Cricket Media

What Cricket Media does

Cricket Media is a privately held education media company founded in 1973 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, that produces award-winning children's media across multiple formats. The company serves children from birth to age 14, along with their families, educators, and schools, through a portfolio that includes nine children's magazines (Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, Cricket, ASK, Click, Cobblestone, Faces, Muse), the Sensical free streaming platform, the Reading Stars interactive reading app, audiobooks, and the eMentoring programs CricketTogether and TryEngineering Together. Cricket Media also operates content licensing services offering access to over 100,000 licensed content assets from its 50+ year archive to education publishers, edtech platforms, and AI-driven learning companies.

The company's technology stack spans a multi-platform digital ecosystem including a proprietary AI and metadata platform for contextual content matching and advertising across CTV, FAST, and YouTube, a Digital Asset Library licensing portal (Widen-powered), and human-curated content recommendation (Sensical explicitly contrasts itself with algorithmic curation). Core technologies include Lexile-matched reading content, asynchronous eMentoring letter-exchange platforms, Zoom-delivered live language classes, and integrations with AWS for hosting, Shopify for e-commerce, and Stripe for payments. Cricket Media holds PRIVO Kids Privacy Assured COPPA Safe Harbor certification across all digital properties, websites, magazine apps, and services.

Cricket Media's revenue model combines direct-to-consumer subscriptions (print magazines, app subscriptions, premium Sensical), institutional bulk magazine sales (at $15.99 per subscription for orders of 20 or more), B2B content licensing royalties, advertising and brand sponsorships on Sensical, and corporate sponsorship-funded eMentoring programs that are free to schools. The company sells through Shopify-powered e-commerce, mobile app stores, Amazon Prime Video Channels, CTV/FAST platforms, direct institutional sales, and a B2B licensing portal. It operates subsidiaries including In2Books, Fluent City (rebranded Cricket eLearning, acquired October 2021), NeuLingo, and ePals, and has expanded through acquisitions including Fluent City and the May 2026 integration of News-O-Matic content.

Name

Cricket Media

Legal name

Cricket Media Services, Inc.

Website

https://cricketmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cricket Media is a privately held children's education media company producing award-winning magazines (ages 0-14), the Sensical streaming platform, the Reading Stars app, audiobooks, eMentoring programs, and a 100,000+ asset content licensing library serving families, schools, educators, publishers, and edtech platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Educational Media and Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822), Phonograph Records & Prerecorded Audio Tapes & Disks (3652)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Reference & Informational Series Publishing (MPAJAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Digital & Interactive Publishing (E-books, Apps, Enhanced Content) (MPAJAFAJ), Children’s Audio Publishing (Audiobooks & Podcasts) (MPAJAFAI), Reference Works & Academic Databases (Encyclopedias, Indexes, Abstracts) (MPAJABAI), Children’s Nonfiction Educational (Science, History, Nature) (EDAGAIAC)

Keywords

• Children's educational media
• Kids magazine publishing
• Educational content licensing
• Children's streaming platform
• Online eMentoring programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Mclean

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Print magazine subscriptions for children ages 0-14 (Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, Cricket, and others). Sold direct-to-consumer via e-commerce and to institutions in bulk for classrooms.
2. Digital Products: Revenue from Reading Stars app, audiobooks, and Sensical streaming platform including ad-supported and ad-free subscription tiers.
3. eMentoring Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors fund CricketTogether and TryEngineering Together programs, providing employees volunteer opportunities while supporting underserved students.
4. Content Licensing: Licensing of 100,000+ content assets to education publishers, edtech platforms, and AI learning companies. Includes text, illustrations, articles, and multimedia for curriculum, assessments, and publishing.
5. Advertising & Sponsorship: Brand partnerships and sponsorships on Sensical and Cricket Media platforms, providing kid-safe advertising opportunities for family-focused brands.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cricket Media produces and distributes award-winning children's educational media across print magazines, digital apps, streaming video, audiobooks, and online eMentoring programs for ages 0-14. It also licenses its 100,000+ content asset library to education publishers, edtech platforms, and AI companies, and operates language learning platforms (NeuLingo and Cricket eLearning).

Product overview

Cricket Media operates as a multi-platform children's media company offering integrated products across print, digital, video, audio, and interactive formats. The core portfolio includes award-winning children's magazines (Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, Cricket, ASK, CLICK, Cobblestone, Faces, Muse) spanning ages 0-14; Sensical, a free streaming video platform; Reading Stars interactive reading app; Cricket Audiobooks; eMentoring programs (CricketTogether and TryEngineering Together); language learning (NeuLingo, Cricket eLearning); content licensing; and classroom resources. CricketTogether and TryEngineering Together connect students with volunteer eMentors through asynchronous letter exchanges about curated content. The company serves kids and families directly through subscriptions and apps, while licensing content to educational publishers, EdTech platforms, and AI companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BABYBUG Magazine: Award-winning magazine for babies and toddlers ages 0-3, featuring rich vocabulary, enchanting artwork, and interactive fingerplays.
• LADYBUG Magazine
• CLICK Magazine
• SPIDER Magazine
• ASK Magazine
• CRICKET Magazine
• COBBLESTONE Magazine
• FACES Magazine
• MUSE Magazine
• Sensical
• Reading Stars
• CricketTogether
• TryEngineering Together
• ePals Global Community

