Children are no strangers to watching YouTube videos, and now they will be able to stream original programming targeted specifically from them on YouTube Kids.
Google announced on Monday that four new original series will launch on its video app for kids this spring.
The series will be released on the YouTube Kids app, the app that features kid and family-friendly content. However, it will require a YouTube Red subscription, which costs $9.99 per month.
The series include: Hyperlinked, a live-action series starring music group creators L2M who create a website for girls; DanTDM Creates A Big Scene, an animated and live-action series starring the popular YouTube personality DanTDM and his friends; The Kings of Atlantis, an animated series starring Joe and Cody from TheAtlanticCraft; and Fruit Ninja: Frenzy Force based on the popular mobile game.
The original programming for kids will be released starting in April, and will continue to premiere throughout 2017. Episodes for each original series will vary in length. Some series will release all episodes Netflix-style at once, whereas others will be weekly.
The announcement was made in celebration of YouTube Kids' second anniversary, and marks the first time YouTube Red has invested creators for family-friendly original series.
And this is just the start of the library of original series for the kids app. Other series will also continue to be developed and released in the future such as a a show based the channel What's Inside?
Google revealed that there has been more than 30 billion views in the YouTube Kids app, with over 8 million active viewers using the app per week.
It makes sense that YouTube would want to invest in original series for kids since children get their hands on smartphones and tablets at an early age.
Google also announced that the YouTube Kids app will soon be available for smart TVs. This will allow families to stream the new content directly to the big screen in their living rooms for viewing.
Back in August, YouTube integrated its Kids app into YouTube Red to offer ad-free streaming on children content.
