Tesco
Inside the Making of CoComelon, the Children's Entertainment Juggernaut
Article

Inside the Making of CoComelon, the Children's Entertainment Juggernaut

Alana Semuels
Time, 2022
Read the article

Read or listen offline

  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Bold
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

In 2005, Jay Jeon created CoComelon, a children’s show targeting the youngest demographic: Babies and toddlers. As Alana Semuels reports in TIME, he took the show from zero to two billion views per month on YouTube by 2018, then sold his company to Moonbug Entertainment in 2020. Two Disney executives acquired Moonbug and CoComelon for a cool $3 billion in November 2021. Today, CoComelon is a runaway hit broadcast in ten languages and packed with toddler charm. But for all of its success, some parents wonder whether it’s truly educational or if it – and other shows directed to the littlest kids – could possibly be addictive to those too young to resist its power.

Take-Aways

  • CoComelon became the most popular children’s show in the world in part due to the dramatic increase of “kids in front of screens” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • CoComelon‘s characters are kind, diverse and harmonious. Their audience is 56% non-Caucasian.
  • Some parents wonder if CoComelon provides a positive experience for their children.

About the Author

Journalist Alana Semuels is a senior economics correspondent at TIME magazine. The story features additional reporting by Julia Zorthian. 

Comment on this summary or Iniciar a Discussão