Exclusive: Nickelodeon, ESPN and Other Entertainment Companies Among the Brands Seeing Fastest Growth on TikTok in Q1
Key Takeaways
Gaming companies, including online and in-person game platforms and providers, help to round out Kyra Media’s 20 fastest-growing brands on TikTok in 2021.
Roblox has added 583,926 TikTok followers this year, while “Fortnite” racked up 459,868 new followers between January and March.
Brands in the entertainment space -- from networks to streaming services to gaming platforms -- are growing fast on TikTok so far this year, racking up more followers in the past few months than most other companies on the short-form video platform, according to new data provided exclusively to Morning Consult by Kyra Media.
With consumers still hooked to their screens for entertainment in the yearlong absence of many leisure activities, brands such as Nickelodeon, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN and Discovery Inc. are standing out on the platform that is particularly popular among Generation Z, according to data from Kyra Media, which specializes in connecting brands with coveted Gen Z consumers.
While TikTok itself was the fastest-growing brand on its own platform from January through March, entertainment brands performed particularly well. In addition to major networks and streaming services, individual programs (“BattleBots,” “The Office”) and Spanish soccer club FC Barcelona ranked among the 20 brands that have accumulated the most followers on TikTok in 2021’s first quarter.
With users still seeking out new content on social media, this could point to an opening for other media and entertainment companies to draw in new Gen Z viewers via TikTok.
Analysis of the data from Kyra IQ, Kyra Media’s proprietary tool that tracks brands across social media, also indicates that gaming brands are finding increasing success on TikTok: Gaming platform Roblox and popular game “Fortnite” both secured spots in the top 20, adding 583,926 and 459,868 followers in 2021 as of March 31, respectively.
Despite most people’s continued reliance on the internet for social interaction and entertainment, Cut, the company behind the physical card game “Truth or Drink,” has added nearly 700,000 followers this year, more than both Roblox and “Fortnite,” for a total of more than 1.1 million.
TikTok, which has added more than 1.4 million followers to its own account this year, according to Kyra, is the most-followed brand on the platform, in addition to its fastest-growing brand, with more than 52.3 million followers.
Sports brands appear several times on Kyra Media’s list of the most-followed brands on TikTok: ESPN, Barstool Sports, the NBA and World Wrestling Entertainment all made the top 10.
Alyssa Meyers previously worked at Morning Consult as a reporter covering brands and marketing.