappointing result for the Girl of Steel but DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran is remaining confident in the overall strategy of the cinematic universe, which has a Man of Tomorrow sequel due next year plus new Krypto content for the kids. (NYT)

Threequel buzz

Paramount Pictures has revealed the official trailer for The Angry Birds Movie 3, offering a first glimpse at protagonist Red dealing with the chaos of fatherhood. Arriving nearly seven years after the second film, the threequel is targeting a lucrative holiday season release slot, hitting theaters on December 23.

Comcast to spin off NBCUniversal

Comcast plans to spin off NBCUniversal into a standalone media company that will include DreamWorks, Peacock, Universal Studios and Sky, separating its entertainment assets from its broadband and wireless business. The move gives NBCUniversal greater freedom to compete, acquire and potentially become an acquisition target itself. (THR) 

Australian assessment

Research firm Ampere’s commissioning report puts numbers and charts to the rough reality for kids producers down under: Australian free-to-air commercial broadcasters have virtually abandoned kids content commissioning, leaving the ABC to account for 72% of all series orders since 2023. And while the country’s kids content doesn’t get the same investment as other genres, it tends to travel overseas more.

Paramount games

Weeks after Paramount launched an internal games studio to focus on its IPs, the studio’s EVP says that reaching Gen Alpha is a goal—including through Roblox—and clarifies that it’s looking to co-develop with smaller studios because not every game needs to be triple-A. (GI.biz)

On the road again

It’s official—after Eddie Murphy teased a Donkey-centric Shrek spinoff last year, Donkey has been announced from DreamWorks Animation and it’s dated for June 2028, about a year after the nostalgic IP drops its fifth mainline entry next summer. 

Aquamarine revival

After Disney Kids & Family spoke at Annecy about its strategy to attract tweens with serialized adventures, the kids giant has ordered a pilot for a series revival of the cult 2006 film Aquamarine for Disney+ and Disney Channel. (Variety)

Paramount-WBD merger

After reports that Paramount was open to selling off its kids channels if that’s what it took to get the greenlight from the European Commission for its US$111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, new reports say that the deal is on the verge of being cleared by the EU.

Supergirl outlook

Toy Story 5 is on a box office roll, and it’s starting to look like the Pixar franchise entry is on track this weekend to crush WBD’s follow-up to last year’s DCU reboot debut Superman. (Deadline)

ITV sale

Following reports last year that the UK’s ITV might sell its broadcast ​and streaming unit, including its dedicated ITVX Kids hub, to the Comcast-owned Sky, Reuters is reporting that Sky has agreed to terms to buy the unit.

YouTube settles

After high-profile court losses for Meta and Google and as countries around the world begin announcing bans on social media for kids, YouTube has settled with a Florida teen alleging tech giants intentionally designed their platforms to be addictive. The case is still proceeding against Meta, TikTok and Snap.

Instagram streaming

And speaking of Meta, Instagram may be diversifying away from social media by exploring how to compete with streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime as it rolls out features to support longer-form episodic content on its TV app. (TechCrunch)

Toys”R”Us Canada sale

After going up for sale this spring, the courts have approved the sale of the Toys”R”Us trademark in Canada to Ad Populum, owner of collectibles maker National Entertainment Collectibles Association. (ToyBook)

AccessCBC applications

AccessCBC, the pubcaster’s national program for supporting emerging deaf and disabled creators, has opened applications for its fourth iteration. There’s a stream for kids projects, and in previous years series have received stipends for development funding, as well as training opportunities. The deadline for submissions is July 9.

Box office

Toy Story 5—which is all about the push and pull between toys and screens that’s key to the kids industry—just had the best domestic opening of the year, with $160 million at the North American box office, and a giant $312 worldwide. It’s a record for the franchise and another reminder that Gen Alpha and PG-rated films are becoming dominant forces in cinemas.

Netflix + TF1

The game-changing carriage deal between Netflix and TF1, in which users in France can view the broadcaster’s content directly on the streamer, officially kicked off this weekend. The partnership inspired a wave of similar deals in Europe and beyond and could help both companies retain a strong kids audience.

Kavaleer’s new office 

Irish animation studio Kavaleer Productions, which previously announced the CBeebies series MaeBee with Karrot Entertainment and its first movie, is launching its first overseas office in the UK in Manchester.

2D vs. CG

Ampere Analysis released a graphic comparing which styles of kids shows are released by which type of commissioner, with public broadcasters preferring 2D animation (at 62%) and streamers preferring CG animation (at 57%).

Gabby’s Dollhouse spin-off

A new Gabby’s Dollhouse baking and crafting competition show is coming to Netflix later this year. Gabby’s Dollhouse was the fourth-biggest series on Netflix in H2 2025, with 108 million views, according to the streamer.