WIRED: The Future of Children’s Television Isn’t Television

Once upon a time children’s programing was relegated to Saturday morning cartoons on a handful of television networks. Then, in the 1980s, cable television led to the addition of kid-specific channels – such as Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel – with more children’s content available on VHS tapes, and later DVDs, from rental services like Blockbuster and Family Video.

Today, however, children’s programing is available all day, every day and YouTube is busting out as the most popular platform.

“Time spent with YouTube is even higher than it is with streaming content,” UC’s children’s media expert Nancy Jennings tells WIRED in an article about the current and future state of children’s programing.

The article goes on to summarize the competition between YouTube and streaming services such as Netflix and Paramount who are all trying to capture the children’s programing market.

Jennings, a professor in the School of Communication, Film and media studies, is the  director of UC’s Children's Education and Entertainment Research Center and studies the impact of media on the lives of children and their families and public policies, and practices involved with children’s media.  Her research focuses on children's cognitive and social development and their use of media. 

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