Americans have been diligent in their efforts to stay home during the age of social distancing. That goes for adults and children alike while offices and schools across the country remain online-only. As parents start to realize why they weren't already homeschooling their kids, the temptation to set them in front of the TV and let them numb their minds on cartoons has been steadily growing. Despite this, cable networks directed at kids like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon have seen a decline in ratings compared to the same weeks last year, according to a recent report by Variety. With a decline in viewership during a time like this, cable execs are likely feeling the pressure of a potentially dwindling business.
Cable networks have been fighting for survival for a few years now, as competition from internet-based media services grows. However, cable has always relied on networks that serve a niche audience to support their various channel packages. One of the arenas in which cable has retained it's dominance is children's programming.
Kids don't represent the key demographic of consumers that most advertisers are trying to reach. There's a limit to the amount of products that can effectively be marketed to children, as cynical as it may sound. As a result, only a fraction of media is built specifically for a younger audience. For a time, Saturday morning was the only slot during the week where television as directed specifically at kids. However, a lot has changed since then.
The growth of cable saw the rise of networks entirely devoted to children's programming, and they ran every day of the week. Now, streaming has started to catch up. Netflix has been beefing up its animated offerings for awhile with original series ordered from DreamWorks TV. The service also offers parental controls for different profiles, similar to what cable has been offering for years.
Netflix is far from the only service encroaching on cable TV's territory, however. The launch of Disney+ shook up the entertainment industry earlier this year. With the service came thousands of classic titles aimed at younger audiences, including series from Disney Channel and classic animated films from Walt Disney Animation.
Aside from Disney, ViacomCBS has seen significant growth with its CBS All-Access service. The streamer -- which so far has had only limited success because of its original series, Star Trek:Picard -- gained traction due to the availability of classic Nickelodeon shows on the app.
Even the preschool demographic is turning toward streaming, with Netflix in particular embracing shows targeted at this age group. In turn, this dulls another edge of kids' networks, which rely on their morning and early afternoon programming blocks to reach children who are too young to be in school.
Although the news that children's programming isn't flourishing on cable may initially seem surprising, it appears that it's more of a reshuffling of where kids are watching their shows rather than a decline in overall viewership. In other words, this likely doesn't spell doom and destruction for Disney's children's entertainment empire.
What at first seems like an indictment on these networks failing to provide good content for their target audience is actually a reflection of greater changes to the landscape of the entertainment industry. It doesn't matter if Nickelodeon's audience starts watching more CBS All Access or if Disney Channel viewers switch over to Disney+.
That said, the news is definitely concerning for cable providers, which continue to lose their leverage as studios attempt to cut them out of the picture. Cable across the board has been impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the continued rise of streaming services. The loss of live sports, which is a major draw for cable subscribers, has a serious impact on the viability of cable television. We're quickly approaching a time when cable in its current form will no longer exist, and the stay at home ordinances around the country seem to be accelerating that change.
Kids aren't watching their cartoons on cable, but for parents, the good news is that they still have plenty of content to keep them busy between their online classes.