The WIT Kids Garden at TV Kids Summer Festival

Bertrand Villegas showcased exclusive data from The WIT about the linear, streaming and social video brands making waves with kids at the TV Kids Summer Festival today.

Villegas is co-founder of The WIT, which is specialized in research and information on TV programs worldwide. You can see Villegas’ The WIT Kids Garden presentation here.

“Kids watch the content, they remix the content, they co-create the content and then they rewatch this content,” Villegas said.

Hot properties highlighted by The WIT Kids Garden include Netflix’s Wednesday, with kids remixing the music from an iconic dance scene in the show. “They created new content on TikTok and other social media.”

James Charles, a beauty influencer, made The WIT’s selections with his 37.6 million followers on TikTok, more than 23 million on YouTube and almost 22 million on Instagram.

In a similar vein is Korean influencer Seungbini, who “mixes beauty with humor,” Villegas said, and Nikkie from the Netherlands, whose YouTube channel has 14 million followers. “She pivoted from social media to TV on NPO Zapp,” Villegas said of the show Nikkie’s Makeup Mansion. “She was able to translate her social media content to a TV show with a makeup competition.”

Gaming and sports are also key, Villegas said, highlighting the African animated series Jay Jay: The Chosen One on Showmax. “He looks like a superhero and a video game character,” Villegas said.

Moving to Twitch, The WIT Kids Garden highlights the gamers Ninja, who has 18.5 million followers on that platform, and close to 24 million on YouTube; and Spain’s AuronPlay, with more than 15 million Twitch followers and 44 million on YouTube.

Villegas said that comedy is also a key category for young ones, with The WIT Kids Garden highlighting the NPO Zapp series Verboden te Lachen, calling it a “smart way for a linear channel to reuse viral content and make a TV show out of it.”

“Pranks are all over YouTube,” Villegas continued, highlighting SMOL (almost 20 million subs) and South Korea’s KIMPRO (almost 10 million).

Highlighting the global interest in Korean pop culture, The WIT Kids Garden selected the HBO Max Brazilian live-action series My Magic Closet. “It tries to capitalize on the craze for K-pop stars. It’s about a teenage girl who finds a magic portal in her closet to the dorm of the biggest K-pop group in the world.”

CBC Gem’s Macy Murdoch made The WIT’s selections. The tween spin-off of Murdoch Mysteries reflects an “interesting strategy for a broadcaster to work with their IP.” Villegas then highlighted another live-action series, this one from Australia: ABC Me’s Turn up the Volume, set at a music camp and featuring a diverse cast. Also making the cut is CBBC’s A Kind of Spark, focused on an autistic 11-year-old.