Can YouTube kill YTV? Networks grapple with shakeup in kids’ television

The Star's Robin Levenson King writes: (excerpt)
When Netflix and YouTube first came onto the scene, many thought kids would be immune to the charms of binge watching.
“Kids were underestimated,” said (Vince) Commisso (of Toronto's Studio 9), who got his start at Nelvana Studios in 1992 at the height of the boom. People in the industry assumed that the editorial role of the network was essential for kids and parents, who needed help finding good shows, he said. Instead, children have proven to be the most challenging on-demand viewers yet. Now, streaming services are investing big in children’s television, in part because it tends to be cheaper to produce and because it has a big payoff in terms of shelf life and merchandise tie-ins.
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