Kids demand more spooky content

Audiences are feeling the Halloween spirit, with scary children's shows like Gravity Falls and Trollhunters seeing a 13% increase in demand over last year.
October 22, 2020

This October, even as cities around the world cancel trick-or-treating, the Halloween spirit in kids is more alive than ever. According to Parrot Analytics, demand for spooky kids content is up an average of 12.8% year-over-year for October.

Parrot Analytics measured social media interactions, social video views, online research and piracy numbers using a weighted algorithm to determine demand for the average show (demand being how frequently it’s talked about online or pirated). To track this year’s fearful content, Parrot used Common Sense Media’s list of scary shows for kids, omitting any for kids 13 and up.

There are a couple of shows that are benefiting the most from this growing demand for seasonal content. In particular, three different Scooby Doo series landed in the top-10 ranking—Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (12.1 times more in demand than the average show); Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (6.5 times); and Scooby Doo And Guess Who? (3.8 times).

But it’s Gravity Falls (pictured) that came out on top. The Disney Channel series is 28.8 times more in demand than the average show. And demand for the series isn’t tied directly to Halloween: Gravity Falls saw its biggest baseline demand increase after the launch of Disney+, according to Parrot. Contrary to previous belief that scarcity can raise demand, Parrot data analyst, Mike Broster, says series demand increases when it’s more widely accessible, which was the case for Gravity Falls on Disney+ and as well as Netflix’s Cobra Kai.

The spooky/scary top-10 most in-demand kids shows in the US are: Gravity Falls, The Addams Family, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, The Twilight Zone, Trollhunters, Ghost Hunters, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Scooby-Doo And Guess Who? and Home Before Dark.

About The Author
Alexandra Whyte is Kidscreen's News & Social Media Editor. Contact her at awhyte@brunico.com

Search

Menu

Brand Menu