Kidvid Comes of Age : More and more pre-kindergarten children are watching videos, but quality programs are scarce. Marketers are now rushing to fill the void with such titles as ‘Preschool Power,’ ‘Baby Animals’ and Disney’s ‘Spot.’

You’re never too young to be mesmerized by a piece of music. You’re never too young to be captivated by a storybook character. And in the eyes of the video industry, you’re never too young to be a target market.

Having captured the hearts and minds of school-age children and teen-agers, video suppliers are focusing their marketing efforts on preschoolers. Perceiving a void in the ever-lucrative kidvid marketplace, the major suppliers are going back to basics with original programming designed to entertain and educate, be nonviolent and non-threatening and promote positive character development.

If this is a bandwagon, the majors are jumping on for the long haul. Rather than release single titles, several studios have committed their considerable clout to the preschool market by creating specially designated lines and collections, the better to foster brand-name awareness, gain consumer loyalty and secure space on retail shelves.

While one cannot underestimate the economic rewards of carving out a niche in the most rapidly growing segment of the children’s video market, a strong impetus for its development is feedback from parents and child educators seeking quality, age-appropriate programming.

“There is no question there is a movement that is saying, ‘Protect our kids from some of the horrors of the media,’ ” says Diana Huss Green, editor in chief of Parents’ Choice magazine, a not-for-profit consumer guide to children’s media. “It’s natural for parents to be concerned.”

Independent producers pioneered the preschool-specific market, creating programs simply because they could find little that was appropriate to show their own children.

“Preschool Power” is the “Road Construction Ahead” of preschool videos, a word-of-mouth success that, since its debut in 1990, has garnered critical acclaim and film festival awards. Distributed by Concept Videos, (800) 333-8252, “Preschool Power” is based on Montessori School learning methods. Home viewers learn developmental skills and activities by watching on-screen peers.

With limited marketing resources (“We spend all our money on production,” says company President William Connell, whose daughter Carey created the series), “Preschool Power” found a home in libraries, only recently branching out to mass merchants and book and toy stores. The first five tapes (three new volumes were recently released) have sold upward of 185,000 copies.

V ermont Story Works, (800) 206-8383, produced and distributes the award- winning “Let’s Go to the Farm” and “Baby Animals.”

“My partner and I came into the video business because of a lack of quality programming,” producer Ed Dooley says. “There was too much pandering, too much talking down to the audience, too much violence and not enough educational content. Parents are too busy to sit with their children and explain to them what is happening on-screen or to comfort them if they get scared.

“The major video companies, I think, are recognizing that children are watching videos at a much younger age and are making a conscious effort to leave out violent or frightening aspects.”

Even Disney acknowledges that some of its animated features, the cornerstones of most family libraries, may not be the most appropriate viewing choice for an unattended 2- or 3-year-old. “We recognize that there was little programming that was specifically developed for a preschool child,” says Tania Moloney, vice president of publicity and event marketing. To fill that void, Walt Disney Home Video introduced in 1993 the “Spot” series, based on Eric Hill’s best-selling lift-the-flap books, and recently launched the “Jim Henson’s Preschool Collection” with new Muppets and Muppet Babies programs.

This month, Disney unveils its most ambitious undertaking, “Bright Beginnings,” a banner under which will be released a variety of animated, live-action and musical programs designed to complement a preschooler’s development. Initial offerings include “Sweet Dreams, Spot,” “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” the concert video “Parachute Express: Come Sing With Us” and “Mother Goose Stories,” featuring the Muppets. Each will retail at $12.98.

A new kid on the block in the preschool market is Nick Jr., distributed by Sony Wonder, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Now available in stores, the Nick Jr. collection brings to video top-rated series from the cable channel Nickelodeon’s morning lineup: “Allegra’s Window,” “Gullah Gullah Island” and “Eureeka’s Castle.” These too retail for $12.98 and contain original, made-for-video segments.

“There was always a preschool market, but it has never been exploited to this extent,” says Wendy Moss, marketing senior vice president. “It’s important to mold children at this young age and make a difference. It is such a specialized market. You have to be very careful what you select to make sure that children will have good feelings about what you’re exposing them to so they will want to watch it again.’

When it comes to preschool videos, WarnerVision Entertainment’s KidVision label gets real. The distributors of the best-selling “Real Wheels” and “Real Animals” programs recently rolled out “Dream Big.” Developed by Sid and Marty Krofft, of “H.R. Pufnstuf” fame, this live-action vocational-awareness series launches with four titles: “I Wish I Were a Football Player,” “I Wish I Were a Cheerleader,” “I Wish I Were a Cowboy” and “I Wish I Were a Ballerina.” Each retails for $9.95.

Coming this month and next are “Baby Goes,” a live-action musical series for toddlers; “Fay Presents,” featuring artist William Wegman’s photogenic dogs in educational poses; “Thinking Kids,” which will take viewers behind the scenes to see how money and candy are made, and “Real Rockin’ Wheels,” a musical complement to the “Real Wheels” series.

Warner Home Video, which distributes its family films under the sell-through Family Entertainment banner, is taking its tentative first steps in the preschool market with “Babies at Play,” a captivating three-volume series produced by former teachers in which real babies romp in familiar, everyday settings. Available this month are “In Their Favorite Places,” “On a Fun, Rainy Day” and “Under a Blue, Blue Sky.” Each retails for $14.99.

“Kids need to have their own programming, non-inflammatory and developmentally oriented,” says Gail Becker, director of publicity. “A lot of reality-based, live-action programs claim to be OK for preschoolers, but even some of the big-vehicle videos can frighten young children. Any mother will tell you babies love to watch other babies.”

A s preschool video comes of age, parents are faced with even more viewing choices. Some studios have picked up independent franchises already established in the marketplace. MCA/Universal Home Video now distributes the popular “Wee Sing” series. KidVision has acquired the award-winning “Kidsongs” music videos. PolyGram Video recently premiered the first two volumes in the series “The Busy World of Richard Scarry.” And Live Entertainment’s Family Home Entertainment label will introduce next week four new-to-video titles in its “Hello Kitty” series, based on the popular franchise.

More than ever, says Diana Huss Green of Parents’ Choice magazine, “parents will have to do their homework.” She offered these guidelines for parents to determine if a program is appropriate for their children: Do the characters, music, plot and photography come together to make a lively production? Does the theme promote positive values? Does the content provoke thought and encourage questions? Is the running time suitable to a child’s attention span? Is it based on stories that one would want their child to read?