Why are there so many kids versions of adult shows?

[nightshadea]

do people realize the first 5 or 6 years cartoon network existed kids weren’t the targeted demographic? Only reason it changed turner sold it to time warner which is why you could see seriously violent anime (tri gun r.kenshi ) at 3 in the after noon for the longest time…

[suranyi]

@lingyi

I think I’m on the same wavelength, why put a show oriented to kids on a channel (Science) that has shows oriented towards adults? Is the demographic of kids or kids plus parents watching greater than adults watching themselves? I’m assuming it is as they’ve lost me for the hour the the kid oriented show is on and if they continue on this path, they’ll lose me as a viewer. Yes, I understand that I’m one person and not even a Nielsen participant, but there must be market research to support their potential loss of whatever demographic group I fall in.

Edit: I could leave the Food Network on all day, but as soon a kid version of a show comes on, I switch channels. When I want to watch kid oriented shows, I switch to Disney or Nick.

Fundamentally not every show can appeal to every viewer. They must get a large enough viewership or those shows would go off the air.

I don’t know about market research but I know my wife watches those shows with the kids. She likes cooking, and she likes kids. (She’s a teacher, after all.)

[ExTank]

@JB99

A few points:

:snip:

5. Some adults do watch this stuff. My dad consistently watched Nickelodeon (eg Rugrats, Doug, Invader Zim). He just found “adult TV” to be too damned depressing. And don’t even get me started on Cartoon Network. There is an entire segment of their programming deliberately designed to be watched while stoned.

I’ve passed the mid-century mark, and I know how he feels. Gritty drama, with its cynicism, its (at best) Gray-And-Black Morality, is losing its appeal to me. I find the upbeat energy/exuberance/optimism of shows oriented towards more youthful markets refreshing.

[naita]

@BigT

But that’s precisely the reason to ask. If the kids like the adult shows, why make a kids’ version?

Because they tried several other ways to keep the Mythbusters ball rolling, and failed.
Because there are more kids who will watch the kid version, or be allowed to, than watch the adult show.
Because you can sell a more narrow audience to advertisers.

Kids’ versions of shows is just one of many ways the channels try to profit on a successful show or a popular trend.

[Wheelz]

My wife got me watching Dancing with The Stars a few years back, and I enjoy it much more than I have any right to.
This past season, they were relentlessly pushing Dancing With The Stars Junior. We fast-forwarded through all of the dancing kids segments. I have no idea how well the Junior version is doing, but I hope it either dies a quick death or they stop hawking it every ten minutes, or we may have to give up on the adult version.

[nightshadea]

@lingyi

I think I’m on the same wavelength, why put a show oriented to kids on a channel (Science) that has shows oriented towards adults? Is the demographic of kids or kids plus parents watching greater than adults watching themselves? I’m assuming it is as they’ve lost me for the hour the the kid oriented show is on and if they continue on this path, they’ll lose me as a viewer. Yes, I understand that I’m one person and not even a Nielsen participant, but there must be market research to support their potential loss of whatever demographic group I fall in.

Edit: I could leave the Food Network on all day, but as soon a kid version of a show comes on, I switch channels. When I want to watch kid oriented shows, I switch to Disney or Nick.

ahh theres the point of the matter aka "damn kids get off my lawn " :p:D

[That_Don_Guy]

@Wheelz

My wife got me watching Dancing with The Stars a few years back, and I enjoy it much more than I have any right to.
This past season, they were relentlessly pushing Dancing With The Stars Junior. We fast-forwarded through all of the dancing kids segments. I have no idea how well the Junior version is doing, but I hope it either dies a quick death or they stop hawking it every ten minutes, or we may have to give up on the adult version.

One reason there has been a sudden resurgence is, somebody noticed how popular the first season of MasterChef Junior was, and figured, “Hey, if it worked for cooking, it must work for _______ just as well!”, so everybody is pretty much throwing “pint-sized” versions of reality shows against the wall to see what sticks. It doesn’t always work; see So You Think You Can Dance?, The Next Generation for an example. One problem is, too many of the shows are limiting it to 8-to-12-year-olds, which is about the age range of MasterChef Junior; dance shows might have done better with older teenagers, especially with one finishing second in the first season of World of Dance.

There’s nothing new about this; The Hollywood Squares had a Saturday morning kids’ version (with adult celebrities portraying characters), and The Joker’s Wild, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune had kids’ versions at one point as well.