As with other sectors of the media industry, the kids\u2019 business felt the challenges of budget constraints and capturing audiences\u2019 attention in a crowded landscape throughout 2025. Known IP seemed to reign supreme as a result. Regardless of whether a program is based on a beloved IP or brand new, over the past couple of years, we\u2019ve heard about how important it is to be wherever kids are. In 2025, companies revved up their strategies to do just that, whether by putting out digital-first series on YouTube or delivering branded games and location-based experiences to engage kids away from the TV.<\/p>\n
Throughout the year, many companies introduced games based on their IPs on Roblox, Nex Playground, Minecraft and other platforms. BBC Studios lined up quite a few for\u00a0Bluey<\/em>, including\u00a0a LEGO mobile game<\/a>,\u00a0a story-driven adventure game<\/a>\u00a0available on the App Store and Google Play Store and\u00a0a motion-powered game<\/a>\u00a0on Nex Playground. BBC Earth\u00a0debuted a game inspired by\u00a0<\/a>Walking With Dinosaurs<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on Minecraft. Mattel\u00a0launched the console and PC game\u00a0<\/a>Hot Wheels Let\u2019s Race: Ultimate Speed<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0expanded its partnership with Roblox<\/a>\u00a0to introduce new games based on its brands, beginning with a\u00a0Monster High<\/em>\u00a0experience. Other launches on Roblox included\u00a0Sesame Street: Neighborhood Adventures<\/em><\/a>\u00a0from Sesame Workshop,\u00a0Winx Club: Magix<\/em><\/a>\u00a0from Rainbow and\u00a0Fixies vs Glitch Boss<\/em><\/a>\u00a0from Animotion Media. Roblox also\u00a0launched a licensing platform<\/a>\u2014the Roblox License Manager\u2014to enable creators to tap into select IP. Its inaugural partners included Lionsgate, Netflix, Sega and Kodansha.<\/p>\n Companies also helped kids engage with their brands via stage shows and location-based experiences. BBC Studios\u00a0facilitated the return<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Bluey\u2019s Big Play<\/em>\u00a0live stage show to the U.K. and Ireland.\u00a0Gabby\u2019s Dollhouse Live!<\/em>, a stage show based on DreamWorks Animation\u2019s\u00a0Gabby\u2019s Dollhouse<\/em>,\u00a0was announced for the U.K.<\/a>\u00a0El Reino Infantil organized tours of\u00a0Zenon The Farmer<\/em>\u00a0shows in\u00a0the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Peru<\/a>. Boat Rocker Studios\u00a0planned a tour<\/a>\u00a0for its teen drama\u00a0The Next Step<\/em>. Other location-based experiences announced throughout the year included a\u00a0Totally Spies!<\/em><\/a>\u00a0activation<\/a>\u00a0at trampoline parks in the U.S., a\u00a0Care Bears<\/em><\/a>-themed playground<\/a>\u00a0in the U.S. and an\u00a0immersive\u00a0<\/a>Bluey<\/em><\/a>\u00a0experience<\/a>\u00a0at Italy\u2019s Leolandia theme park. Mattel even\u00a0revealed plans for the development<\/a>\u00a0of five destination waterparks integrating its brands.<\/p>\n YouTube was another key part of companies\u2019 strategies in 2025. The popularity of YouTube as a platform was evident as multiple kids\u2019 IP channels reached milestones this year. The\u00a0Bluey<\/em>\u00a0YouTube channel\u00a0passed 10 million subscribers<\/a>\u00a0in March, and it currently sits at nearly 13 million. In June,\u00a0PAW Patrol<\/em>\u2019s also\u00a0surpassed 10 million subscribers<\/a>, and now counts nearly 11 million. The channel for\u00a0Mr Bean<\/em>, which features content from\u00a0Mr Bean: The Animated Series<\/em>\u00a0alongside other content from the long-running franchise,\u00a0reached a whopping 35 million subscribers<\/a>. With this kind of success, other companies have expanded their YouTube strategies to get a piece of that pie, too.\u00a0Sesame Street<\/em>\u00a0extended its partnership<\/a>\u00a0with the platform, which will house the largest digital library of content from the show. Hidden Pigeon Company\u00a0signed an agreement<\/a>\u00a0that will see the Little Dot Studios U.S. team provide strategic and channel management services for the Mo Willems Workshop YouTube channel.