Ryan's World | |
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Personal information | |
Born | Ryan Guan 2010 or 2011 (age 12–13) Texas, U.S. |
YouTube information | |
Years active | March 2015–present |
Genre | Children |
Subscribers | 23.7 million (February 01, 2020) |
Total views | 34.8 billion (December 25, 2019) |
Ryan's World (formerly Ryan ToysReview) is a children's YouTube channel featuring Ryan Guan, who is eight years old as of October 2019,[1] along with his mother (Loann Guan), father (Shion Guan), and twin sisters (Emma and Kate).
The channel usually releases a new video every day. One of the channel's videos, titled as "Huge Eggs Surprise Toys Challenge" has over 1.9 billion views as of November 2019, making it one of the 50 most viewed videos on YouTube.[2] As of November 2019, the channel has over 20 million subscribers, and its videos have garnered over 30 billion views.[3] The channel is one of the Top 100 most-subscribed YouTube channels in the United States.
The Verge has described the channel as "a mash-up of personal vlog and 'unboxing' video, a blend of innocent childhood antics and relentless, often overwhelming consumerism."[4] According to Forbes, Kaji earned $11 million between 2016 and 2017 and was the eighth highest-paid YouTuber; and in 2018 and 2019, was listed as the highest-paid YouTuber, earning $22 million and $26 million respectively from his videos and product line at Walmart. As of July 11, 2019, he has released his own branded toothbrushes and toothpaste.[5][6][7]
The channel is also offered in other languages like Spanish and Japanese under the titles "Ryan's World Español", and "ライアンズ ・ワールド".
History
Kaji began making YouTube videos in March 2015 after watching other toy review channels like EvanTubeHD and asking his mother, "How come I’m not on YouTube when all the other kids are?"[8] Kaji's mother decided to quit her job as a high school chemistry teacher to work on the YouTube channel full-time.[4]
Before going live on YouTube, the family replaced their real-life surname (Guan) with the on-screen surname Kaji.[9][10][11]
In 2017, Kaji's parents signed a deal with PocketWatch, a startup children's media company that was founded in 2016 by Chris Williams and Albie Hecht. PocketWatch does the marketing and merchandise for Ryan's YouTube channels.[12] In 2018, Ryan ToysReview, in cooperation with PocketWatch and WildWorks, created an app called Tag with Ryan, an endless runner game targeted towards children, for iOS and Android.[13] In 2019, Ryan ToysReview and PocketWatch produced a 20-episode television series for preschoolers titled Ryan's Mystery Playdate.[14] On November 1, 2019, Outright Games released a video game titled Race With Ryan, a racing game featuring Kaji and characters from the Ryan's World brand, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.[15]
Influence
Kaji has influenced the toy industry; his toy reviews, especially those which get millions of views, will sometimes affect the toy's sales.[4] Chris Williams of PocketWatch compared Kaji to Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants.[12]
At the Toy Fair 2018 in New York, Kaji announced a line of toys, branded as Ryan's World, in cooperation with PocketWatch and Bonkers Toys.[16] The toys were first released exclusively at Walmart on August 6, 2018.[17]
The Ryan's World channel has been listed in 2018 and 2019 as the highest-earning YouTube channel by Forbes.[5][7]
Controversy
On August 28, 2019, a complaint was filed by Truth in Advertising and the Federal Trade Commission due to its sponsored videos not being properly disclosed. Truth in Advertising has claimed that "Nearly 90 percent of the Ryan ToysReview videos have included at least one paid product recommendation aimed at preschoolers, a group too young to distinguish between a commercial and a review."[18]
See also
References
- ^ Pflum, Mary (23 December 2018). "He's 7 years old — and he's YouTube's highest earner of 2018". NBC News. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- ^ "Huge Eggs Surprise Toys Challenge Inflatable water slide Disney Cars Toys Paw Patrol Spiderman". YouTube. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "Ryan ToysReview YouTube Channel Analytics and Report". www.noxinfluencer.com. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
- ^ a b c Popper, Ben. "YouTube's biggest star is a 5-year-old that makes millions opening toys". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ a b Robehmed, Natalie; Berg, Madeline (3 December 2018). "Highest-Paid YouTube Stars 2018". Forbes. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ^ Berg, Madeline. "The Highest-Paid YouTube Stars 2017: Gamer DanTDM Takes The Crown With $16.5 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ a b Berg, Madeline (December 18, 2019). "The Highest-Paid YouTube Stars of 2019: The Kids Are Killing It". Forbes. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
- ^ Schmidt, Samantha (11 December 2017). "6-year-old made $11 million in one year reviewing toys on You Tube". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ Koh, Yoree (December 23, 2019). "Walmart, Target Embrace 8-Year-Old YouTube Influencer's Brand". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ Noor, Poppy (December 20, 2019). "The highest YouTube earner this year? An eight-year-old". The Guardian. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ "Top YouTuber is eight years old, earns US$26 million". Taipei Times. Agence France-Presse. December 18, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "7-year-old toy reviewer on YouTube becomes a toy himself". 7 News Boston. October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ "Tag with Ryan". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
- ^ "Ryan's Mystery Playdate is the Next Move for Ryan ToysReview". The Toybook. February 14, 2019.
- ^ "Race With Ryan". Outright Games. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- ^ "Press Release – February 13, 2018 – pocket.watch". pocket.watch. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
- ^ News, I4U. "Ryan ToysReview Launches Massive Ryan's World Toy Line-up Exclusively at Walmart". I4U News. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
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has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Hsu, Tiffany (September 4, 2019). "Popular YouTube Toy Review Channel Accused of Blurring Lines for Ads". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2019.