The market for podcasts featuring children’s favorite characters in original audio storytelling continues to grow. Just this year, IP owners in the children’s entertainment space—including some of the biggest names—have launched new productions:
- Disney jumped into the original children’s podcast market for the first time with Forces of Nature, a 12-episode Frozen podcast released during the 10th anniversary year of the first film. Released by Disney Publishing Worldwide, ABC Audio, and Walt Disney Animation Studios, the podcast features a story that takes place after the events of Frozen 2 and before the events of the upcoming Frozen 3. It will introduce some new characters alongside the favorites from the films.
- Dr. Seuss Enterprises partnered with Wondery Kids & Family in September for a series of podcasts based on its characters, starting with The Cat in the Hat Cast, a variety show–style production. Additional series featuring other Seuss characters and worlds will be forthcoming.
- In June, Hasbro announced a deal with Audible to develop and produce the first-ever podcast starring Peppa Pig, to debut in 2024, which will mark the 20th anniversary of the TV series. One podcast will feature original storytelling for preschoolers, while another will be a tongue-in-cheek parenting podcast narrated by Mummy and Daddy pig.
- Moonbug announced in May that it was teaming with Audible to launch family podcasts based on its properties, starting with the first of two planned 13-episode series of Little Baby Bum: Time to Dream and 26 episodes of Lellobee City Farm: Grandma Mei’s Fantastic Folktales. The two Audible Original series will be available globally in nine languages.
- Pinkfong entered the podcast arena for the first time, announcing a deal with Apple in April. A slate of eight podcasts includes three in English for a global audience and five in Korean. The English-language productions include The Best Pinkfong Baby Shark Kids Story, My Favorite Pinkfong Baby Shark Musical Story, and Exclusive Pinkfong Baby Shark Book Adventures.
- Vlad and Niki, young brother influencers who have 100 million subscribers on their YouTube channel, paired with Audacy for a new podcast announced in August. Presented by Flintstones Vitamins, Vlad and Niki’s Podcast Adventures is produced by Audacy and Atomic Entertainment. The stories, for kids aged 3-6, will feature characters inspired by the boys and their parents and will include humor as well as STEM segments and a moral at the end of each story.
These and other recent examples are adding their names to a list of players that have already entered the podcast market. Sesame Workshop launched Foley & Friends with Audible in 2020, for example, with season 3 launching in January 2023. It also has a “sleepcast” called Goodnight World with Headspace.
And PBS Kids is expanding its established roster of podcasts this fall with new content including season 3 of The Arthur Podcast—the top PBS Kids production with nearly five million streams and 1.3 million downloads across platforms this year to date—and Playdate with the Wombats!, tied to the PBS Kids series Work It Out Wombats! The company also offers podcasts based on its shows Molly of Denali, Odd Squad, and Pinkalicious & Peterrific, as well as original content for the podcast format.
While podcasts for kids have been on the rise since almost the start of the pandemic, the pace has picked up this year as even more entertainment IP owners join the fray.
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