<\/p>\n There was also a wave of content produced strictly for YouTube as well. At the start of the year, Nickelodeon debuted its first original animated series for the platform:\u00a0Kid Cowboy<\/em><\/a>. Paris Hilton\u2019s 11:11 Media, HappyNest Entertainment and 9 Story Media Group premiered their series\u00a0Paris & Pups<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on the platform. Mattel Television Studios launched\u00a0Barney\u2019s World: I Love Me Too<\/em><\/a>, a 23-minute special, on the Barney the Dinosaur YouTube channel.<\/p>\n The aforementioned special from Mattel is part of the company\u2019s revival of the classic\u00a0Barney & Friends<\/em>, which it debuted in 2024. 2025 saw its fair share of revivals as well.\u00a0Phineas and Ferb<\/em>\u00a0returned in June<\/a>\u00a0on Disney Channel and Disney XD.\u00a0The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball<\/em>, billed as a continuation of\u00a0The Amazing World of Gumball<\/em>,\u00a0arrived on Cartoon Network and Hulu<\/a>. Sky Kids brought the Maisy mouse character\u00a0back to life<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0My Friend Maisy<\/em>. Disney Jr.\u00a0premiered\u00a0<\/a>Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+<\/em><\/a>, a \u201cplussed-up\u201d version of\u00a0Mickey Mouse Clubhouse<\/em>, which ended in 2016. And Kartoon Studios is\u00a0breathing new life into Winnie the Pooh<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Hundred Acre Wood\u2019s Winnie and Friends<\/em>, which comes from a creative team featuring executive producer Linda Woolverton, creative director John Rivoli and composer Danny Elfman.<\/p>\n There was an abundance of book adaptation news throughout the year, too. Apple TV premiered a\u00a0Lulu Is a Rhinoceros<\/em><\/a>\u00a0special and series based on\u00a0Not a Box<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Sisters Grimm<\/em><\/a>. BBC Children\u2019s and Education greenlit adaptations of\u00a0Dexter Procter: the 10-Year-Old Doctor<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Crookhaven<\/em><\/a>. Disney Jr. and Disney Channel lined up\u00a0Hey A.J.!<\/em><\/a>, based on the children\u2019s books by former Super Bowl champion Martellus Bennett. Netflix nabbed the rights to Amy Sherman-Palladino\u2019s live-action\u00a0Eloise<\/em><\/a>\u00a0film adaptation. Near the end of the year, Paramount+ gave series orders to Hidden Pigeon Company\u2019s\u00a0The Elephant & Piggie Show!\u00a0<\/em><\/a>and\u00a0<\/a>The Pigeon Show! Starring the Pigeon<\/em><\/a>, based on Mo Willems\u2019 books.<\/p>\n As mentioned earlier, being wherever kids are is of the utmost importance. The most extreme cases of strategy shifts to keep up with the children of today were a host of closures. Corus\u00a0shuttered five of its kids\u2019 networks<\/a>, WildBrain\u00a0closed down its television channels business<\/a>, NBCUniversal\u00a0sunsetted the Universal Kids channel<\/a>\u00a0and Sky\u00a0ceased kids\u2019 commissioning<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can catch up on all of the kids\u2019 news of last year and stay up-to-date on this year\u2019s articles by visiting\u00a0TVKids.com<\/a>\u00a0and subscribing to\u00a0TV Kids Daily\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0TV Kids Weekly\u00a0<\/em>for free\u00a0here<\/a>. And stay tuned for the sixth edition of the TV Kids Festival, running from February 17 to 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A review of the top news stories in the kids\u2019 business last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":31089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,21],"tags":[2898],"class_list":["post-31088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-tv-kids","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n