Cocomelon
Cocomelon is a children's YouTube channel operated by the Candle Media-owned Moonbug Entertainment. The channel specializes in 3D animation videos of traditional nursery rhymes and original children's songs. As of January 2026, Cocomelon is the 3rd most-subscribed and 2nd most-viewed channel on YouTube.
The channel launched in September 2006 and was rebranded as Cocomelon in 2018. It has since expanded globally in multiple languages, with spinoff series, Netflix TV shows, merchandising, special events, and ongoing product diversification. It was purchased by Candle Media in 2021 for a reported $3 billion.
Content
Cocomelon's videos, for a target audience of two- to five-year-olds, feature 3D animated children, adults, and animals who interact with each other in daily life. The lyrics appear at the bottom of the screen in the same way on all displays. Formats include standalone music videos, compilations, and livestreams. A blend of live action and animation was introduced in 2024 in one of the shows. The toddler characters' ages 'stretch' to reflect both the reality and the aspiration of their audience's lives," according to the Cocomelon creative staff. There is a proprietary staff-only guide of about 100 pages detailing the Cocomelon backstory and characters.History
The YouTube channel was created in September 2006 by Jay Jeon, registered under the name "checkgate", later rebranded to "ABC Kid TV". The channel began by posting educational videos focused on the alphabet. In 2016, it transitioned to 3D animation, with the first 3D video. In 2018, the channel rebranded to Cocomelon, and introduced a recurring cast of characters.checkgate/ThatsMEOnTV.com (2006–2013)
On September 1, 2006, Cocomelon was created on YouTube under the username "checkgate", a month before Google acquired YouTube. According to Jeon, it was initially a hobby with his wife, sharing animations that their own kids enjoyed. Two versions of the alphabet song were uploaded on the first day, being titled "ABC Song", and "ABC Song with Cute Ending". A third video was uploaded nine months later, titled "Learning ABC Alphabet – Letter "K" — Kangaroo Game". Most videos on the channel taught the alphabet, with a typical length of between one and two minutes. At the time, the Jeons were operating ThatsMEOnTV.com, an online business that incorporated children's photos into animated educational videos delivered on DVDs. Video titles on the channel were appended with "from www.ThatsMEonTV.com".ABC Kid TV (2013–2018)
In 2013, the channel rebranded to "ABC Kid TV" and began remastering older videos, followed by a transition from alphabet videos to nursery rhymes. On April 8, 2016, computer animation was introduced, with the first 3D character appearing in a video for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Later in 2016, 3D animation videos became longer, some videos used motion capture technology, and uploads became more frequent. Animation and music production continued to become more sophisticated, and a recurring cast of characters formed before the 2018 rebrand.Cocomelon (2018–present)
In the summer of 2018, the channel rebranded again to Cocomelon, introducing new intros and outros for all its videos. The next year, analytics firm Social Blade estimated Cocomelon's monthly YouTube advertising revenue between $638,000 and $10.2 million; The Wall Street Journal estimated annual ad revenue at $120 million.In early 2020, Jeon granted his first-ever media interview for Bloomberg Businessweek, which ran a profile of the "unassuming mogul" and his business. Jeon, 55 at the time, agreed to the condition that there be no photography and no mention of his wife to preserve their privacy. For most of its history, he and his wife had run the channel primarily on their own, keeping a low profile; even their neighbors didn't know they owned Cocomelon.
In June 2020, Cocomelon launched on Netflix, with three episodes, each about an hour long. Netflix offered access to an audience that didn't allow their children to watch YouTube.
In July 2020, Jeon sold his wholly owned company, Treasure Studio, which produced Cocomelon and employed around 20 people, to Moonbug Entertainment, a British firm focused on children's content.
In 2021, Moonbug was acquired for a reported $3 billion by Candle Media, a company founded by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs and backed by the Blackstone Group. That November, a new show, JJ's Animal Time, also called Cocomelon Animal Time, appeared on YouTube, featuring JJ's favorite animal friends.
In 2022, Netflix began airing Cocomelon as a Netflix Original show. In May, a new weekly spin-off show, It's Cody Time, also called Cody Time, launched on YouTube, featuring the character Cody, JJ's best friend.
