While Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) received critical acclaim for its original programming when the streaming service released House of Cards, Arrested Development, and Orange Is The New Black, Netflix knows that it also needs to appeal to children and their minders.
Parents and babysitters alike are both well aware of the genius of the tablet put in the hands of their young charges. Whether it’s in the home or in the car, for entertainment or for learning, watching after kids has been transformed by tablet use.
DreamWorks partners with Netflix
Today, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) announced its biggest deal yet for original programming, and it should come as no surprise that it’s focused on the little ones.
In a deal with DreamWorks Animation, the two will produce a 26-episode series entitled Turbo F.A.S.T based on the racing snail film Turbo. Christmas Eve will see the series released to Netflix’s 39 million worldwide subscribers. The series will represent the first installment of the 300 hours of programming agreement reached with DreamWorks Animation.
A deal with DreamWorks Animation represents the streaming service’s largest push yet into original programming. Turbo F.A.S.T., a 26-episode series based on Turbo, a feature film about racing snails, will be released Dec. 24 to its 39 million worldwide subscribers, the first result of an agreement spanning 300 hours of programming to the streaming service.
The agreement will also give Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) first use on DreamWorks Animation feature films and those released by Disney and its Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm labels.
Netflix to capitalize on family viewing habits
“Family viewing on Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) platform is a gigantic part of the value, and driving continued customer growth for them,” says DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg. As a result, Netflix and DreamWorks are also planning no less than four original series based on characters from DreamWorks’ films or from Netflix’s recently acquired Classic Media library which includes Lassie, Underdog, and the Rocky and Bullwinkle characters.
Unlike Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s original programming for adults which has so far been released in its entirety for “binge viewing,” the programming for kids will be released five episodes at a time with subsequent updates focused around holidays when viewership increases.
Kids know what they want and they know when they want it.
“It’s a generational thing,” Katzenberg says. “More and more they’re growing up on their tablets and they’re about picking what they want to see when they want to see it,” he says.
