10 Highest Earning Kids Shows

We may be past the age where we’re waking up early to catch the Saturday-morning cartoons, but we still remember some of our favorite shows and the impact they had on our development. Some of us who are old enough have kids get to re-live the Children’s show fad, watching the little ones glued to the TV set and making sure never to miss an episode of their favorite series. So many kids are watching TV that the most popular shows are bringing in some serious dough, and companies are looking for every opportunity to cash in on the fad.

These days kids shows don’t just stop at TV programming, but they also hit the big screen, line toy stores with branded products, and place their face on everything from backpacks to T-shirts, and some shows have even converted their on screen fame into CDs and live theatre performances; parents are all but forced to hand over their hard earned money to keep their mini-me from throwing a fit, or being considered unpopular at school. But which children’s shows have raked in the most bank over the years? Here are the top 10 shows aimed at kids that turned little attention spans into big profits.

#10 – Dora the Explorer ($1 Billion)

Dora the explorer aired in 2000, and features a young girl exploring a different place each episode with the help of her friends. Dora is aimed at helping young kids learn to count, spell, and speak other languages (because we need to start teaching them professional advantages at a young age). The Dora brand has expanded out well beyond the show itself; you can find Dora plastered on school equipment, eating ware, and clothing, but perhaps the most surprising of all is the prevalence of plush sales for the show’s thieving villain: “Swiper.”

Swiper is always trying to take something that doesn’t belong to him, but the only thing he ever really succeeds at stealing is the attention of the young audiences; Swiper games and toys have been a huge sales boost, and helping to bring the Dora brand to a total of $1 billion in sales! You don’t have to be an explorer to find Dora at nearly every store you visit, so it won’t be long before this empire starts scaling up big time.

#9 – Hannah Montana ($1.2 Billion)

These days Miley Cyrus is more known for her blatant sexual marketing, and trendy pop music, but travel a few years back and you’ll find her featuring in the hit show “Hannah Montana.” Hannah Montana captured the attention of young girls everywhere, and told the story of a young singer forced to lead a double life. The Hannah Montana craze quickly broke out, and pretty soon Hannah Montana fashion accessories could be found all over school campuses. Music albums were released featuring hits from the show, and CDs were selling like crazy (but only because kids are too young to know about pirating).

Disney made a smart decision in choosing to cast someone who could actually sing (well, that depends on who you ask), because Miley Cyrus was flown all over the world to perform musical hits from the show under the Hannah Montana moniker. Even though Hannah Montana only ran for 4 seasons, the Hannah Montana brand made around $1.2 billion in profit, which is actually quite tame considering Disney’s other massive releases.

#8 – Yo Gabba Gabba ($1.5 Billion)

This is probably the most surprising name on the list, but Yo Gabba Gabba is a heavy hitter that practically came out of nowhere! Yo Gabba Gabba originally released as early as 2007, and combined the musical element from shows like “The Wiggles” with colorful creature suits resembling shows like “Teletebbies,” or “The Banana Splits.” Yo Gabba Gabba is a formulaic show that tried to convey a different message each episode, but the Nickelodeon giant didn’t make its big moola from just the show: it started putting on full live performances all over the world.

The most easily marketable feature of the Yo Gabba Gabba cast is that practically anyone can play the titular characters, since they are all wearing outfits anyways: this allows for hundreds of simultaneous concerts to be run almost every night, which draws in young kids (and their unfortunate parents who get dragged along) with the hope of meeting their idols. Exactly how much do a bunch of dancing creatures actually bring in? You might be surprised to find out that a staggering $1.5 billion is made off of Yo Gabba Gabba merchandise and theatre performances!

#7 – Rugrats ($2 Billion)

Rugrats is a show that most 90s kids will recognize, since it was plastered all over the Nickelodeon channel before school; it featured a team of renegade babies as they learned about the world in humorous ways, and tried to make sense of things through the eyes of children. The Rugrats show was a massive success in and of itself, but it wasn’t until they moved beyond the show that real money was starting to be made: clothing lines and toys led up to several big screen appearances.

The Rugrats films were major box office hits, which allowed parents to take their kids to see something the family could enjoy, and would later branch off into the “Rexxar” series (which was basically Godzilla without any of the cool monster fights and destroyed buildings). Rugrats became so popular, that pre packaged lunch and yogurt companies were licensing out the Rugrats name, so they could plaster their edibles with recognizable characters. Between all the food and licensing deals Rugrats has earned a whopping $2 billion to date, and even now is still seeing income from their sales.

#6 – Mr. Rogers Neighborhood ($2.2 Billion)

It was a wonderful day in the neighborhood for PBS when they decided to work with Fred Rogers and fund his show for over 30 years. Mr. Rogers is one of the sweetest people to ever live, and his show was aimed at helping children manage their emotions, learn how to make friends, and learn how to love themselves. Mr. Rogers was an incredibly popular show, but its big profits are largely attributed to the pure longevity of the show’s run (from 1963 all the way to 2001), which featured over 1,000 unique episodes!

