With 193 million subscribers, the musical preschool animated sequence “CoComelon” is the third-most-subscribed channel on YouTube. It’s additionally been one of many most-streamed children reveals ever, and it has been a mainstay on Netflix for the final 5 years. So why is Netflix letting it go to their largest rival in children programming, Disney?
Starting in 2027, Disney+ will start streaming “CoComelon” after Netflix declined to resume its license to the sequence. It’s the most recent in an ongoing battle of types over children programming which, for all of the “Squid Video games” and “Mandalorians” on the market, is immensely priceless for streaming retention. In the event you’re a guardian who relies on placing on an episode or two of “CoComelon” to maintain your child glad, there’s no method you’re cancelling your subscription.
By choosing up the license to “CoComelon,” Disney+ could have each the #1 and the #2 streaming sequence for youths, between it and “Bluey.” This time final 12 months, we wrote that Nielsen in 2023 reported “Bluey” was watched for 43.9 billion minutes on Disney+, and “CoComelon” was watched for 36.3 billion minutes on Netflix. Disney+ additionally has the #4 sequence, “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” (13.9 billion minutes), whereas Netflix had the #5 sequence “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” (12.8 billion minutes) which skews to a barely older viewers.
It stands to purpose that Disney+ can do for “CoComelon” what it did for “Bluey”: increasing the property with different spinoffs and doubtlessly rising it much more (a “CoComelon” film is already within the works from Common and DreamWorks Animation). There’s some alignment there too. “CoComelon” creator Moonbug Leisure is owned by Candle Media, which is run by former Disney exec Kevin Mayer.
A number of media stories from when the information broke over the Memorial Day weekend counsel Netflix nonetheless made a bid for the sequence however misplaced out to Netflix, however a supply instructed IndieWire that the streamer declined to resume its “CoComelon” license as a result of the sequence merely isn’t as common because it was.
Netflix launched 4 seasons of “CoComelon” in 2024, seasons 9 by 12, however in response to numbers shared by way of Netflix’s semi-annual “What We Watched” engagement stories, viewing hours for “CoComelon” declined roughly 60 % between the primary half of 2023 in comparison with the second half of 2024. By way of views, all eight mixed seasons of “CoComelon” within the first half of 2023 obtained 190.5 million views, in response to IndieWire’s learn of Netflix’s engagement report, whereas the second half of 2024 noticed simply 106.6 million views now for 12 seasons of the present. “CoComelon” Season 8 was additionally within the High 10 most-watched sequence on Netflix within the first half of 2023, however the largest season of the present in 2024 wasn’t even within the High 50.
Nielsen appears to have seen too. “CoComelon” was the #5 most-watched streaming sequence of 2023, however in 2024, it fell off the High 10 checklist. A supply instructed IndieWire that “CoComelon” was nonetheless watched for 22 billion minutes in 2024 (Nielsen combines viewing on Netflix and on YouTube), so it’s not as if it fell off a cliff, and it’s nonetheless the #4 present for youths ages 2-11. Sitting at #1 for 2024 nevertheless — amongst all sequence no much less, not simply children reveals — was nonetheless “Bluey,” now with 55.6 billion minutes watched. That’s some critical market share Disney is taking away, and people are spectacular numbers, contemplating “Bluey” episodes are roughly seven minutes lengthy.
Roughly 15 % of Netflix’s complete viewing comes from Children and Household, so it’s nonetheless an abundantly vital vertical for Netflix to maintain a maintain of. It’s had some success with movies like “Leo,” whereas others like “Spellbound” beneath its Skydance deal have struggled. Whereas it might love hits of its personal, the most important Netflix motion pictures per Nielsen’s annual 2024 rankings are licensed animated motion pictures from DreamWorks, together with “The Tremendous Mario Bros. Film,” “Minions,” and “The Boss Child.”
So how does Netflix intend to shut the hole? It does nonetheless have “CoComelon Lane,” which is an offshoot of the principle present that runs for 30-ish minutes fairly than the shorter chunks of “CoComelon” which might be packaged in hour-long episodes. Netflix believes that present, now with three seasons, has developed its personal viewers impartial of the flagship present, and the engagement report reveals that within the second half of 2024, the primary season of “CoComelon Lane” was watched for over 50 million hours, properly greater than any particular person season of “CoComelon.”
It additionally has “Blippi,” one other preschool present additionally produced by Moonbug. “Gabby’s Dollhouse” and “Peppa Pig” are different main properties it retains streaming rights to, and the budding “Ms. Rachel” is choosing up steam (not simply because she’s been talking out about Gaza).
However the massive X-factor Netflix hopes could be greater than “CoComelon”? “Sesame Road.”
Simply this month as Netflix misplaced “CoComelon,” it revived the long-lasting “Sesame Road” from potential cancellation and is revamping it for the streaming age. The present’s 56th season will probably be packaged in 11-minute tales fairly than the assorted sketches “Sesame Road” has all the time performed. But it surely is also including a whopping 90 hours of previous episodes of the present to its service which, simply as is the case with “CoComelon,” is essential for folks who don’t need their children crawling YouTube. That’ll actually assist cut back churn. “Sesame Road” launches on Netflix later this 12 months.
All that mentioned, “CoComelon” doesn’t change fingers for one more 12 months and a half, by which level your child may already be heading to kindergarten and graduating from “CoComelon,” “Bluey,” “Peppa Pig,” and the like. To which Paramount+ may add, have you ever heard of the #3 children sequence of 2023, “Spongebob Squarepants”?