Halifax, NS – 29 November 2016 – DHX Media (or the “Company”) (TSX: DHX.A, DHX.B; NASDAQ: DHXM), the world’s leading independent, pure-play children’s content company, and Ipsos, Canada’s market intelligence leader and the country’s leading provider of public opinion research, announce the results from a survey of 2,700 parents in the US, Canada and the UK, designed to illuminate how children age 0-12 consume entertainment content and brands.
Dana Landry, CEO of DHX Media, said: “As a global leader in the production and distribution of children’s content, it is important to check in with parents to get their views on how families consume content. DHX Media’s mission is to create children’s content that inspires, entertains and connects the global on-demand generation, and we are encouraged by the results of this survey. The new generation of kids has embraced mobile devices and they love streaming services. Parents are comfortable with kids enjoying content on these new platforms and they are very receptive to the potential for these models to include e-commerce.”
Kids Going Mobile
The survey found that kids have embraced mobile on-demand viewing, and that tablets are their preferred screen for consuming content. In the households surveyed, 72% of children’s daily viewing is from streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix and others. When viewing content, 61% of kids use tablets, with 78% of households having at least one tablet and 29% having a tablet for use by a child only. Tablets were found to be the most popular screen used by children, who used the devices to watch 45% of their streamed content.
In addition, the survey found that 40% of kids use smartphones to consume their content, 90% of households with children under 13 have at least one smartphone, and 14% have a smartphone that is used only by a child. Furthermore, nearly one-quarter of children are using smartphones to watch streamed content.
YouTube Most Popular
The survey also found that YouTube is the most popular streaming platform among respondents, followed closely by Netflix. Of the households surveyed, YouTube’s Advertising-supported Video on Demand (AVOD) service garnered 15% of all streaming viewing, with Netflix coming in at 13%. When YouTube’s premium Subscription-supported Video on Demand (SVOD) services are included, YouTube garners 24% of all streaming viewing.
Ready for Retail
The survey also polled parents about their receptivity to a new concept called “One Click Content to Retail”. One Click Content to Retail is a new model that leverages video on an AVOD platform to serve ads to viewers which allow them to click through to purchase featured products. The results showed that 80% of parents liked the idea of being able to click through from a video to buy products for their kids and that 49% of parents said they would use One Click Content to Retail if available. Meanwhile, 81% of parents liked the idea of a child being able to keep a “Wish List” of products via One Click Content to Retail.
In addition, 85% of parents research what to purchase online at least monthly, 78% buy products online at least monthly, and nearly four out of every 10 purchases made specifically for a child are made online. Two thirds of parents are very likely buy products such as toys, games and clothing featuring a child’s favourite character. Parents surveyed were as comfortable with kids viewing streaming content as with traditional TV, and nine in 10 parents say YouTube child-appropriate advertising is acceptable.
About the DHX Media-Ipsos Global Parents Survey Findings
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between September 2 and September 13, 2016, on behalf of DHX Media. For this survey, a sample of 2,700 parents with a child age 12 or under were interviewed from Ipsos online panels in three countries: the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom (900 respondents per country). The combined data was then weighted to reflect the distribution of the population across the three markets. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ – 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all parents of children aged 12 and under in the three countries been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error
For more information, please contact:
Investor Relations: Nancy Chan-Palmateer – Director, Investor Relations, DHX Media Ltd.
nancy.chanpalmateer@dhxmedia.com
+1 416-977-7358
Financial Media: Shaun Smith – Director, Corporate Communications, DHX Media Ltd.
shaun.smith@dhxmedia.com
+1 416-977-7230
Trade Media: Aimee Norman at DDA Blueprint PR
aimee@ddablueprint.com
+44 (0) 20 8985 4708
About DHX Media
DHX Media Ltd. (www.dhxmedia.com) is the world’s leading independent, pure-play children’s content company. Owner of the world’s largest independent library of children’s content, at more than 11,800 half-hours, the Company is recognized globally for such brands as Teletubbies, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, In the Night Garden, Inspector Gadget, Make It Pop, Slugterra and the multiple award-winning Degrassi franchise. As a content producer and owner of intellectual property, DHX Media delivers shows that children love, licensing its content to major broadcasters and streaming services worldwide. Through its subsidiary, WildBrain, DHX Media also operates one of the largest networks of children’s content on YouTube. The company’s robust consumer products program generates royalties from merchandise based on its much-loved children’s brands. Headquartered in Canada, DHX Media has offices in 15 cities globally, and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (DHX.A and DHX.B) and the NASDAQ Global Select Market (DHXM).
About Ipsos
Ipsos is Canada’s market intelligence leader and the country’s leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos’ Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada—all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group. To learn more, visit www.ipsos.ca
Disclaimer
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” under applicable securities laws with respect to DHX Media including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s business strategies and operational activities of DHX Media, the markets and industries in which it operates, including consumer preferences, and the growth and financial and operating performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on information currently available to the Company. Actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, among other things, include risk factors discussed in materials filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time including matters discussed under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Information Form and annual Management Discussion and Analysis, which also form part of the Company’s annual report on Form 40-F filed with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.