The Mr Rogers brand did of course sell toys and other items, but nothing was as profitable as the pure charisma and likeability of Fred Rogers, who often received massive grants and donations to keep the show running. Over the course of the show’s run, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood brought in an astonishing $2.2 billion dollars, so you can imagine that living in Fred’s neighborhood cost a pretty penny; don’t worry Fred was such a caring guy he’d give up his own bedroom to make sure you had a place to stay.

#5 – Looney Tunes ($4.5 Billion)

You can’t have a list of children’s shows without expecting the Looney Toons to show up somewhere on the list: these characters defined comedy since as early as 1930, and you can still find cartoon re-runs populating most cartoon channels. The Looney Toons have found themselves on every household item from coffee mugs to shag rugs, and have made some absolutely daffy profits in the meantime. The more titular characters from the Looney Toons series have also go on to feature in several big screen films like “Space Jam,” which drew in the acting talent from big names like Michael Jordan, and Bill Murray.

Even a moderate profit each year from Looney Toons would have made Warner Bros a substantial sum of money, but fortunately for WB the Looney Toons brand has consistently sold numerous items each year, and the characters have has consistent licensing deals with companies like “Coke” as well as with various theme parks (like Six Flags). All together the Looney Toons name has made a heart-stopping $4.5 billion in profits; with that kind of money you could have cardiac surgery whenever you need: eh, what’s up doc?

#4 – Power Rangers ($6 Billion)

No matter who you are, back in the day the Power Rangers were the coolest dudes around, and nobody was going to tell you otherwise. The Power Ranger franchise has been both rebooted and remade several times, and has even featured several times on the big screen. The Power Rangers are a team of teenagers with some serious attitude, and save the world from devilish creatures with their sick karate moves and giant sword wielding robot. The Power Rangers may not be the best role models, but when it comes to kicking butt and making cash, it’s hard to lift a finger to them.

Despite the show’s immense popularity among the younger audience, almost nobody can compare to the toy-selling power of the Power Rangers; entire sets have been released for the series time and time again, and classic releases have even gone up on auction for thousands of dollars! One of the most surprising successes that the Power Rangers toy team has seen is the popularity of Halloween costumes and props, which has been a large contributor to the $6 billion they have made in sales. If you were in the process of writing a show and weren’t planning on making it about high flying space kung-fu fights, then you’re making a horrible mistake: it’s morphin’ time!

#3 – Sesame Street ($7.5 Billion)

Alas, it’s the children’s show that everyone is familiar with which spawned one of the most annoying characters of all time: Elmo. Sesame Street has been around since 1969, and has adapted to the times to stay relevant; with 45 seasons and nearly 4,400 episodes, it has taught Children about every facet of education imaginable, and a covered a wide array of feel good topics which are reminiscent of Mr. Rogers. Sesame Street has given way to the theatrical Muppet movies, which feature recognizable characters for the show.

The Muppet films and Sesame Street’s sale of toys has made PBS a remarkable amount of money: it might tickle you to find out that the Elmo line alone is responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in profit. To date the Sesame Street brand has managed to make a substantial $7.5 billion, and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, releasing new toys and films each year; even the actor who plays “Big Bird” on screen makes over $300,000 a year to reprise the role: if these guys are walking around with that kind of dough then no wonder Oscar is a grouch. I’d love to make over six figures to portray the role of a bird, so would someone tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

#2 – Spongebob Squarepants ($8 Billion)

You would need to be an absolute giant to beat Sesame Street in the money making game, and apparently the person up for the challenge is a talking sponge. Spongebob Squarepants is a beloved character that is always getting up to something with his friend Patrick; although it’s definitely meant for entertainment rather than education, parents find the show incredibly friendly and non threatening, and have no problem adorning their kids in the show’s apparel. Spongebob is a perfectly gender neutral character, so everybody can get on board to buy the various toys and items that are released each month.

Spongebob is such a large name in the industry that it’s one of the first animated films to successfully be adapted into a live action movie, and it has also released several animated films onto the big screen. Spongebob has been licensed with all of the corporate giants, and not too long ago you’d have found a Spongebob figurine in every happy meal you purchased: which I’m sure made the creators far happier than you. The Spongebob franchise has brought in an astonishing $8 billion in profit, and that number is only rising every year (that’s a lot of crabby patties)!

