According to the H2 2025 Netflix Kids Content Performance Report, Pre-school has become the platform’s most hotly contested category.
Paw Patrol has claimed the No.1 position in Netflix kids content by hours viewed for H2 2025, driven by its debut on Netflix US, according to the newly released H2 2025 Netflix Kids Content Performance Report. Published by Independent Kids Media Consultant, Emily Horgan, the fifth edition of the report finds the Netflix kids landscape more competitive than at any point since the platform began releasing engagement data, with Pre-school being the most fiercely contested category.
Gabby’s Dollhouse remains the dominant force across the full year, while Ms. Rachel continues a remarkable climb, rising from No.6 at H1 2025 to No.4 within her first year on the platform. Against this tough competition, Sesame Street’s Netflix launch landed on the lower end of pre-school performance benchmarks.
Beyond pre-school, the report tracks the continued rise of creator-led content as a meaningful force on the platform. In addition to Ms. Rachel’s success, Mark Rober’s CrunchLabs makes a strong debut, reinforcing the pattern of YouTube-originated creators finding premium audiences on Netflix. The report also confirms the long-tail story of KPop Demon Hunters, whose H2 2025 engagement data cements its status as a breakout crossover phenomenon, driving viewing across streaming, music and YouTube well beyond its launch window.
As the dust settles on Paramount’s acquisition by Skydance, the report examines the Warner Bros. Discovery catalogue currently on Netflix and considers what a potential Paramount-WBD merger could mean for kids franchise distribution. With Netflix stepping back from the deal, the implications for how valuable longstanding kids’ IPs, such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Teen Titan Go!, move between platforms are significant, and this edition begins to map what the reshaped landscape could look like.
“Last year, the kids content story on Netflix became one of heated competition,” said Emily Horgan, Publisher of the report and former Disney Executive. “What stands out in the H2 2025 data is the degree of movement within the rankings. Shows are trading positions, new IP is landing with genuine weight and even the most established franchises are having to earn their place. That level of competition is good for the industry, and it makes tracking the data more important than ever.
“Alongside that, the consolidation of creator-led content, the confirmed scale of KPop Demon Hunters and the success of cross generational titles tell us that the routes to top-tier performance in streaming are widening. The M&A environment adds another layer of complexity. Longstanding animated franchises, like SpongeBob, still drive significant streaming value. Where that IP lands, and on whose platform, will shape the kids’ streaming picture for years to come.”
Five editions of this report point to one consistent conclusion: the last 25 years of kids IP have produced a catalogue so durable and so deeply embedded in family viewing habits that new content is fighting for a very small amount of available headspace. Legacy titles dominate, and they do not give ground easily. Breaking through is difficult but possible. For anyone taking that swing, the push behind a launch has to be as strong as the content itself.
Key findings from the H2 2025 report:
- Paw Patrol claims No.1 in hours viewed in H2 2025 following its Netflix US debut with 344m hours viewed.
- Gabby’s Dollhouse remains the dominant force across the full year 2025 with more than 600m hours viewed.
- Ms. Rachel rises to No.4, the highest ranking achieved by a new kids series within its first year on Netflix.
- Sesame Street arrives on Netflix via a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership with PBS; the lean initial rollout of four new episodes delivers 6m views in its launch half. With an expanding YouTube presence and parallel Roblox activation, the brand’s 360-degree streaming reset is still in its early stages.
- CoComelon’s decline is now a multi-year pattern, uninterrupted by new seasons or spin-offs; Little Angel posts renewed momentum, potentially signalling a second wave for YouTube-originated IP on Netflix.
- SpongeBob SquarePants dominates comedy animation at 143m hours viewed, 40% ahead of its nearest competitor, without US Netflix distribution – a crucial strength for Paramount and Spin Master in the U.S.
- Man Vs Baby launches in December and amasses 43.5m views, landing as the seventh biggest new series Netflix launched in H2 2025, with cross-generational reach across both kids and adult profiles.
More from Deadline:
How The Paramount-Warner Deal Could Hit Netflix’s Kids Content Offering
Netflix narrowly missed out on buying Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and now new data has shone a light on the impact this could have on its kids content offering.
The latest Netflix Kids Content Performance Report, which compiles top-performing children’s shows on the streamer over the latter half of 2025, found that nearly one third of the most-watched either air on Paramount-owned Nickelodeon or WBD’s Cartoon Network. Some are Paramount and WBD properties, which could be brought back exclusively to Paramount+ and HBO Max – or a combined streamer – once that deal completes.
The list includes the most-watched Netflix kids show of the past six months, PAW Patrol, along with Peppa Pig, SpongeBob SquarePants, Teen Titans Go!, The Loud House and The Amazing World of Gumball. PAW Patrol and Peppa Pig are not owned by Paramount or WBD but have aired on their networks for years.
In fact, nearly half of the Warner Bros. kids and family catalog titles analyzed by the report are on Netflix in at least some markets, “a meaningful footprint that points to a robust and active licensing pipeline spanning both recent releases and deep catalogue,” it said. Add to that several Paramount properties including big-hitter SpongeBob.
“Under an exclusivity model, the loss of titles like Teen Titans Go! and The Amazing World of Gumball would represent a hit to Netflix’s kids engagement numbers,” said the report. “There’s no question these titles would all sit very comfortably alongside SpongeBob SquarePants in a strong animation offering for Paramount+, making the prospect of losing them to a consolidated competitor a real consideration for Netflix’s kids strategy.”
WBD’s “extensive animation deal” with Fox streamer Tubi, which was struck earlier this year, adds “further complexity” to the situation, according to the report.
Paramount’s SpongeBob was the seventh most-watched kids show on Netflix over the latter half of 2025, with well over 100 million hours viewed. On the WBD side, Teen Titans Go! was top with 98.2 million followed by The Amazing World of Gumball with 92.3 million. Cartoon Network properties have always tended to perform well for Netflix.
Kids shows like CoComelon, PAW Patrol and Ms. Rachel have been big hitters for Netflix for years, generating loyal family viewing and always appearing towards the top of the list when Netflix drops its regular data dumps.
PAW Patrol topped H2 2025 viewing on Netflix, according to today’s report, with a 38% uplift driving a whopping circa-350 million hours viewed. Gabby’s Dollhouse was second, followed by Peppa Pig then Ms. Rachel. CoComelon, which is soon shifting to Disney, fell by 30% hours viewed. “CoComelon remains a significant volume title but its downward trend is now a multi-year pattern, uninterrupted by new seasons or spin-offs,” said the report.
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Original source: Licensing.biz; H/T: Special thanks to RegularCapital for the news!
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