Brenda Bisner Kidoodle.TV

By Kristin Brzoznowski

Av ailable in over 160 countries and territories on thousands of connected devices, Kidoodle.TV provides peace of mind for parents that their kids are Safe Streaming—a term the company coined and continues to stand behind. Every show on the AVOD service is vetted by people (not algorithms) who are committed to the Safe Streaming experience, and that’s also what the platform is looking for in the partners it works with. Brenda Bisner, chief content officer, tells TV Kids about opportunities in the kids’ AVOD space and plans to continue building out the Kidoodle.TV offer.

TV KIDS: What opportunities did Kidoodle.TV see early on in the AVOD market for kids’ programming?

BISNER: A Parent Media Co. (APMC) birthed Kidoodle.TV back in 2012, which was a very different time. It was with the idea that APMC would have many babies and Kidoodle.TV would be one of those babies. The thought process behind that was we believe, as a company, that kids deserve to have a safe place to watch content online. At that time, we saw a migration [of viewing] to areas that were not safe for kids, just fundamentally because of how they were made. Back in 2012, AVOD was an untapped market with limited attention in terms of the architecture of how those platforms were going to cater to children. So, we coined Safe Streaming, which are words that we own. We are a Safe Streaming channel for kids under 12, and we adhere to the highest letters of the law when it comes to

We’re making sure that it’s positioned correctly—from a visual standpoint to a content-selection standpoint. How long is the content? What’s the completion rate? Are we giving the audience what they’re looking for?

TV KIDS: How often is content refreshed?

BISNER: We’re launching anywhere between 10 to 20 new shows a week, depending on what those brands are. We just started launching movies, which is exciting for us. We look forward to our launch days because we’re working with our partners not just on deals to deliver but, of course, on social cross-promotion. We love brands with a social strategy. It is important to us, and we ask a lot about that because we want to make sure that people know what’s on Kidoodle.TV.

Then, once we go live, our partners get access to our back-end analytics portal, called “Backstage,” which provides transparent access to content performance and a variety of other reporting tools. It’s the daily heartbeat, so our partners can actively participate. The transparency and honesty, the quality of revenue that’s coming in, are something we really put a lot of effort behind. Backstage was built for our partners. We’re the only AVOD channel to have something like this (outside of another large AVOD channel).

TV KIDS: What are the latest developments with original programming?

BISNER: Originals are so much fun. We just launched a show called What’s the Word? It is in Spanish and French. The fun part is that we are actively producing and launching interactive content on our AVOD channel, and this is something you’ll hear a lot more about. “Interactive” is a word that’s circulating in the business (just like the word “FAST” is). With interactive, we see that the completion rate and viewership are a lot higher. Viewers are not just passively watching the content. As we work to acquire content that is completed, we want to be able to bring our interactive components and other ideas to the table that can further advance the engagement of the audience with the content that they’re seeing.

TV KIDS: What’s guiding the acquisition strategy, and what’s on your wish list?

BISNER: Everything! Number one: partnership is the name of the game. We want partners that care about what we’re doing. We want partners that have seen Kidoodle.TV, that know what Kidoodle.TV is, that know what they’re engaging in—deals are relationships. It’s about the children, and it’s about Safe Streaming and how seriously we take that— and we want that commitment from our partners.

Completed content is a top priority. We do not gap finance; we do not co-produce. We’re not going to come to the table and save the day on some old-school businessstructure models we’ve seen in the past. We’re looking for content that you have ready to go and that has a proven audience around it. It is also important that there is a social media strategy. There’s a lot out there in the marketplace; a lot of channels, a lot of content. How are you going to get to the front? That thought process really benefits our brand owners when they have [a social or promotional strategy], especially if they’ve got their content in other places. The packaging of that content—what makes it different? If it’s everywhere for free, why should people care about that?

From a brand-owner perspective, I’m always encouraging partners to look at what they have, how they can package it and what their visuals are to engage the audience.

We look for non-exclusive AVOD rights, and we have a 30-day-out clause (or what I call a break-up clause), if that’s necessary. It’s not something that we exercise a lot because our partners are always happy with us. Come to the table with a clear package of what it is and how much of the world is available because we do seek worldwide [rights], though we can geo-block within reason.

One of the special things for us is we know that our sweet spot is about nine to ten minutes in length. Shorts are something that we don’t see a lot of completion rate on, oddly enough, and the longer content does better; it keeps the audience more engaged.

TV KIDS: In looking at the massive industry shifts and the impact on creators, how can Kidoodle.TV disrupt the status quo?

BISNER: It’s very difficult out there for creators right now. The industry is undoubtedly in a major shift. We are listening to that and embracing creators in the way they need right now. Creators are struggling, and it’s something we have to talk about.

We’re very much a place for content to launch. We’re in a position where we have a large audience, we’re a channel that people are coming to, and we do good in the world. We’re looking to work with creators in a lot of different ways this year because not only do we believe in them, we think that they’re incredibly important. It’s a special talent to create content for kids and do wonderful things to entertain [them]. What a gift they all have! So, we’re looking at the marketplace. We’re showing up. We’re listening. We know that we are a new revenue stream for a lot of people, and we’re constantly keeping our focus on what’s next and what more we can do as an organization. We know it’s difficult out there for creators, and we know it’s necessary to find solutions.

TV KIDS: Tell us about the social impact work and philanthropy Kidoodle.TV is involved in.

BISNER: We are so grateful that we’ve been able to grow to a position where we can now do more than just offer Safe Streaming. Last year we cleared lists from teachers and classrooms so kids could have the supplies that they needed. We planted over 101,000 trees, which is great for our environment. We fed a lot of families. There are a lot of people suffering and making decisions around heat or food or gas—those are difficult decisions that we are looking to help with. As an organization, that’s important for all of us. A philanthropic tie-in to any brand is also inspiring and powerful and sets it apart. If there’s something about that brand that’s going to do more than just entertain but also give back and do good in the world for kids, that is the ideal.