Sony Pictures Television is looking for its next generation of viewers.
The studio’s children’s division has launched a YouTube hub called boyzuko aimed at children aged 3 to 8 that will offer them (and their parents) free access to some of Sony’s children’s content. The channel, which launched on Thursday morning, features episodes of series produced by Sony. Octonauts, The Creature Cases, Peter Rabbit and Chico Bon Bon: A monkey with a tool beltalong with clips, compilation videos, educational content, and shorts showing how to draw certain characters, among other offerings.
Kidzuko is part of a strategy by Sony Pictures Television — Kids, led by Joe D’Ambrosia, to reach young viewers where they are (which is usually YouTube) and introduce them to the studio’s content.
“The amount of time kids spend watching YouTube is growing every year,” said D’Ambrosia, executive vice president and general manager of SPT – Kids, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter“One of the reasons we wanted to launch Kidzuko is that almost 60 percent of kids are more likely to discover new IP on YouTube these days, so we knew we had to be there.”
Sony will look to expand Kidzuko with more content in the future, and the studio would also like to bring the brand to FAST channels and “things like Roblox and other areas where we know there are kids,” D’Ambrosia said. But since kids spend about a quarter of all their TV time on YouTube, according to Nielsen, that was the logical place to start.
The name Kidzuko came about as a result of market testing with children and parents, D’Ambrosia said: “We really wanted to choose a very distinctive name that would be fun for little ones to say. We tried numerous different nicknames for the channel and Kidzuko was the clear winner, because it made kids smile. They laughed and giggled when they said it, as did their parents.”
The YouTube channel is also part of a broader strategy by the studio to create global franchises from shows like Octonauts and The cases of the creatures (Both are also streaming on Netflix.) “We really want to make sure our shows can travel around the world to be successful,” D’Ambrosia said. The thr. “With Creature cases and Octonauts“Those two shows became huge hits because they were great for kids and to watch with their parents. We always look for a comedy element and we also want it to be playable for kids, as kids like to role-play the shows they watch. So we’re constantly looking for new ideas and exploring ways to build on some of the great, iconic IPs found in Sony’s library.”
