Research highlights need for a new approach to serving children local media

Comprehensive research into the ways children in New Zealand access media and the content they consume highlights a growing need to meet them on the platforms they use.

NZ On Air, along with Te Māngai Pāho, has just released the latest update of the Where Are The Audiences research series, which focuses on children aged 2-14 years. Verian conducted in-home interviews with families across the country, followed by a survey of 1,024 parents and their children in September this year.

The research found:

• The most used media platform by children is YouTube – 69% use YouTube or YouTube Kids on a daily basis.
• Netflix is used daily by 36% of children and Disney+ 16%.
• The total daily reach of local TV
  (all linear and on demand) is 41%.
• 39% of children play online games daily and 24% use social media.
• The media activity children spend the most time on daily is playing online games – on average 1 hour and 29 minutes.
• Children spend on average one hour and 11 minutes daily on YouTube or an overseas streamer.
• Only 50% of children are engaging with local content at all – 43% of parents say they don’t know where or how to find it.
• Parents describe the top benefit of local content as being relatable stories and characters (39%).
• Parents describe the top benefit of te reo Māori content as helping children learn about and respect Māori culture (44%).
• Māori and Pacific children particularly enjoy te reo Māori content, with 52% of tamariki saying that it is fun and interesting.

NZ On Air Chief Executive Cameron Harland says the research highlights the difficulties in reaching young audiences.

“While younger children may be influenced by their parents, older children have a lot of freedom to choose where and how they consume. In an increasingly fragmented media landscape we need local content on multiple platforms for children to discover,” said Harland.

“While those tamariki who watch local and te reo Māori content value and enjoy it, the challenge is ensuring our content remains highly visible, accessible and appealing to audiences, in all the places children and caregivers expect to find it,” says Larry Parr, Kaihautū of Te Māngai Pāho.

Off the back of the research, NZ On Air has announced the launch of a new hub for local children’s content on YouTube and YouTube Kids called KIDOGO.

Content funded by NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pahō can now be found on two YouTube channels aimed at distinct age ranges. KIDOGO Junior has content for pre-schoolers, while KIDOGO is aimed at primary-school kids. The channels provide an additional avenue for content discovery, complementing local platforms.

NZ On Air Head of Funding Amie Mills says KIDOGO is designed to provide children and their caregivers with a safe and easy place to access age-appropriate local kids’ content, on a platform they are already using.

“With 69% of children using YouTube daily, amid a vast amount of global content, many children and caregivers said they struggle to find local content. KIDOGO addresses the discoverability challenge and forms part of our wider approach to ensuring tamariki can find the content we fund,” said Mills. 

"All of this content is or has recently been on local platforms like TVNZ+ and Sky. KIDOGO offers children another way to discover stories that reflect our kiwi humour, te reo Māori, values and familiar places. It also lets producers build direct audience relationships and create content native to YouTube. Pre-schooler show Toi Time is a great example as it thrives on TVNZ+ while also growing its YouTube audience with music videos and shorts designed for the platform," she continued.

Parents are reminded to either use the child-safe app YouTube Kids for younger children to view KIDOGO or KIDOGO Junior, or to set up a supervised experience on YouTube for their older children.

The full research report is available here.
Qualitative report is available here.
Infographic summary is available here.
More information on KIDOGO is available at the NZ On Air website.