Apple TV Plus is the one streaming service my kids skip over on movie night. It’s straight to Netflix or Disney Plus for them. Apple TV Plus might be winning awards for its solid library of original programming, but the service seems to be falling short when it comes to children’s content.
This is rather strange because Apple TV Plus has some real bangers when it comes to adult programming. The Morning Show, Ted Lasso and Severance are some of the best shows out there, and Apple has won hundreds of awards for its original programming in only four short years. Yet, it relies on old Peanuts episodes and a reboot of Fraggle Rock for the kids.
I wanted to find out why. So I set out on a fact-finding mission to understand why Apple struggles with kids’ programming, how the competition excels, and what Apple has planned for the future in this area.
Where are the kids programs?
Apple TV Plus hit the ground running when it first launched in late 2019. Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, and Steven Spielberg all took the stage at Apple’s special event to announce the new service. Several shows had been in production since 2017, so a handful of quality programs were ready to go when Apple TV Plus became available in time for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Morning Show, See, Oprah Winfrey, and For All Mankind were instant hits with the adults. More shows and movies dropped on the service every month, all of them amazing originals.
Today, there are 243 titles on Apple TV Plus, including 33 movies. These have won 499 awards and earned more than 2,200 nominations. Yet of the 210 series on the service, only 59 of them are rated for children. That’s 25% of the total, which seems like a lot, but 16 of these are various iterations of The Peanuts, and two are Fraggle Rock. The actual number of original kids programs is just 40 titles. Only Ghostwriter and Jane have earned a positive reception from audiences. My kids will only watch the new WondLa series, and occasionally Jane.
It gets worse when you look at feature-length movies. Apple has released 33 movies, including box office hits such as Napoleon and Argyle. Yet, there are only three children’s movies, none of which went to cinemas. Wolfwalkers is the only one to earn an award. Anecdotally, my kids only enjoyed Luck.
Apple creates amazing original programs for adults, but relies on a lot of recycled older titles for the kids. There’s a serious scarcity here.
Comparing Apples to oranges
When you look at the competition and you get a different picture. Netflix has a mind- blowing number of titles, 55% of which are originals. That comes out to more than 6,000 Netflix-branded series and movies. 160 are dedicated to kids. That might only be 5% or so of their content, but when you factor in the 500+ non-Netflix kids titles on the platform, there’s enough there to appeal to practically every kid. It’s the go-to platform for families.
Amazon Prime Video is another heavy hitter, with more than 200 kids titles, including 30 original series and movies aimed at children. Hulu may not have a mass of original titles, but their gigantic library from hundreds of studios ensures there’s always something there for the kiddos.
But Disney Plus is the undisputed boss in the family streaming market. 60% of Disney’s 8,000 titles are rated for kids. An enormous chunk of that is original programming. Of course, Disney has a head start over everyone else here, having been in the business of making family movies since the 1930s.
It’s no wonder that my kids go right to Netflix or Disney Plus when they get screen time. Apple TV Plus doesn’t factor into their entertainment choices at all. I’m sure most other kids feel the same.
The future of family programming on Apple TV Plus
Apple TV Plus is facing a pivotal moment. It started with the layoff of eight people involved in making kids content for Apple TV Plus back in January. Then Bloomberg recently dropped the bombshell news that Apple TV Plus was reigning in its spending. Eddy Cue, Apple's services boss, held several high-stakes meetings with studio chiefs and creative partners to cut budgets.
To be fair, Apple TV Plus does have a few children’s titles in the pipeline. Yo Gabba Gabbaland! is set to premier on August 9. My own kids are too old for this popular Nick Jr show, but I’m kind of excited for Apple’s adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. There’s no release date for this one, but I loved this book as a kid. Apple is also releasing yet another Snoopy title.
The newest release was Time Bandits, starring Lisa Kudrow. It’s made for older kids, which is great. My son can only watch so much Harry Potter. But that’s it.
“The award-winning slate of original series and films for kids and families on Apple TV Plus includes the celebrated live-action animated hybrid special, “The Velveteen Rabbit,” Apple said in a press release. “The Academy Award and BAFTA Award-winning animated short film “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”; star- studded animated adventure film “Luck” from Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation; and BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated animated film “Wolfwalkers.”
I’m not convinced my kids will be interested in any of these shows.
There’s a gap in Apple’s programming
It’s undeniable that Apple TV Plus excels in producing high-quality content. So where are all the amazing children’s shows? The service has a limited selection of great kids’ content and seems to rely on older franchises like Peanuts and Fraggle Rock to fill the gap. That doesn’t work when the Netflix and Disney Plus apps are there on my Apple TV box.
Apple needs to invest in creating engaging children’s content. It knows how to make good programs. Of course, with layoffs and talk of budget cuts, I’m not holding my breath. I think my kids will continue bypassing Apple TV Plus and going right to Netflix for the foreseeable future.
