David Di Lorenzo Of Future Today, Owners of AVOD Platform HappyKids: “Spanish-Speaking Audiences Are Underserved”

David Di Lorenzo, SVP of Content Acquisitions and Partnerships at Future Today, owners of the AVOD platform HappyKids—which recently added El Reino Infantil to its offering—said they have identified Spanish-speaking audiences as an underserved segment.

“We already have a lot of Spanish-language content: Pocoyó, Baby Einstein, Pac-Man, Lego Friends, as well as content derived from YouTube. But we want to do better. The partnership with El Reino Infantil was key because they produce content originally in Spanish, not just dubbed from English. This native approach is very valuable to us,” Di Lorenzo told PRODU.

HappyKids is available worldwide, but its main focus is the U.S. and Canada. “We also have a strong presence in the U.K. in the ad-supported streaming space in Europe. As for Latin America, it’s an important territory for us. We’re available there, with a sizable audience in Mexico and Brazil—although in Brazil we still don’t have much Brazilian Portuguese content,” he noted.

Di Lorenzo explained that HappyKids’ programming strategy is a combination of traditionally produced content and YouTube content. “For example, in preschool we have a partnership with Sesame Street for short-format content. We also have content from partners like Hasbro: Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol Pup Tales. In addition, we work with properties that originated on YouTube like CoComelon, Blippi, and Pinkfong. A key element was the partnership with El Reino Infantil, which has a strong YouTube presence and is very important to us when it comes to Spanish-language content,” he said.

For children aged six and up, he noted that they have shows like Pokémon, Lego Ninjago, and other major titles, as well as working with YouTube influencers like KidCity, NinjaKids, Like Nastya, among others.

OVER 700 HOURS OF SPANISH-LANGUAGE CONTENT

“We also have a gaming section with a lot of user-generated content, like Roblox and Minecraft gameplay. All this content is reviewed by humans to ensure its safety. Our three main verticals are: preschool content (traditional and YouTube), content for kids over six (studio IPs and YouTubers), and gaming content. Additionally, we’ve added English and Spanish-language movies to encourage family viewing and position HappyKids as a destination for co-viewing,” he explained.

Di Lorenzo mentioned that HappyKids has over 700 hours of Spanish-language content. The platform is KidSAFE+ and COPPA certified for child safety and is ranked among the top two free kids’ channels on connected TVs.

HappyKids has been around for over 11 years. “We were one of the first apps in this space and one of the largest on connected TVs, both in terms of audience and content,” he noted.

He added that it’s still early to measure results from the partnership with El Reino Infantil, “but it’s already available and well positioned in our Spanish-language section. We expect very good results. This partnership is key to our growth strategy for meaningful Spanish-language content.”

The platform is KidSAFE+ and COPPA certified for child safety

Asked about monetization strategy, Di Lorenzo said that monetizing kids content is challenging. “We comply with COPPA, GDPR, and other regulations. We have a specialized sales team for children’s content, working directly with agencies and brands focused on kids: toys, children’s products, etc. We also work with family-oriented brands like retailers or travel destinations. It’s a direct sale, not programmatic,” he stated.

He mentioned that they have several major partnerships in development, which they’re not yet ready to announce. “But we’re focused on bringing in new and exciting content, in addition to family favorites that are already part of kids’ daily experiences,” he concluded.