Fingerprint follows kids into mobile video viewing
Child-friendly education and entertainment app firm Fingerprint has added over 1,500 children's videos to its library. Accessible from tablets and smartphones, Fingerprint content aims to provide children with a safe digital environment. The switch to video reflects consumption habits of under 12s, of whom 61% prefer to view video content on a tablet, according to a recent DHX Media/Ipsos poll. Fingerprint's media library now holds over 4,000 games, books and videos, supporting learning on topics like literacy, STEM and creativity. The amount of time that children spend on mobile devices has tripled since 2011.

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Fingerprint has added more than 1,500 children’s videos to its digital learning platform on mobile devices.

The San Francisco company has created a kind of virtual app library for safe kids apps and games, which are accessible on smartphones and tablets. Now it has added a bunch of videos including Animal Planet, Stuff Happens with Bill Nye, Care Bears, Inspector Gadget, Sesame Street, and Franny’s Feet, among others.

This strategic move into video is in sync with the viewing habits of children under 12. A 2016 study by DHX Media/Ipsos found that 61 percent of children under 12 prefer to view video content on tablets.

Fingerprint has other content from partnerships with Toongoggles, Entertainment One, Tinybop, Oceanhouse Media, Treehouse (a division of Corus Entertainment/Nelvana) and iHeartRadio Family. So now its content library has more than 4,000 games, books, and videos that support learning on such topics as literacy, STEM, creativity, and more.

“We are creating a powerhouse library that reflects the preferences of families today who are cutting the cord in favor of streaming and mobile options that are more cost effective and as it relates to our business, accessible to young audiences who primarily use digital devices for experiencing their favorite content,” said Nancy MacIntyre, CEO of Fingerprint, in a statement. “Our mission has always been to find and share the very best learning content — whether games, books or video — and these additions allow us to deliver even more robust offerings to millions of families through the distribution channels of our business partners.”

Image Credit: Fingerprint

The company noted that children today split their time between TV and digital screens. According to Common Sense Media’s 2017 Annual Report, while the amount of time children spend on mobile devices has tripled since 2011, screen time overall for children 8 years-old and under is approximately 2.5 hours per day, almost exactly what it was that same year.

Fingerprint isn’t wed to any single format for entertainment or learning, and so it is packaging a variety of games, videos, music and e-books from popular kids brands on its platform, which reaches consumers through subscription services or as premium content. The idea is to give safe content to parents so they can entertain and educate their kids more easily. Facebook has 300 partnerships with developers around the world.

Investors including Corus Entertainment, DreamWorks Animation, Reed Elsevier Ventures, Trinity Capital Investment, and GSV.