Products and services

• Cricket Magazines (Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, Cricket) Award-winning children's magazines for ages 0-14 featuring fiction, poetry, science articles, historical nonfiction, and activities from internationally celebrated writers and illustrators. Sold via direct subscriptions and institutional bulk orders for classrooms.
• Sensical

Quantifiable outcome

• 63% improvement in students self-reporting being 'good' or 'very good' at reading after CricketTogether participation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• News-O-MaticcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2026News-O-Matic content now available through Cricket Media's licensing library, expanding the offering of age-appropriate nonfiction for education publishers, edtech platforms, and AI-driven learning solutions. Integrates timely news content for young readers.
• Fluent CitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 October 2021Acquired Fluent City in October 2021, adding nine languages and corporate training capabilities to Cricket Media's eLearning offerings. The acquisition expanded the platform to 11 languages serving over 40,000 adult students.
• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE partners with TryEngineering Together program, providing STEM professional eMentors and supporting students in grades 3-8 with engineering-focused content and mentorship.
• MENTOR (National Mentoring Partnership)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in response to COVID-19 pandemic, Virtual Mentoring Portals support mentoring organizations seeking online solutions to safely connect mentors and mentees.
• ANSYScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor of TryEngineering Together STEM eMentoring program, engaging employees as volunteer mentors for students.
• The Great CoursesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor of CricketTogether program, providing employee volunteers for literacy eMentoring.
• TIAAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor providing employee volunteers as eMentors for underserved students.
• ADPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor of CricketTogether eMentoring program.
• Centene CorporationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor supporting eMentoring programs for students.
• HitachiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor providing employee volunteers as eMentors.
• Farmers InsuranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor of eMentoring programs.
• Additional Corporate SponsorsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdditional sponsors include: Aerojet Rocketdyne, United Way of Midland County, Wondrium, Northrop Grumman, National Geographic, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Cotiviti, West Digital, Epsilon, NPSS, AppFire, Learning.com, Quinlin, Tenaris, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Silicon Valley, Hopewell Fund/Learning Together Project
• CDS (Curtis Circulation Company)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorService provider for order fulfillment of magazine subscriptions and distributor for Cricket Media products.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Highlights for Children: Highlights is the most direct competitor to Cricket Media in the children's magazine category, publishing Highlights, High Five, and Hello magazines for ages 0-12 with a similar trusted-by-parents brand positioning and decades-long publishing heritage.
• PBS Kids: PBS Kids is the leading ad-supported free children's educational video brand in the U.S. and the most direct competitor to Cricket Media's Sensical streaming platform, with a parent-trusted brand and library of award-winning curriculum-aligned content.
• National Geographic Kids: National Geographic Kids magazines and digital platforms compete directly with Cricket Media's nonfiction titles (ASK, MUSE, Click, Cobblestone) for the ages 6-14 curious-kid and educational nonfiction audience.
• Time for Kids: Time for Kids is a direct competitor in classroom nonfiction magazines and current-events content for grades K-6, and overlaps with Cricket Media's recent News-O-Matic licensing integration on age-appropriate news for education publishers.
• Epic!: Epic! is a leading subscription-based digital reading platform for kids with a large library of children's books and educator tools, directly competing with Cricket Media's Reading Stars app and classroom reading offerings.
• Lingokids: Lingokids is a leading children's English and language-learning platform with an app-based, ad-supported and subscription model that competes with Cricket Media's NeuLingo and Cricket eLearning (formerly Fluent City) businesses.
• Sesame Workshop: Sesame Workshop produces Sesame Street and adjacent educational media across video, apps, magazines, and licensing with a 50+ year brand, overlapping Cricket Media across children's media formats, parent trust, and educational outcomes focus.

Broad incumbents

• Scholastic: Scholastic is a much larger incumbent in children's book publishing and education, with school book fairs, classroom magazines (Scholastic News, Scope), and educational content platforms that overlap Cricket Media's institutional and content licensing businesses.

Emerging players

• Khan Academy Kids: Khan Academy Kids is a free, high-quality early-learning app from the well-funded Khan Academy nonprofit, competing with Cricket Media's Reading Stars and Sensical in the parent-trusted, free digital learning category for ages 2-8.

Others

• Common Sense Media: Common Sense Media is the dominant independent reviewer of children's media content and a frequent distribution/recommendation channel for parents, making it a key adjacent platform influencing discovery of Cricket Media's products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CricketMediaInc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLQKAU3PVgMbVVQpXRyG9WA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ePals
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cricketmedia
• Instagraminstagram.com/cricketmediainc
• Pinterestpinterest.com/CricketMediainc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cricket Media