Edutainment. What is it? It is a broad term but in summary, it is video games, television programmes, or other material, intended to be both educational and enjoyable.

As a parent, the development of your own child is always at the forefront of your mind. Getting the balance of entertainment and education right is always difficult but the overarching desire of enrichment is what fuels both of these needs.

One brand that has gotten things right is CoComelon. An internet phenom and a YouTube giant. CoComelon has nearly 100m subscribers and nearly 100bn total channel views with a monthly average of 4bn. They have gone from independent content creators to a global edutainment brand, working with the likes of Jazwares and Moonbug branching out from strictly YouTube to merchandise other other avenues. They have leveraged their growth and have been put onto SVOD platforms such as Netflix in the past two months. The brand can be used as a blueprint for others in the edutainment space.

When looking at CoComelon, it can be quite difficult to understand why kids are so drawn to these videos. It is best to understand the demographic that is allowing their kids to view this content. Nearly 40% of CoComelon viewership is from women aged 25-34. These young mums will be juggling their day-to-day responsibilities such as working alongside childcare. The need for content which falls into the edutainment category will not get much higher than this in other demographics. CoComelon hits the nail on the head by offering kid-safe, educational and entertaining content which can be binge-watched. This approach of targeting the gatekeeper and child has made CoComelon the giant that it is today.

The transition that they have made over to Netflix in the last two months cannot be underplayed. Going from YouTube, a platform which has adverts, and may be deemed as unsafe by some, to a non-commercial platform which is overtly kid friendly is a massive pulling factor for parents and even more so to the young mums; data from Little Voices shows that SVOD is the most likely place that parents will go to find educational content.

Educational content that is binge-watchable, available on a platform which is deemed safe by the parent and can keep the child engaged for a good length of time are the ultimate requirements when it comes to the edutainment space. What this space does best and why it is growing so fast is it speaks to both the gatekeeper and the child, providing content that satisfies a dual need.

Figure 1 – Main sources of edutainment content

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