WildBrain Spark: Family Time

WildBrain Spark, a premium AVOD network aimed at kids and their families, offers a curated selection of titles in a brand-safe environment. The digital media company boasts a commanding presence on YouTube and YouTube Kids, where it has more than 200 million subscribers and over 160,000 videos under management across more than 800 kids’ channels. In addition to rolling out its own projects, WildBrain Spark partners with IP owners looking to connect with global audiences through original content, YouTube and consumer products.

“Kids and families increasingly expect their content to be accessible across multiple platforms and devices via the quick touch of a button,” says Jon Gisby, executive VP and managing director of WildBrain Spark. “The role of AVOD has evolved as a result, and it’s now a common denominator for content that is on linear and SVOD, by offering audiences an engaging catalog, promotional clips and complementary content to support and enhance their viewing.”

As the world has grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns resulted in many parents adopting work-from-home schedules and their children settling into remote learning, viewing habits have shifted. “Connected TVs [have] quickly outpaced all other types of devices as the primary way to watch video content,” says Gisby. WildBrain Spark’s recent report with nScreen Media found a 41 percent year-over-year increase of WildBrain Spark content watched on connected TVs.

“Kids are watching premium AVOD programming from us in the same way that they used to watch broadcast channels—for long viewing sessions on a big screen,” Gisby adds. “Furthermore, the co-viewing trend on connected TVs has been accelerated by the pandemic due to families being at home together and having time to discover more content options.”

WildBrain Spark’s international network “generates billions of views per month and reaches one in three kids globally on YouTube every 90 days,” according to Gisby. Using its expertise and data science, the company creates, distributes and monetizes content for kids and families via digital platforms. It can build audiences and revenue for IP owners’ existing content and create new digital-first IP while capitalizing on consumer-product synergies, particularly through its sister company WildBrain CPLG. WildBrain Spark’s advertising sales team provides access to its reserved network and ad solutions on YouTube for brands and agencies.

“YouTube is the largest provider of AVOD content and is now deeply embedded in consumer viewing habits,” explains Gisby. “Having an effective AVOD strategy means ‘always-on’ visibility for brands, and it opens up a world of viewing that can build and sustain audiences, keep fans engaged with catalog content or provide a cost-effective way to reinvent classic IP. AVOD is also an ideal ‘on-ramp’ for new IP and creative talent as it enables iterative content development, which is informed by viewer feedback and data.”

Kids’ content viewing is driving the success of AVOD services, and YouTube remains a way for kids and families to discover new brands, “with 44 percent of children saying they use the platform to find out more about something new to watch, read or play,” says Gisby. The discovery that YouTube enables is vital, with brand advertisers finding it challenging to reach kids and families amid audience fragmentation and the decline of linear ratings.

“Our research shows that nine in ten U.S. parents say free, ad-supported platforms are an important video source for their children, and despite the significant rise in subscription services last year—such as Netflix or Disney+—AVOD services continue to rapidly grow,” Gisby says. “Brand owners are turning to networks like WildBrain Spark for premium, brand-safe content and extensive audience reach, as well as being drawn to the co-viewing audiences.”

As WildBrain Spark rolls out new content in 2021, it also aims to leverage the deep data insights from its network to ensure that its offering is what its audience wants. Using this strategic approach, it has seen the growth of the Ellie Sparkles channels, which attracted an average of 42 million views monthly from September to November 2020, with a majority U.S. audience. WildBrain Spark also has a new series of Tiddlytubbies in 3D animation launching and is set to further develop the “pencilmation” series Boy & Dragon.

Opportunities abound for WildBrain’s future as it combines creative talent and data-science insights to inspire compelling digital content for kids, growing its relationship with brands and agencies and working closely with toy companies that are keen to utilize YouTube as a way to both launch and sustain brand popularity. “It’s shaping up to be a busy year for us, with exciting new content projects and collaborations in the pipeline,” says Gisby.