School’s out, vacations are booked and one audience never seems to have enough entertainment: the family. Today, Netflix launched Netflix Families (www.netflix.com/families), a new destination designed to meet family’s summer entertainment needs. Parents will find the iconic Netflix rows filled with trusted recommendations of popular family TV shows and movies, information on the best ways to stream, and videos about how other families use Netflix. Accessible from any computer or tablet, the Families page is available for both members and non-members.
“We see about a 30 percent increase in family and kids content viewing hours during summer so we know Netflix is a great solution for entertaining families this time of year,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer, at Netflix. “With the Netflix Families page, we’ve used our proprietary algorithm to create lists we think families will love. In the ‘Are We There Yet’ list we’ve picked TV shows and movies ideal for watching on your tablet in the airport and the ‘TV for Curious Kids’ lists have shows that will help keep kids’ minds active during the summer months.”
According to a recent survey*, 86 percent of parents with children ages 5-12 wish they could bring their kids’ favorite TV shows and movies along with them during the summer months. Good news – Netflix works on almost any device with a broadband, WiFi or mobile data connection. Members can stream thousands of TV shows and movies – always without commercials – anytime, anywhere; on vacation, at grandma’s house and of course, snuggled on the couch after a long day at the park.
A monthly subscription to Netflix offers unlimited streaming for $7.99 a month, which includes a dedicated kids section that is curated in conjunction with ratings and reviews from Common Sense Media, a leading non-profit organization that provides independent, trustworthy ratings, reviews and information to help parents make great media choices. In addition to character-based selections, the service displays rows of TV shows and movies organized by easy-to-understand genres such as superheroes, princesses, dinosaurs and girl power.
“As a mom, technology is my best friend. And since I’m a busy working mom, Netflix did my homework for me this summer,” said Denise Albert of The Moms, leading parenting influencer. “When I go anywhere with my kids I love that now all I have to bring is my iPad – it’s got our books, our games and our TV shows and movies. And with kids section on Netflix, I know that I’m in control of what they are watching.”
Streaming is easy and works both at home and away
Many families (84 percent) in the U.S. already have three or more Netflix-ready devices in their household, yet more than half (59 percent) of those households are not using them to stream Netflix. Netflix works on a wide range of devices – from smartphones to tablets, laptops and Smart TVs to popular game consoles like the Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo Wii. Netflix Families provides quick-start instructions for those families who are unsure about how to stream.
“I was overwhelmed by the idea of streaming and so I never took the time to see what it was all about,” said Melissa Musen Gerstein of The Moms. “All this time I could have been watching Netflix on our Wii or my iPad. Now, I love watching all the great TV shows I missed while I was giving the kids baths every night. I curl up with my iPad after the kids are in bed and enjoy what I want to watch.”
The High Price of Summer
Searching for ways to entertain the family during the summer, parents spend nearly double what they do on holiday gifts ($813 vs. $428). With summer camps, extra meals at restaurants and special family outings, parents occasionally need some help to deliver big entertainment for their kids or themselves without breaking the bank. A one-year Netflix membership costs less than what the average family spends on two trips to the movie theater – and that’s without the popcorn.
*SURVEY METHODOLGY
The Netflix Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 500 US parents of children ages 5 to 12 via an email invitation and an online survey. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.
