Netflix keeps building new ways to try to get tykes watching more of its content.
As part of its newest play for young streamers’ eyeballs, Netflix is launching Kids Top 10, a daily chart featuring the most popular children’s content in each country, in kids’ profiles starting Wednesday (mock-up pictured above). It’s a kid-specific version of the overall Top 10 rankings it debuted in early 2020.
And later this week, Netflix also will start sending out what it’s calling the Kids Recap Email to parents and guardians. The twice-monthly newsletter will include content recommendations for caregivers based on their children’s favorite shows and movies, along with other tips.
The two new features are being introduced as the result of Netflix’s discussions with parents and following more than six months of testing, according to the company.
“We’ve seen how Top 10 rows help our members find something to watch, and helping families make the best decisions has always been important to us,” Jennifer Nieva, director of product innovation at Netflix, said in a blog post. The Kids Top 10, she said, “can help kids and families find something to watch and bring them closer together.
The Kids Top 10 will launch on Wednesday, July 14, rolling out across devices (with the exception of Apple TV) in 93 countries. It will appear on the homepage of kids’ profiles as well as in the “New & Popular” section within the menu bar.
The list, updated daily, will list the most popular kids’ titles overall — including shows and movies — in each country with a maturity rating of PG and below (or local country equivalent). As with the overall Top 10, the titles in the kids’ version will have a red “Top 10” badge wherever they appear in kids’ profiles on Netflix.
Meanwhile, the first Kids Recap Email will hit parents’ inboxes starting Friday, July 16, rolling out globally to all members who have at least one kids’ profile set up on their accounts. (Customers may opt-out of the email if they choose.) In addition to recommendations, the newsletter will include thematic charts showing the types of programs a kid enjoys most (i.e. science, friendship) and printable coloring sheets and activities based on each child’s favorite characters.
Netflix first introduced kids’ profiles in 2013 (when it debuted multi-user profiles for a single account) and has been continually tweaking the feature. This spring, the company revamped Netflix Kids profiles on TVs to include a “Favorites” row on the homepage with five characters from the TV shows or movies that a kid has watched most frequently.
