- OTT platforms target kids
- Educational content or a lead to addiction?
- Are outdoor games going out of fashion?
Today’s universal and undeniable truth: along with learning to walk and speak, kids also learn how to unlock mobile phones and iPads. The OTT platforms have found a new audience for growth. An increasing number of children are attuned to digital devices. It is imperative for content creators and distributors to provide edutainment content tailored specifically for them. While Netflix and Prime Video have had a section dedicated for kids, many OTT apps from India have launched platforms exclusively for kids.
Children are making a sizable audience for OTTs and the platforms know that here is a market that is ripe for plucking. Parents to keep a child quiet will hand over their mobile phones or tablets with a Youtube channel opened. Children don’t care about the name of the brand, they just want entertaining and simple content.
As of December 2019, the YouTube Kids app saw over 100 million installs, while ChuChuTV Pro, ChuChuTV Lite and Voot Kids have been installed by over one million users each on Google Play Store. Voot Kids includes ebooks, audio books and quizzes, besides content from the TV channel Nickelodeon. Voot Kids subscription packages are priced at Rs.99/month (1 week free) and Rs.700/month (one month free). Hungama Kids has 2,000 minutes of video on its platform on topics ranging from general knowledge to science and mathematics. Hungama Kids’ subscription packages are priced at Rs.30 a month and Rs.300 a year, with an initial free trial offer for a day.
One of the major questions that has risen with the rise of ‘for kids OTT-platforms’ is ‘Can this be a cause of addiction?” An attractive content will consume a child’s attention and the child will be engaged with the OTT, at times for hours on end. This usage of platforms for entertainment which is marketed as ‘educational videos’ has blunted the kids’ desire to go out and play. Though concerned people say that it is unsafe or impossible for kids to play in urban cities, the penetration of Internet in small towns has also to some extent stopped kids from going out and playing. One thing that a product creator or a business house for kids can be sure of is the spending nature of Indian parents. High speed of internet connections has also worked in favour of these OTT platforms and with the rise of consumption of content in tier-2 and tier-3 cities 2020 will see a new direction in which these platforms are heading.
