The two have teamed up to develop podcasts for popular titles like Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues and PAW Patrol
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| Starglow and Nickelodeon partnered late last year to develop children and family-friendly podcasts. Nickelodeon, Starglow |
Nickelodeon believes the future of podcasting is in children and family-friendly programming.
According to a recent white paper from Wondery, Dentsu, and Edison Research, more than 100 million U.S. consumers listen to a podcast on a weekly basis. Nearly half (46%) of the Americans surveyed said podcasts were their “favorite form of entertainment.”
But Nickelodeon really wants to tap into audio for kids and families. At the end of last year, the company partnered with Starglow, a podcast network that specializes in family and kids co-listening content. Nickelodeon developed podcasts for some of Nick Jr.’s most popular franchises, including Dora the Explorer, Blue Clue’s, and Paw Patrol.
Along with creating new podcasts, the partnership allows for Nickelodeon to tap into Starglow’s advertisers. Under the partnership, Nickelodeon produces ads while Starglow handles the back-end operations for campaigns.
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| The Blue’s Clues, Dora the Explorer, and PAW Patrol podcast titles. Nickelodeon, Starglow |
Starglow Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder Jed Baker launched the network in 2023. Before Starglow, Baker worked as an agent at United Talent Agency representing podcasters like Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper, Crime Junkie’s Ashley Flowers, and iHeartMedia.
Baker noticed a glaring white space in the audio space when it came to programming for children and families, which inspired him to start his own network.
“It was booming, but it was so decentralized,” Baker told ADWEEK. “We raised Starglow’s ad venture vehicle to elevate the space. We brought together some of the most beloved and trusted podcasts in the kids and family space and created the largest network focused on co-listening to make it easier for audiences to find great stories and for brands to connect.”
Advertisers go all in on family-friendly podcasting
Baker said Starglow started getting attention from brands once the company had around 50 series that generated 300 million yearly ad impressions. Penguin Random House, Toyota, Nintendo, and Squarespace are some of the brands that have advertised on the network’s programming.
Baker said many of the network’s advertisers want simple, 60-second ads read by hosts that can be targeted by region. He said Starglow has worked with brands like Netflix for such custom content.
“We are doing host-read ads for a lot of companies, which is generally what people want the most,” Baker said. “But there are a lot of companies out there that want pre-recorded slots to be associated with brands that families really trust and are part of their daily routines as opposed to just putting in a radio slot and calling it a day. Through contextual targeting, we can be a lot more efficient with their ad dollars and make sure there’s no wasted impressions.”
Baker cited SiriusXM research from 2023 showing that parents were 3.3 times more likely to pay attention to podcast ads than traditional radio ads. The same data found that parents were 2.4 times more likely to pay attention to podcast ads than social media ads. And 75% of parents reported discovering a product or service through a podcast ad.
He added that advertising revenue has grown especially in the family co-listening space.
Nickelodeon sees success with family co-listening
Alex Reeds, Senior Vice President (SVP) of growth and operations for Nickelodeon’s digital and unscripted studio, said that it was critical to work with Starglow when entering the podcast space.
“When we met with Jed, it was clear that he and the team at Starglow were not only experts in the podcast market, but also big fans of the work we were doing at Nickelodeon,” Reeds said. “The team has established a strong position in the kids’ audio market and have leveraged that to help us grow our podcasts by utilizing their network, as well as providing us valuable advice along the way.”
According to research that Reeds’ team conducted in 2023, only about 1 in 10 preschoolers listened to podcasts at the time. But, almost 80% of parents were interested in listening with their preschooler, while that share was higher—almost 90%—among those who already listened to podcasts.
“When executed well, podcasts can be highly valuable content for families,” Reeds said. “They can help kids develop listening skills, fuel imagination, and provide screen-free fun. For families, they can create shared experiences and even become treasured routines. They provide Nickelodeon the opportunity to expand its role in families’ lives and bring our stories and characters to life with immersive audio.”
From a creative standpoint, audio ultimately provides an intimate and personal experience for brands to connect with listeners.
“When advertisers can understand families’ listening habits and needs, they can find the right partnerships that connect with this audience and do so with their favorite characters, such as Dora or the Paw Patrol pups,” Reeds said. “Given that it’s so early in this game, it also allows advertisers to potentially own a space in a world that’s becoming ever more fragmented.”
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