The study by Precise TV found that YouTube dominates family viewership with 86% of US kids aged 2-12 enjoying the platform.

Precise TV, the contextual video company driving business outcomes for brands, and Giraffe Insights has released its latest Precise Advertiser Report: Kids (PARK). In addition to surfacing social video viewership trends, the report explores purchasing decisions and finds that families are thinking about the holiday season earlier in the year, with toys and video games topping kids’ wish lists.

YouTube dominates most categories in terms of viewership and performance, with nearly 9 out of 10 kids surveyed saying they consume YouTube content and 66% of those views happening on connected TV. Respondents also assert they recall YouTube ads more than twice as much as broadcast TV. Furthermore, 44% of households say they are co-viewing video content together daily, with parents and kids making purchase decisions together based on what content they’re viewing. On YouTube, 5-Minute Crafts, Blippi and CoComelon are the top co-viewed channels.

Additional trends include:

• YouTube Shorts is growing in popularity with half of kids watching YouTube revealing they also watch YouTube Shorts.
• More than 30% of respondents remember seeing ads on YouTube Shorts.
• 70% of kids have bought or asked to buy something they have seen advertised on TikTok.
• Video games and hobby related items are the top products parents buy their kids.
• Lego and Crayola are brand favourites among kids, with more than 50% of respondents owning their products.
• Brands on Lego and Crayola’s heels include Play-Doh, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher Price, Nerf, Little Tikes, L.O.L. Surprise!, VTech, Squishmallows and My Little Pony – all of which are owned by at least 20% of respondents.

“These findings support a trend we’re experiencing where brands are shifting TV dollars to social video to grab household attention and drive business outcomes,” said Christian Dankl, Precise TV co-founder and chairman. “For advertisers marketing to families, it’s now table stakes to have an advanced, contextual, video-level digital ad targeting strategy.”

“Advertising that drives purchases is always imperative for toy and gaming companies, but even more in the economy we’re in,” he added. “Parents have indicated that they’re thinking about their holiday shopping earlier than ever, and that’s incredibly valuable knowledge as we’re already leveraging these insights to help brands make smarter marketing and advertising decisions.”

The report goes further into the specific popular shows kids are watching across platforms, holiday shopping trends and much more. Toy World readers can access the report here.