To further strengthen its grounds in the kids content market, Netflix has announced to be redesigning kids profiles on connected TVs to help younger audiences watch their favourite shows and movies on the platform. This development comes with special emphasis on content discovery and improved personalisation.
The new UI, now rolled out globally on TV, replaces recommended titles with favourites to let users start watching their preferred titles and characters as soon as they open the streamer. The redesigned kids’ profile will prominently feature characters from their most-watched titles right on home screen, as Variety reports.
Netflix Kids profiles on TVs will include a ‘favourites’ row on the homepage with five characters shown above the related series or movie. Though earlier recommendations had some degree of personalisation, this redesign clearly is expected to take the experience to an all-new level.
Commenting on the development, Netflix product manager for kids and family Michelle Parsons said in a statement, “Every family and every child is different and we are always looking to improve the Netflix experience to reflect that. Today, we are literally “over the moon” to share our redesigned kids profile on TV, which makes it easier and more fun for kids to engage with their favourite characters, shows or movies. We wanted to represent a title in the way that kids most recognise it- through the characters. This is going to be like a kid walking into their own room, where they know where every Lego piece is.”
For a show to appear in the favourites row, a kid must watch it at least once. The favourites row will feature characters from all titles available on Netflix, covering both licensed and original content. Every title in this row will also carry an avatar borrowed from the title to boost engagement. Presently, the new favourites row appears in kids profiles in Netflix’s connected TV apps. “The company will test the feature across other devices [mobiles/tablets] in the coming months,” Parsons added.
This update is part of the global streaming powerhouse’s ongoing efforts to make kids profiles more appealing. In April 2020, Netflix launched an updated parental control system bringing individual profile level PIN protection to prevent kids from using them. Notably, this was the biggest update in the history of Netflix since 2013 which is when it first announced kids profiles. Alongside granular PIN protection, the update had also brought the ability to filter out titles while also making it easier for parents to monitor what their kids were watching within the profile created for them.