The massive shift of the youngest television viewers to VOD and SVOD platforms prompted the recent rebrand of The Hub and the pullback in Hasbro’s partnership in the Discovery-run network.
The Hub, which will be rebranded into Discovery Family Channel on October 13, will see programming split between Hasbro-produced kids’ programming during the daytime, and family-oriented offerings in primetime.
Hasbro will also drop its ownership stake from 50 to 40 percent.
Both sides saw little opportunity for the growth of a kids-focused linear channel, given those shifting viewing habits, and the fact that Disney and Nickelodeon have a solid lock on the kids’ market.
Discovery has also found that family “co-viewing” in primetime is a healthy portion of their audience. The network had already programmed family-friendly reruns of popular ‘90s sitcoms in the evening hours.
The Hub was already a rebrand from the previous Discovery Kids Channel.
By moving in a new direction, both sides stand to benefit, according to Variety.
Hasbro gains more freedom to sell its kids’ programming to SVOD operators, where young viewers make up a huge portion of the overall audience.
And Discovery gets to capitalize on a growing subscriber base by retooling the programming lineup to be more advertiser-friendly.
Read More: Variety
Brief Take: Discovery and Hasbro read the viewer habit tea leaves and realized a rebrand and course correction were needed in order to maximize the potential of their channel. Tech-savvy kids may want more SVOD offerings, but co-viewing habits leave room for a family-oriented linear channel.
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