A spinoff series, Nina's Familia, premiered on September 29, 2023, focusing on Latine culture and bilingual content. The Nina Reyes character first appeared on Cocomelon in 2019. The show follows the Cocomelon format with educational songs and nursery rhymes. Centered on Nina and her Mexican American family, it was designed for both Spanish-speaking and non-Spanish-speaking children and aims to represent Latino culture accurately. About 70% of the episodes are in English and 30% with some form of Spanish. Development was based in part on focus groups with mothers.
A new original series, Cocomelon Lane, set in the Cocomelon universe, premiered on Netflix on November 17, 2023. The series was described as "a more traditional preschool TV version" of the YouTube channel., narrative- rather than singalong-driven. It was built around a "'social-emotional learning curriculum" that focuses on milestone moments for preschoolers, and the accompanying feelings. The series allowed Cocomelon characters to speak directly to the audience for the first time.
A spin-off series, Cocomelon Classroom featuring Ms. Appleberry, premiered on YouTube on September 21, 2024. It is the first live action Cocomelon title, with a blend of live action and animation. Ms. Appleberry, originally an animated Cocomelon character, is played by Juliana Urtubey, who was named the US National Teacher of the Year in 2021. Supported by a learning specialist and a literacy consultant, the weekly show "integrates themes that are essential to early childhood cognitive, social and emotional development".
Rise in popularity
On September 18, 2007, a year after Cocomelon's YouTube launch as checkgate, the channel had seven videos uploaded and 41 subscribers. Two versions of "Cute Alphabet Song from WWW.ThatsMEonTV.com" had 179,970 and 49,292 views; the others had around 1,000 to 20,000 views. By November 14, 2010, there were 1287 subscribers, while views of all videos uploaded to the channel reached over 30 million; "Cute Alphabet Song", renamed "ABC Song from WWW.ThatsMEonTV.com Alphabet Song", had nearly 25 million views. Over the next five years, by October 29, 2015, subscriptions rose to about 750,000, and a 50-minute compilation of previous videos, published on May 1, 2014, had over 244 million views.After nine years on YouTube, Cocomelon reached 1 million subscribers on May 16, 2016, and later that month reached 1 billion total views. The channel grew rapidly following the July 2017 release of "Yes Yes" Bedtime Song, in which TomTom uses stuffed animals to get JJ to prepare for bed; "Yes Yes" became Cocomelon's most-viewed video, with over 1 billion views.
In 2018, a YouTube study by Pew Research Center found that "some 81% of all parents with children age 11 or younger let their child watch videos on YouTube", with 34% indicating they do so regularly. Of the 50 most recommended videos found in the study, 11 were "oriented toward small children". Cocomelon's "Bath Song | + More Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs" was the most recommended video in the research project.
In 2019, Cocomelon had the second-largest YouTube channel subscription gain, increasing by over 36 million, ending the year with 67.4 million subscribers. Between May and June 2019, it received 2.5 billion total views, averaging 83 million daily viewers worldwide. It " the turnout for most of the world's sports leagues, pop stars, and scripted TV."
After a July 2019 settlement with the United States Federal Trade Commission, YouTube began implementing major changes to its recommendation algorithm, data collection, and ad targeting for children's content. The changes, along with a $170 million fine, followed a complaint to the FTC under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Several children's channels were negatively affected. Cocomelon "dropped from 575 million total views the week before the change, to 436 million the week of, to 307 million the week after, and 282 million the week after that."
In September 2020, Netflix ranked Cocomelon as its third-most-popular show. On December 12, 2020, Cocomelon became the third YouTube channel to get 100 million subscribers. Following predictions that Cocomelon would soon surpass PewDiePie in subscribers, PewDiePie released a diss track titled "Coco" in February 2021. YouTube removed the video for violating its harassment and child safety policies; the audio remains on Spotify. Cocomelon surpassed PewDiePie in April 2021 to become the second-most-subscribed YouTube channel at the time.
As of, Cocomelon ranked third in YouTube subscriptions, with approximately 182 million subscribers and just under two billion monthly views.