#1 – Pokemon ($37.8 Billion)

Pokemon is the biggest children’s franchise to ever appear, and when it did it took the world by storm; the hit TV show was almost immediately adapted into a popular trading card game, and line of video games which grew into the best selling game series in the world at the time of its release. The Pokemon series follows a young Pokemon trainer as he embarks on a journey to capture various creatures and become a “Pokemon master,” which is also the phrase they use to describe kids who give them all their money. Pokemon appeals to the collector inside of all of us, and encourages you to obtain every piece of merchandise it has to offer (which unsurprisingly a lot of people do).

It may seem like Pokemon has been around forever, but it debuted as early as 1995, and in that time it has made more than ever other series on this list combined! Pokemon has earned a jaw-dropping $37.8 billion in its lifetime: making $2 billion in the last year alone. It’s impossible to go anywhere without finding Pokemon paraphernalia, since it has literally been inserted into just about every medium; to make things even worse every two years a new “generation” of Pokemon is released, which inspires a whole new wave of products to be reprinted: so even if you have the money to “buy em’ all” it’s only a matter of time before your collection is old news again.

#9 – Hannah Montana ($1.2 Billion)

These days Miley Cyrus is more known for her blatant sexual marketing, and trendy pop music, but travel a few years back and you’ll find her featuring in the hit show “Hannah Montana.” Hannah Montana captured the attention of young girls everywhere, and told the story of a young singer forced to lead a double life. The Hannah Montana craze quickly broke out, and pretty soon Hannah Montana fashion accessories could be found all over school campuses. Music albums were released featuring hits from the show, and CDs were selling like crazy (but only because kids are too young to know about pirating).

Disney made a smart decision in choosing to cast someone who could actually sing (well, that depends on who you ask), because Miley Cyrus was flown all over the world to perform musical hits from the show under the Hannah Montana moniker. Even though Hannah Montana only ran for 4 seasons, the Hannah Montana brand made around $1.2 billion in profit, which is actually quite tame considering Disney’s other massive releases.

#8 – Yo Gabba Gabba ($1.5 Billion)

This is probably the most surprising name on the list, but Yo Gabba Gabba is a heavy hitter that practically came out of nowhere! Yo Gabba Gabba originally released as early as 2007, and combined the musical element from shows like “The Wiggles” with colorful creature suits resembling shows like “Teletebbies,” or “The Banana Splits.” Yo Gabba Gabba is a formulaic show that tried to convey a different message each episode, but the Nickelodeon giant didn’t make its big moola from just the show: it started putting on full live performances all over the world.

The most easily marketable feature of the Yo Gabba Gabba cast is that practically anyone can play the titular characters, since they are all wearing outfits anyways: this allows for hundreds of simultaneous concerts to be run almost every night, which draws in young kids (and their unfortunate parents who get dragged along) with the hope of meeting their idols. Exactly how much do a bunch of dancing creatures actually bring in? You might be surprised to find out that a staggering $1.5 billion is made off of Yo Gabba Gabba merchandise and theatre performances!

#7 – Rugrats ($2 Billion)

Rugrats is a show that most 90s kids will recognize, since it was plastered all over the Nickelodeon channel before school; it featured a team of renegade babies as they learned about the world in humorous ways, and tried to make sense of things through the eyes of children. The Rugrats show was a massive success in and of itself, but it wasn’t until they moved beyond the show that real money was starting to be made: clothing lines and toys led up to several big screen appearances.

The Rugrats films were major box office hits, which allowed parents to take their kids to see something the family could enjoy, and would later branch off into the “Rexxar” series (which was basically Godzilla without any of the cool monster fights and destroyed buildings). Rugrats became so popular, that pre packaged lunch and yogurt companies were licensing out the Rugrats name, so they could plaster their edibles with recognizable characters. Between all the food and licensing deals Rugrats has earned a whopping $2 billion to date, and even now is still seeing income from their sales.

#6 – Mr. Rogers Neighborhood ($2.2 Billion)

It was a wonderful day in the neighborhood for PBS when they decided to work with Fred Rogers and fund his show for over 30 years. Mr. Rogers is one of the sweetest people to ever live, and his show was aimed at helping children manage their emotions, learn how to make friends, and learn how to love themselves. Mr. Rogers was an incredibly popular show, but its big profits are largely attributed to the pure longevity of the show’s run (from 1963 all the way to 2001), which featured over 1,000 unique episodes!

The Mr Rogers brand did of course sell toys and other items, but nothing was as profitable as the pure charisma and likeability of Fred Rogers, who often received massive grants and donations to keep the show running. Over the course of the show’s run, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood brought in an astonishing $2.2 billion dollars, so you can imagine that living in Fred’s neighborhood cost a pretty penny; don’t worry Fred was such a caring guy he’d give up his own bedroom to make sure you had a place to stay.

