More than half of all five to 10-year-olds use the internet primarily for playing games, according to a recent study by children's TV firm Jetix. Games are even more of a pull for older children: BBC research from last year shows that 95% of 11 to 15-year-olds play console and online games.
With such vast young audiences gaming, it's no surprise that kids' broadcasters have ramped up their efforts in this space lately. Nickelodeon, for instance, announced in July that it would invest £49m in improving its offering over the next two years.
Michael Ghosh, director of advertising sales for Jetix Europe, says: "It is accepted that the way kids consume media has changed. Linear viewing is no longer a fulfilling experience for them; they demand the opportunity to respond and to control. Interactive spaces give them the opportunity to be in charge."
Broadcasters are increasingly seen as content producers rather than just TV channels and their commercial success depends on attracting audiences and being able to sell them to advertisers. In this way, gaming is the perfect gateway to extend broadcasters' business models to make them relevant to the next generation.
However, broadcasters face competition from outside their own sector in the new media environment, such as the virtual worlds Habbo Hotel and Club Penguin, the latter of which was bought by Disney in August to strengthen its interactive proposition.
Rich opportunities
The commercial opportunities for advertisers are rich because, as games become more sophisticated, they are more reliant on outside funding to help develop concepts. Broadcasters also generally prefer the advertiser-funded model, because it means they can avoid charging audiences for content.
This is particularly important online, where users are more used to receiving content for free. Red-button-activated games (or "eTV" games, standing for "enhanced TV") are more commonly charged on a pay-per-play basis.
The other main funding model for games is subscription, where users pay a fee to have unlimited access to a back catalogue.
Sometimes, however, broadcasters will shoulder the cost of a game themselves if it satisfies an objective, such as promoting a new show or instilling loyalty. Jetix used an online game to pre-launch the show Di-Gata Defenders. This was a cost-effective way of raising awareness, with almost 30,000 kids playing the game in August and September before the show debuted in October.
Similarly, Turner Broadcasting's www.cartoonnetwork.co.uk has more than 130 free games, which are used to introduce new characters or shows or to extend the experience of existing shows.
There has been much more activity around online games than eTV games to date. Mike Dicks, head of development at Illumina Digital, believes this is because red-button technology is insufficiently advanced and is more expensive. "It's too clunky. It doesn't work. It's waiting for red button 2.0," he says, adding that game times are much shorter because they are usually played between programming breaks.
Nevertheless, some broadcasters have seen success with this platform, arguing that it has the strength of immediacy and a direct link to programming. For example, last November Turner ran an eTV campaign for Lego around its Batman product. The game sat on top of the existing broadcast streaming, meaning that kids could play without having to switch over from the programme they were watching.
Ian McLellan, director of digital media at Turner EMEA, says: "Rather than passively viewing our Batman show, kids could play the character of Batman going through a maze collecting items, which is what focus groups told us that children want. Kids want to be in a cartoon themselves."
In general, the games being developed online are more sophisticated. "They are cheaper to produce and you can create multiple-level games," explains McLellan. "You can do a lot with characters and worlds and you can have ongoing league tables."
Character-led games
The type of content that is proving popular, particularly with younger audiences, is character-led. One of Nickelodeon Junior's most-played games is a karate contest featuring SpongeBob SquarePants.
Shaun Worrell, head of digital at Viacom Brand Solutions, says: "Games with a strong association with characters work well. We have learnt that content must be close to the broadcast channel and that the game should not have too strong an educational message."
Illumina Digital's Dicks agrees, claiming "education sucks the fun out of games".
"Being too politically correct also sucks the fun out," he says. "We've had briefs saying, 'we want Grand Theft Auto without the stealing and hookers and drugs'. Well, that wouldn't be much of a game, so we suggest something else."
The major kids' broadcasters such as Disney, Turner, Nickelodeon and Jetix primarily exist to entertain their audiences. But critics believe that commercial broadcasters have not innovated enough, focusing too much on merchandising, to the detriment of encouraging children's self-expression.
However, there is a growing acknowledgement that parents will start to become more interested in what their children are doing online in future and, in preparation for that time, broadcasters must start taking more of a stance on education.
Joe Elliot, director of learning and children's media at Magic Lantern Productions, is convinced that pleasing parents is going to be key. He says: "We haven't seen enough games yet to have parents raising concerns, but parents will start to look at these sites and make distinctions between them."
Elliot advises advertisers to adopt a "benevolent sponsor model". He adds: "There are lots of creative ideas around that can be wholly funded from an advertising budget. For parents it will be about values and what kids take away from the game and that could easily be life skills and understanding, as much as any formal learning."
Alex Miller, planning associate at I-Level, agrees: "Everyone is worried about the quality of education in schools and rising illiteracy. There's an opportunity for advertisers to work with parents to provide a better education."
The BBC, exempt from the pressures of revenue generation, has been the trailblazer in educational games. It has three flagship games: alternative reality world Adventure Rock; virtual online zoo Roar; and Tronji, an online virtual world targeted at six to 10-year-olds.
Peter Davies, interactive executive, BBC Children's, says: "We use TV shows to drive audiences to our online platforms. Roar is a good example because we transmit cheat codes on-air, which kids then use to play the game."
Commercial broadcasters are starting to follow suit. Jetix's current marketing campaign, "60 Second Skills", encourages kids to upload clips of themselves performing a skill in 60 seconds to a microsite, with the best aired on the channel and shown online. Similarly, Turner has launched Draw-A-Toon, where kids can create their own animations online to display on-air and in an online gallery.
And while there is no national curriculum tie-in with most channels or games, Turner's new pre-school channel Cartoonito will be supported by learning-based games online.
Turner's McLellan speaks not just for his own company, but those of all his rivals, too, when he says: "Games are a major part of our future strategy."
LEGO BIONICLE ONLINE GAME
Of all advertisers experimenting in the gaming space, Lego is lauded as the most innovative. Joe Elliot, director of learning and children's media at Magic Lantern, says: "Lego is one of the few children's brands that has its heart in the right place. It is interested in creative play and trying to harness that in new media games."
Lego is currently running a campaign around its Bionicle product, using TV, online, eTV, magazines and mobile - the first time a brand has made use of the entire Jetix media portfolio.
According to Michael Ghosh, director of advertising sales for Jetix Europe, interactive gaming is central to the campaign as the audience loves the "sticky content" that "drives a real depth of engagement that is invaluable to advertisers".
Kids visit a Jetix-hosted website where they can play a multi-level Bionicle-branded game. High scorers are promoted online and special codes that allow players to unlock extra features are available via eTV, mobile and magazine advertorials. More than 20,000 games were played over the first four weeks, with an average player spending almost 40 minutes participating.
Katie Sallows, communications executive at media partner Carat Sponsorship, says: "It is increasingly important for brands to give something back to a consumer. This campaign gets kids interacting with the Bionicle brand and offers real incentives for doing so."