David Di Lorenzo, SVP for kids and family at Future Today, features in the latest installment of our ScreenMDM Talks The SwitchScreen strand, weighing in on how HappyKids is serving audiences with both “traditional” content and creator economy titles.
Di Lorenzo has spent much of his career in the digital space, leading Kabillion before joining Future Today. “When a lot of people were sticking their heads in the sand, I had an opportunity to get into the space early, and it’s proven out to be highly competitive, and a big part of what’s happening on televisions.”
That early-mover advantage has proven invaluable. HappyKids, now 14 years old, was among the first kids-focused AVOD apps to establish a meaningful presence on platforms like Roku—back when building an audience was significantly less crowded and more achievable. And kids aren’t the platform’s only priority.
“In the younger segment, you get a lot of co-viewing—parents want to see what their kids are watching. And then as kids get older, they start to make their own decisions. But then we try and bring it back a little bit with the movie content.”
Watch the full episode below on YouTube or access it on Spotify.
This tiered approach—early learning content where parents are the decision-makers, followed by a more independent viewing phase, and ultimately family co-viewing around movie programming—allows HappyKids to serve the full arc of childhood development while maintaining relevance for the household as a unit.
As to the content approach, Di Lorenzo notes, “We have a wealth of animated content as well as influencer content and gaming content. We want to be a destination that first and foremost is safe for our audience—making sure that the content that we’re getting from the influencer spaces is curated for our audience, as well as bringing those favorites that they want to come back and watch.”
Future Today’s relationship with YouTube creators goes beyond simply licensing content for HappyKids. As a technology company at its core, Future Today also develops and publishes standalone streaming apps for major YouTube partners, giving those creators an expanded footprint across connected TV platforms and new monetization opportunities. “We allow them to bring additional audience and additional monetization beyond YouTube. It’s advantageous for them to work with us to have a presence on other platforms.”
Like YouTube creators themselves, HappyKids spends a lot of time analyzing its data and constantly iterating. Channel managers oversee content performance on a rolling basis, and AI tools are increasingly being deployed to sharpen data mining. A/B testing of thumbnails, weekly app optimization, and active audience feedback loops all feed into the programming strategy.
If there is one issue that looms over the entire kids’ content ecosystem, it is monetization. Public broadcasters have reduced commissioning budgets, SVOD platforms have pulled back on investment in kids’ programming, and while AVOD/CTV represents a genuine opportunity, COPPA compliance creates real constraints on advertising targeting and data collection for child-directed content.
“We have a direct sales team talking directly to both the ad agencies, as well as sometimes directly to the client. It’s not a programmatic business on the kids’ side—it’s a direct business.”
Beyond the mechanics of monetization, Di Lorenzo points to a deeper, more philosophical challenge facing the industry: “What is entertainment to this audience now?”