#5 – Looney Tunes ($4.5 Billion)

You can’t have a list of children’s shows without expecting the Looney Toons to show up somewhere on the list: these characters defined comedy since as early as 1930, and you can still find cartoon re-runs populating most cartoon channels. The Looney Toons have found themselves on every household item from coffee mugs to shag rugs, and have made some absolutely daffy profits in the meantime. The more titular characters from the Looney Toons series have also go on to feature in several big screen films like “Space Jam,” which drew in the acting talent from big names like Michael Jordan, and Bill Murray.

Even a moderate profit each year from Looney Toons would have made Warner Bros a substantial sum of money, but fortunately for WB the Looney Toons brand has consistently sold numerous items each year, and the characters have has consistent licensing deals with companies like “Coke” as well as with various theme parks (like Six Flags). All together the Looney Toons name has made a heart-stopping $4.5 billion in profits; with that kind of money you could have cardiac surgery whenever you need: eh, what’s up doc?

#4 – Power Rangers ($6 Billion)

No matter who you are, back in the day the Power Rangers were the coolest dudes around, and nobody was going to tell you otherwise. The Power Ranger franchise has been both rebooted and remade several times, and has even featured several times on the big screen. The Power Rangers are a team of teenagers with some serious attitude, and save the world from devilish creatures with their sick karate moves and giant sword wielding robot. The Power Rangers may not be the best role models, but when it comes to kicking butt and making cash, it’s hard to lift a finger to them.

Despite the show’s immense popularity among the younger audience, almost nobody can compare to the toy-selling power of the Power Rangers; entire sets have been released for the series time and time again, and classic releases have even gone up on auction for thousands of dollars! One of the most surprising successes that the Power Rangers toy team has seen is the popularity of Halloween costumes and props, which has been a large contributor to the $6 billion they have made in sales. If you were in the process of writing a show and weren’t planning on making it about high flying space kung-fu fights, then you’re making a horrible mistake: it’s morphin’ time!

#3 – Sesame Street ($7.5 Billion)

Alas, it’s the children’s show that everyone is familiar with which spawned one of the most annoying characters of all time: Elmo. Sesame Street has been around since 1969, and has adapted to the times to stay relevant; with 45 seasons and nearly 4,400 episodes, it has taught Children about every facet of education imaginable, and a covered a wide array of feel good topics which are reminiscent of Mr. Rogers. Sesame Street has given way to the theatrical Muppet movies, which feature recognizable characters for the show.

The Muppet films and Sesame Street’s sale of toys has made PBS a remarkable amount of money: it might tickle you to find out that the Elmo line alone is responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in profit. To date the Sesame Street brand has managed to make a substantial $7.5 billion, and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, releasing new toys and films each year; even the actor who plays “Big Bird” on screen makes over $300,000 a year to reprise the role: if these guys are walking around with that kind of dough then no wonder Oscar is a grouch. I’d love to make over six figures to portray the role of a bird, so would someone tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

#2 – Spongebob Squarepants ($8 Billion)

You would need to be an absolute giant to beat Sesame Street in the money making game, and apparently the person up for the challenge is a talking sponge. Spongebob Squarepants is a beloved character that is always getting up to something with his friend Patrick; although it’s definitely meant for entertainment rather than education, parents find the show incredibly friendly and non threatening, and have no problem adorning their kids in the show’s apparel. Spongebob is a perfectly gender neutral character, so everybody can get on board to buy the various toys and items that are released each month.

Spongebob is such a large name in the industry that it’s one of the first animated films to successfully be adapted into a live action movie, and it has also released several animated films onto the big screen. Spongebob has been licensed with all of the corporate giants, and not too long ago you’d have found a Spongebob figurine in every happy meal you purchased: which I’m sure made the creators far happier than you. The Spongebob franchise has brought in an astonishing $8 billion in profit, and that number is only rising every year (that’s a lot of crabby patties)!

#1 – Pokemon ($37.8 Billion)

Pokemon is the biggest children’s franchise to ever appear, and when it did it took the world by storm; the hit TV show was almost immediately adapted into a popular trading card game, and line of video games which grew into the best selling game series in the world at the time of its release. The Pokemon series follows a young Pokemon trainer as he embarks on a journey to capture various creatures and become a “Pokemon master,” which is also the phrase they use to describe kids who give them all their money. Pokemon appeals to the collector inside of all of us, and encourages you to obtain every piece of merchandise it has to offer (which unsurprisingly a lot of people do).

It may seem like Pokemon has been around forever, but it debuted as early as 1995, and in that time it has made more than ever other series on this list combined! Pokemon has earned a jaw-dropping $37.8 billion in its lifetime: making $2 billion in the last year alone. It’s impossible to go anywhere without finding Pokemon paraphernalia, since it has literally been inserted into just about every medium; to make things even worse every two years a new “generation” of Pokemon is released, which inspires a whole new wave of products to be reprinted: so even if you have the money to “buy em’ all” it’s only a matter of time before your collection is old news again.