This woman's thumbs are the biggest YouTube stars you've never heard of

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/26/youtube-dc-toys-collector-disneycollector

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News that YouTube network Maker Studios has added five toy review channels to its stable of creators is the latest reminder that toys are one of the most popular yet most under-the-radar categories on Google’s video service.

Well, under the radar for people who aren’t parents, at least.

Maker has added Disney Car Toys, Hobby Kids TV, The Engineering Family, Toys Review Toys and All Toy Collector to its network, claiming that collectively their videos are watched more than 300 million times a month.

“Toy review channels have captured the imaginations of families around the world and become the authority on the hottest toys on the market, as well as one of the fastest-growing genres of family programming online,” said Maker’s chief audience officer Chris Williams.

They certainly have, and the five channels added to his company’s network aren’t even the biggest. That status goes to DC Toys Collector – recently renamed from DisneyCollector – with its toy-unboxing videos notching up nearly 400 million views in October alone.

In fact, that month it was the most popular YouTube channel of any category, dethroning gamer PewDiePie – 352m views that month – who usually tops the rankings by some distance.

The new queen of YouTube is – if the New York Times’ August scoop on her identity was correct – 21-year-old Brazilian Melissa Lima, who lives in Westchester County, New York.

As Maker’s new signings show, where DC Toys Collector has blazed a trail, there’s now a burgeoning group of other toy channels following, offering what one expert memorably described as “toddler crack” and “first-person toy porn” earlier this year.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about toy channels on YouTube – and certainly the reason why MCNs are eager to snap them up – is their emergence as an alternative to traditional TV advertising for toys, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.

The growth of these channels also fits into a wider pattern of children’s entertainment on YouTube, from Minecraft-focused channels like Stampy (183m views in October) and The Diamond Minecart (155m) – both are also on Maker’s roster – to the huge audiences being pulled in by animated music channels like Little Baby Bum (189.3m).

Animated characters most politely described as “not Pixar-quality” acting out nursery rhymes; a woman getting toys and chocolate out of their boxes; young men messing about in Minecraft. And, obviously, Frozen singalongs.

These are the new faces – well, nails in the case of DC Toys Collector – of children’s television in 2014. Many parents know it already, but the stats (and deals) around this area are set to bring it to much wider awareness as we head into 2015.

• YouTube, apps and Minecraft: digital kids and children’s media