A new report from Midolala ranks Youku as the region's leading streamer for children's content, with more than 250 titles released last year.
Peppa Pig, PAW Patrol and Kung Fu Panda were among China’s most-watched foreign kids franchises last year, according to a new report from Midolala, a Paris-based distributor that specializes in the Chinese market, Kidscreen is reporting.
This International Children’s Content in China and In-Depth Market Analysis breaks down kids content viewership trends on four major Chinese platforms (Tencent, Youku, iQIYI and Mango TV), as well as spotlighting international programs that have been successful in the region.
All told, the streamers debuted 550 kids titles last year, including original launches and new seasons. Nearly half of these rollouts took place on Youku (253), followed by iQIYI (121), Tencent (115) and Mango TV (60).
Youku also led the pack by a wide margin in international kids content launches at 63 (up by roughly 50% from 2023), putting it well ahead of iQIYI (31), Tencent (25) and Mango TV (12). But all four platforms released more imports in 2024 compared to the previous year, with Tencent recording a 90% uptick.
However, Midolala founder Manya Zhou warns that this trend may not necessarily continue. “In 2025, Chinese platforms are likely to adopt more cautious strategies for content acquisition, which may result in fewer releases of international children’s shows,” she says, adding that Youku seems poised to remain the leading platform.
“Moreover, platforms will focus on co-productions with domestic studios, driven by cost efficiency and their ability to meet local market demands effectively,” says Zhou, who expects to see more domestic programming dominance this year. Midolala is also forecasting a rise in popularity for mecha (stories that feature robots and mechanical beings) and girl-skewing content—two of the three best-performing kids genres in 2024, topped only by adventure-comedies.
Based on a measurement of peak popularity (the highest level of engagement achieved after a program’s release), Midolala’s report ranks 2024’s top three international kids titles on each platform as follows:
iQIYI:
- Kung Fu Panda 4
- Rubble & Crew
- Peppa Pig (season 10)
Youku:
- Peppa Pig (season 10)
- Peppa Pig Minis
- Blaze and the Monster Machines (season 4)
Tencent:
- Kung Fu Panda 4
- PJ Masks (season 5)
- My Little Pony: Make Your Mark
Mango TV (ranked by viewership figures):
- PAW Patrol (season 10)
- Peppa Pig (season 10)
- Sunny Bunnies (season 7)
Midolala notes that the 10th season of Peppa Pig was the best-performing international title overall. But Spin Master’s PAW Patrol season 10 took the lead in other metrics, such as average daily popularity (total engagement divided by the number of days on the platform) on iQIYI. And Mango TV—which was the only platform that shared viewership data—recorded 440 million views for PAW Patrol‘s 10th season, compared to 200 million for Peppa Pig‘s.
The full report (based on data from statistical sources, including Youku, Tencent, iQIYI, Mango TV and NianTong Kids’ Data) is available on the official Midolala website.
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