Netflix Can't Get Enough Of 'Wheels On The Bus,' Expands Content Deal With CoComelon

Netflix Inc NFLX has ordered three seasons of a new children’s TV show named CoComelon Lane, a popular channel on Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL-owned video streaming platform YouTube, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

What Happened: The first season of the new show will debut in 2023, and each season will consist of 24 episodes that are seven minutes in length.

“CoComelon Lane” will differ from the existing CoComelon videos as it will offer more than brief nursery rhymes and will have a narrative arc. Each episode will have a narrative arc.

Moonbug Entertainment owns CoComelon, as well as other popular YouTube properties such as Blippi and Little Baby Bum.

The popular toddler classics such as "Wheels on the Bus,", "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" are huge hits among children and have been featured on both Netflix and YouTube. 

See Also: Netflix Expands Animated Film Licensing Deal With Comcast's Universal

Netflix also has ordered 48 episodes of a Little Baby Bum show, which is expected to debut in 2023.

CoComelon has over 2 billion views a month on YouTube. Compilations of the nursery rhyme seasons have ranked among the top 10 shows on Netflix in 29 countries. 

Why It Matters: Programming for kids presents a huge market opportunity for media companies who have poured loads of money into building content for young viewers. As per Heather Tilert, director of original animation for preschoolers at Netflix, about 60% of the SVOD platform's 208 million users watch kids and family content, Bloomberg reported.

The competition is intense as Walt Disney Co DIS’s Disney+, Amazon.com Inc AMZN’s video streaming service, and others are all vying to catch the viewers young and keep them in the ecosystem. 

Price Action: Netflix shares closed 0.63% higher at $540.68 on Tuesday.

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