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This is the last call for the webinar we’re running for paid subscribers next Tuesday, July 14th at 4pm BST. This will be a primer for the next round of Netflix earnings, and their next data dump, which happens on July 16th. Netflix have been making a lot of noise about how important the Kids & Family segment is to them. If you want the inside scoop, become a paid subscriber and join us:
A couple of newsletters back I promised you a spotlight on Australia’s kids TV wins, after a video decrying its national ROI on Bluey as an IP went viral.
Charlie Gearside lambasted Australia’s ambition and I have to say I didn’t agree with all of it because Australia has a lot to celebrate when it comes to kids IP.
If my personal love affair with Australian kids TV started with Skippy…
My professional one started with H2O: Just Add Water…
The escapades of Rikki, Cleo and Emma were enough parts drama to nearly feel like Neighbours, and enough parts fantasy to keep it whimsical. Add in the Aussie lilt (“Nauuurrr”), alongside gorgeous, sun-drenched scenery. The series was just good.
That Aussie kids content connection is one of the reasons why I’ve agreed to take up the invitation of the Australian Children’s Content Summit this August. Please reach out if you’re going to be there and fancy a chat.
We also spoke to the OG Aussie kids franchise, The Wiggles, on the Kids Media Club Podcast last year.
The children’s music group formed back in 1991. They saw success first at home, and then abroad. 35 years of success has of course had its challenges. They’ve kept their line-up fresh, continuously engaging with household names, from Dolly Parton to Ms. Rachel, from Michelle Obama to Khloé Kardashian. They’ve also stayed relevant for kids and families today by adopting new platforms, like TikTok and YouTube.
Speaking of YouTube, The Wiggles sang so Bounce Patrol could dance. The Melbourne five piece launched in 2013 and now holds the title of Australia’s most subscribed YouTube channel outright, sitting north of 30 million subscribers with tens of billions of lifetime views. Similar playbook as The Wiggles in some ways, music-driven, catchy, built for repeat viewing, but native to the platform from day one rather than adapted onto it.
One more, sitting at the forefront of both YouTube and gaming, is Spawnpoint Media. They have built a whole narrative world out of Minecraft. It started with gaming YouTuber, EYstreem, expanding out to proprietary characters Milo & Chip. Episodes are mainly animated through Minecraft gameplay, a format that kids love to watch along to. I love this approach of using a native YouTube format (gaming watch along videos) to develop and launch proprietary IP. It’s so smart. I’ve seen it work across a few different formats.
And then there’s Bluey, of course. An industry veteran once asked me if I’d heard of it. Mate, I’m probably 20,000 words deep in it by now. The beacon of light, poster child of kids TV. The biggest streaming show in the US. The local dog that’s taken over the world. A minted household franchise for years to come. This is local gone global in the best sense, but I want to tell you about another great Aussie kids show.
Little Lunch only came onto my radar in the last few years. My obsessive Netflix creeping revealed that kids across Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand all share the same dry sense of humour. Little Lunch, a one and done live-action mockumentary set in a primary school playground at recess, was trending in all of these markets at once.
It first aired on the ABC back in 2015, Grade 5 kids narrating their own dramas straight to camera with all the seriousness of a war correspondent. There’s no denying that it’s aged brilliantly, a decade later still finding new audiences. This didn’t go unnoticed, of course; Little Lunch: New Class has been announced for 2027, produced by the ABC and BBC. This speaks to another trend I see in the market, where underexposed or underleveraged great IP can find ways to come from behind and push through.
So there’s plenty to celebrate Down Under. As a fellow patriot of a commercial B-tier English-language market, fighting to cut through the US and UK waves, you’ve done a lot, Australia! No surprises that you’ve managed to surf home plenty of times with a number of awesome kids hits. Some have taken over the world, and some are more quietly great. I’m excited to see what’s cooking when I’m down there next month.
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