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Kids and Tween Research

Looking for market research on children & tweens in Canada? Then look no further. YTV gets kids. We know that understanding children is important to our business and we're proud of the Canadian kid research that we do. In addition to in-depth audience viewership data, our proprietary research includes:

  • The Annual YTV Tween Report
  • The YTV Kids Advisory Panel (SWAT)
  • YTV.com web polls & surveys


Did You Know...




YTV Tween Report


YTV's Annual Tween report focuses on "tweens" aged 9 to 14 and covers a variety of topics such as leisure activities, spending habits and media behaviour. Methodology originally included in-home interviews; the Tween Report now uses phone interviews and/or web surveys. Since Wave 1, the first issue published in 1995, YTV has talked to over 5,000 tweens and their parents.

2007 YTV Tween Report
2006 YTV Tween Report
2005 YTV Tween Report
2004 YTV Tween Report, Wave 10: Special Co-Viewing Edition
2003 YTV Tween Report , Wave 9
2002 YTV Tween Report, Wave 8: Special Kidlfuence Edition

SWAT Team
YTV's Kids Advisory Panel consists of 12 specially selected kids between the ages of 8 and 12. The team meets 4 times per year in a focus group setting and covers topics ranging from internet activities, healthy active living, and feedback on various YTV initiatives (the SWAT team was instrumental in helping us develop YTV Whoa magazine, for example, and was our original testing ground for our Co-Viewing research). YTV recruits a new team of kids every year.

YTV.com Surveys
YTV.com hosts a variety of proprietary and client surveys on an on-going basis: Average survey response is 2,500 respondents. We have conducted over 50 surveys on a variety of topics including favourite snacks, movies, and music; thoughts about cell phones; and back-to-school fashion. For more information about YTV.com surveys, contact your account executive.

Viewership Data (Ratings, Audience & Rankers)

Historical Hours Tuned
Despite the plethora of entertainment options and the growing usage of the Internet, both kids' and teens' viewing hours have remained stable. Kids spend 17.6 hours per week and teens spend 18.1 hours per week watching their favourite TV shows.

Kids Historical Hour Tuned (K2-11)
Teen Historical Hours Tuned (T12-17)

National Purchasable Ratings - Fall 2007
YTV has captured 57% of the purchasable Total Canada kid ratings (K2-11) & (K6-11), and 58% of boys (B6-11).

National Purchasable Ratings - Kids 2-11
National Purchasable Ratings - Kids 6-11
National Purchasable Ratings - Boys 6-11

Average Weekly Reach - Fall 2007
YTV has the highest reach of kids (K2-11 & K6-11) and we've got the highest reach of teens (T12-17) than any other specialty network; commercial stations only.

Average Weekly Reach - Kids 2-11
Average Weekly Reach - Kids 6-11
Average Weekly Reach - Teens 12-17

YTV reaches more unique viewers for K2-11 and K6-11

Combined Network Reach – Kids 2-11
Combined Network Reach – Kids 6-11

YTV Reaches More Than Just Kids
YTV is the #1 commercial network with teens (T12-17) versus all other specialty channels. And we are the #1 Co-Viewing commercial specialty network with women 18 to 49.

Average Minute Audience - Teens 12-17
YTV's Reach Composition (Average Weekly Reach) - Fall 2007
YTV's Audience Composition (AMA) – Fall 2007
Total Purchasable Co-Viewing Hours - Women 18-49

Top 20 Ranked Shows
YTV dominates the top 20 ranked shows for kids versus all other commercial stations. YTV has 17 of the 20 top ranked shows for kids 2 to 11 and 17 of the 20 top ranked shows for kids 6 to 11.

Top 20 Ranked Shows - Kids 2-11
Top 20 Ranked Shows - Kids 6-11


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Highlights from the Latest YTV Brand Tracking Study


On behalf of YTV, Ipsos-ASI conducted a Brand Tracking Study with 917 online interviews of kids 6-11 and their parents.

