Today on The Front Page, host of The Fold podcast for The Spinoff, Duncan Grieve, is with us to discuss how this shakes things up.
New research has highlighted the need for smarter ways to serve children in local media, prompting NZ On Air to announce the launch of a new content hub.
Today, the public media funding agency, along with Te Māngai Pāho, released the third iteration of their “Where Are the Audiences”research series, investigating the ways children in New Zealand access media.
Conducted by Verian in September, the study surveyed 1024 parents and their children (aged 2-14 years) to determine behaviours, preferences, and cultural connections related to media consumption.
The findings outline that children’s daily media habits are increasingly shaped by digital platforms.
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%. Traditional TV viewing continues to decrease, with live free-to-air TV now at 14% daily reach and on-demand free-to-air services holding steady at 12%.
Only 50% of children are engaging with local content at all, with 43% of parents saying they don’t know where, or how, to find local shows.
NZ On Air chief executive Cameron Harland said the research highlights the difficulties in reaching young audiences who have shifted away from traditional local platforms and therefore risk missing out on culturally resonant content.
“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,” Harland said.
As many as 78% of caregivers who engage with te reo Māori content say it’s important for their child. Children say Māori content helps them learn, feel connected, and be proud of who they are.
“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.
The most used media platform by children is YouTube – 69% use YouTube or YouTube Kids on a daily basis. Photo / Getty.
NZ On Air say as a whole, the data underscores the need for local content to be visible and accessible across both traditional and digital platforms to ensure New Zealand kids can enjoy stories that reflect their culture and identity.
Off the back of the survey, NZ On Air announced the launch of a new hub called KIDOGO for local children’s content on YouTube and YouTube Kids. Content funded by NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pahō can now be found on two age-specific channels.
KIDOGO Junior will have content for pre-schoolers, while KIDOGO is aimed at school kids.
NZ On Air head of funding Amie Mills says KIDOGO is designed to provide a safe and easy place to access age-appropriate local kids’ content, on a platform kids are already using.
“KIDOGO addresses the discoverability challenge and forms part of our wider approach to ensuring tamariki can find the content we fund,” Mills said.
“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.”
The channel will also have content native, with Mills pointing to preschooler show Toi Time as a great example of a title that “thrives on TVNZ+ while also growing its YouTube audience with music videos and shorts designed for the platform”.
