Digital-first company Moonbug Entertainment has been purchased by the newly formed and as yet unnamed venture of former TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer and fellow Disney alum Tom Staggs, with backing from private equity firm Blackstone. An aggregate of YouTube channels with a focus on children’s content — including CoComelon, Little Baby Bum and Blippi — Moonbug launched in 2018 and currently has a market value of about $3 billion. Other recent children’s IP transactions include Epic Games’ purchase of SuperAwesome in September 2020, and the $500 million July acquisition by Indian educational firm Byju of a learning platform also named Epic. Continue reading Popular Kids Content Creator Moonbug Acquired for $3 Billion

Apple has created new rules for kids apps in the App Store that will ban external analytics software and restrict the ability to sell advertisements. Considering the market dominance of the Apple App Store, developers of kids apps are worried that, starting next month when the rules go into effect, they will struggle to stay afloat. Apple said the new rules were in response to some children seeing inappropriate ads on apps and its aim to protect them from data trackers. Some privacy advocates have applauded the move. Continue reading Apple’s Rules For Kids Apps Will Impact Analytics and Ads

Kid-safe technology startup SuperAwesome is introducing an alternative to YouTube’s embedded video player intended for publishers of children’s content. The new offering — which joins the SuperAwesome platform of “kidtech” tools created for areas such as advertising, authentication, parental controls and social engagement — provides brands with a viable video player alternative as privacy issues dominate the spotlight. According to the company, the player does not collect data on kids and adheres to COPPA and GDPR. Continue reading SuperAwesome Rolls Out Kid-Safe Embeddable Video Player