YTV is the FIRST TV Station Kids Turn On
YTV ranked #1 (both unaided & aided) as the first TV station kids turn on:

  • When they come home from school
  • And Saturday mornings

YTV Ranked #1 Compared to the Competition
YTV ranked #1 on ALL these popularity measures against ALL competitive stations:

  • Have the newest episodes of shows that you like.
  • Have the most new shows that you like.
  • The coolest.
  • The most fun.

How Kids Perceive YTV

  • 2 out of 3 kids (64%) think YTV is for “both boys & girls
  • 52% think it’s “more for boys”; 21% think it’s “more for girls”
  • More than half (60%) of all kids 6-11 said YTV is for “kids our age

Parents on YTV

  • YTV ranked #1 with parents as the “TV station your child seems to like most”.
  • 80% of parents “strongly / somewhat approve” of their child watching YTV.
  • When asked to think about the TV shows parents watch with their own child, almost one quarter of all parents (24%) mentioned SpongeBob SquarePants.


Source: This information was obtained from the YTV Brand Tracking Study conducted by Ipsos-ASI. 917 Online interviews were conducted the week of January 15, 2007 with a Canadian online panel. Interviewing was fully representative of English Canada excluding Quebec. Households with children 6-11 years old: (50% 6-8 yrs old, 50% 9-11 yrs old; 50% Boys, 50% Girls) All households had cable TV service or satellite service through a Canadian provider.

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Media Usage Study Kids 7 to 12   

As we all know, kids’ media consumption is growing: In addition to traditional media (TV, radio, magazines) today’s kids are spending time online, Instant Messaging, gaming, etc.

However, there is a common misconception that if kids are spending more time on the Internet, it must be at the expense of their TV watching, when in fact time spent with the Internet is INCREMENTAL time.

According to Neilsen Media Research data
Time spent watching TV has remained constant over the past 15 years --
about 17 hours per week for kids two to 11.

The Internet has seen strong growth and has emerged as the number two medium with kids, while TV remains ubiquitous. The importance of the Internet grows as kids mature. However, it’s worth noting that studies and press about kids’ media usage could be talking about “youth” as old as 24 years of age. Clearly the media habits of eight- to 10-year-olds are very different from those of a teenager or university student.

To forestall any potential confusion about kids and their media habits, Corus Entertainment commissioned Solutions Research Group to look at the media usage of kids aged seven- to 12-years-old.

    Did you know?
  • 92% of kids (aged 7 to 12) watched TV yesterday; 55% of kids used the Internet.
  • TV is the dominant media source for information among kids 7 to 12.
  • For Kids 7 to 12, television has the clear advantage in advertising. TV ads are seen as the ‘most noticeable’, the ‘most entertaining’ and having the ‘most information’.
Source: SRG K7-12 Media Usage Study

See our presentation on Kids' Media Usage

If you would like more info on Kids’ Media Usage, please contact your YTV Account Manager
or visit the Contact Us page.



Healthy Active Living

In April 2006, the Solutions Research Group on behalf of Corus Entertainment conducted a study of 1,200 interviews with parents and tweens (aged 7 to 12) to identify their attitudes and practices towards active living and food related choices.

Did you know?

  • Only 20% of moms can be considered “active” (engaged in physical activity at least 2 to 3 times per week). Moms who are “inactive” are more likely to have children with low activity levels.
  • It may seem counterintuitive, but kids who SNACK MOST FREQUENTLY (throughout the day) are also the most likely to be ACTIVE.
  • 61% of parents think there’s not enough gym time in school.
  • Kids aged 7 to 12 on average spend 21% of their free time every day playing outside. But there is a BIG difference between “low activity” kids (14%) and very active kids (26%).

Source: 2006 YTV Tween Report: Special Healthy Active Living Edition

See our top-line presentation on Healthy Active Living.

If you would like Healthy Active Living sponsorship info or the full presentation, please contact your YTV Account Manager or visit the Contact Us page.




© 2007 Corus Entertainment Inc.