Your iPad Is Now Your Kid's TV

Nielsen estimates put potential kids’ tablet viewership at 16.5 million, and while television deliveries via smartphones and tablets won’t be added to its national TV ratings until September 2014, networks are diving headfirst into this emerging market.

By and large, the kids-targeted cable networks are developing apps with the tacit understanding that distribution and measurement will eventually catch up with them. Of course, targeting kids brings with it a host of specific regulatory issues, regardless of the device, said Albert Lai, chief technology officer, media and broadcast solutions, Brightcove. “Any provider of content for kids needs to be wary of legal and federal regulation,” Lai said. “There’s opportunity, but everyone has to be very careful about the monetization.”