Is YouTube Kids Dying?

Growing a YouTube brand is no easy feat. Add to that; limited growth tools and a lack of creator education/support and you have yourself YouTube Kids . Because of Brecky Breck , we have been involved in the kid's educational content scene for a few years now, and yet, we are still trying to find the right way to produce our content to last.

The way that our culture interacts with video content is ever-evolving, and the regulation over the way we can produce for kids is getting tricky. After the whole COPPA situation (to which we fully align & support), children's content creators have all but ventured away from YouTube and dispursed across the internet in hopes of finding a platform that will aid in the growth AND support of their brand.

There are many other content platforms, a few of which have been recruiting Brecky Breck to publish exclusively on their platform, but none yet hold the promise of distribution and longevity like YouTube Kids. We are hopeful for the future of YouTube Kids and want to help be a part of the new foundation of media for our children.

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What is YouTube Kids?

In 2015, way before the big COPPA situation, YouTube launched its little experiment to help differentiate between kids' content and the rest of their videos.

There was a lot of hype about this new Google/YouTube product, especially in the months leading up to the COPPA situation. However, most of the communication for the app was directed to the consumers and not the creators.

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Our Creator Journey

Although many other children's content creators took a huge hit from the COPPA situation, we were still new and not yet making any ad revenue from our channel. Because of this, we decided to continue as usual on YouTube with the hope of working with the new vision of YouTube Kids.

We spent the last three years producing and publishing content exclusively on YouTube all while keeping an eye out for any update from the YouTube Kids team. Every once in a while there would be an update to the YouTube Kids App interface, or maybe some changes to the terms of use, but no information for creators...

Then boom.... we were in. On a random day in August 2021, our views started to climb. Our views went from a stable 6,000 a day to 300,000+ a day. We had been taking a break from posting content, so we knew this surge was from something outside of our control. After inspecting our analytics, we were able to see the new view count coming in from the YouTube Kids Google "product."

It felt like we finally found the audience we were creating for, and the stats on our videos backed this feeling. Watch time is up, video retention is amazing, and overall discovery of the channel continues to climb.

The big question became "how in the world do we work with YouTube Kids now?" If not before, we now have a seat at the table, right? There is a plethora of information on the web about ways to engage with Youtube as a whole, but none of that information is relevant to the Kids App. There is no face and no apparent creator representation behind this particular YouTube department, other than a few general overview PDFs .

Without being able to have control and insight over our production through YouTube, we too will be forced to look elsewhere for publication of our work. This is mostly due to the lack of stability that arises from the absence of information. The main factor when looking into stabilizing a Youtube brand is control and insight of revenue.

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The Ad Problem

Let's talk about money. This seems to be a funny topic on YouTube. Big creators are hesitant to share their money situation, and upcoming creators hide their finances, often in hopes of appearing stronger and more attractive to prospective sponsorships. The biggest problem we face with Brecky Breck is that there is no real way of sustaining growth on the YouTube platform.

Before this summer's surge in views, we were making just over $100 a month. We saw an initial jump to $2k with steady month-over-month growth since. However, 0% of this income is from YouTube Kids. As it stands, there is no income from our engagement and views from the YouTube Kids app, and there are strict rules about sponsorship and ad placement in qualifying videos for YouTube Kids.

This puts us in a tricky position, as we want to support the growth of this program. To even think about covering our expenses, let alone start making enough to look into ways of investing in the growth of the channel, we have to start looking outside of the YouTube world.

Selling merch, creating our own subscription app, taking video sponsors...??? The challenge here is that our audience is young children. Breck and I are constantly fighting the balance of selling vs supporting. Where is the line between an integral children's entertainment/educational program and some individual or group chasing high-profit potential of this industry?

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Better Together

At this point, the best step forward is a step hand-in-hand with other like-minded creators. We have to come together to problem-solve and challenge each other as we navigate this new world of engagement for our youth. It's not about "making in" on YouTube. It's about applying healthy pressure towards integrity as the foundation for platforms like YouTube Kids start building their future. YouTube puts it best, as stated as their mission of the company overall:

Our mission is to give everyone a voice and show them the world. We believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share and build community through our stories.

Are you facing similar struggles? Are you in the Kids Entertainment and Education Industry? I would love to know what types of challenges you face. The best thing we can do is stay vulnerable and support each other as we align towards a bright future for the next generation of digital engagement.

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I am starting a LinkedIn Group for YouTube Kids Creators . I would love to have you join in the conversation: https://www.dhirubhai.net/groups/12597125/