Executives at Walt Disney Co., preparing their latest push for this audience, say that some TV for tots favors curriculum over storytelling. They argue that it's sometimes too much work, not enough play.
They're offering themselves as an alternative to Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. channel, which emphasizes learning. Disney says that today's parents are ready for a change. In an age of video games and iPads, kids can learn their ABCs anywhere. What's missing are good, old-fashioned stories that kids can repeat to others, pretend to be the characters, and watch again and again.Disney Junior replaces Playhouse Disney on the Disney Channel and in the theme parks in February and gets its own 24-hour channel in 2012 replacing SOAPnet.
As the article states, this is serious business for Disney. Last year advertisers spent more than $276 million during children's TV shows and merchandise sales can equal billions more.
But this is what really caught my eye:
Following the death of the broadcast networks' Saturday morning cartoon tradition, preschoolers have been watching at all hours. Forty percent more of them now watch Nick Jr. from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. than during the rest of the day, according to the network.