Parents whose children enjoy the preschool animated show CoComelon are potentially going to have to fork out for another streaming service as the series is set to jump ship from Netflix to Disney+.
The 3D animated show, which is a mix of nursery rhymes and original children’s songs revolving around the adventures of baby JJ and his siblings, TomTom and YoYo, has been a major hit on YouTube since its inception in 2006, where it is the third most subscribed channel with 193 million followers.
CoComelon, which was purchased by Candle Media for $3bn in 2021, has been a Netflix mainstay since it was added to the platform in 2020 and regularly tops the viewing figures for preschool shows on the service.
Deadline is now reporting that the series is now due to join Disney+ in 2027 as the company strengthens its grip on children’s entertainment with titles such as Bluey and Spidey and His Amazing Friends already under its belt.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources from Netflix say the decision not to renew the deal was due to viewership declining by 60 per cent between 2023 and 2024, despite four new seasons airing in 2024 alone.
The Wrap also notes that Disney is expected to pay “tens of millions” to stream every CoComelon season, with the show expected to arrive on its service in 2027, the same year a CoComelon movie is due to be released in cinemas.
Former advertising executive and father of two Jay Jeon and his wife created CoComelon in 2005 and shortly afterwards began uploading the videos to YouTube. Those videos eventually grew to gain billions of views and CoComelon was acquired by Moonbug Entertainment in 2020 before that company was purchased by Candle Media.
It has expanded the franchise with spin-offs including a podcast on Spotify and a live tour called “CoComelon Live!”
“We never imagined our channel could grow this big, or that it could attract such a large and loyal following,” Jeon said when speaking to The Independent in 2020. “We’re so amazed each month, each year, and we’re so grateful.”
The couple uploaded their first video in 2006 under the name “ABCkidTV” after discovering how much their children enjoyed the animated shorts.
Later, the company changed to CoComelon because the original name felt “limiting” on YouTube. CoComelon, to the founders, felt “universal and fun for children”, so the name was changed and popularity grew.
“We’ve tried to create characters that are adorable, likeable and universally relatable. We began to think of JJ, YoYo, and TomTom as our imaginary kids, and over time, we built a family around them – parents, grandparents, animal friends, school classmates,” Jeon said.
“And we think a lot about our audience and what they’re going through: growing up, daily challenges, learning new things. Life! We hope they share experiences similar to those of our characters.”
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