Netflix borrows from YouTube for its children’s programming

Netflix’s new strategy for content: don’t just spoof YouTube, borrow from it. To flesh out its children’s programming, the world’s biggest streaming service has just licensed the YouTube original, preschool-friendly HooplaKidz nursery rhyme show, The Adventures of Annie and Ben as a single 46-minute Netflix compilation.

According to Variety, The Adventures of Annie and Ben features the titular Annie, her dog Ben and their monkey pal Mango singing familiar children’s songs like “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” “The Wheels on the Bus” and the always-popular “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Given the need-it-now nature of children’s programming, kids’ shows have turned out to be immensely popular on YouTube and it seems that Netflix wants to get a bigger slice of the action while keeping the content itself safe inside its commercial-free, family-friendly garden.

If the content proves successful, it won’t be the last time a YouTube show makes the leap to Netflix either. HooplaKidz has more than 10,000 original videos already and Shahrzad Rafati, CEO of parent company BroadbandTV, believes the licensing deal will lead to new Netflix original series featuring her company’s stable of intellectual property in the future. Let’s just hope there’s not another outage right before nap time.

Source: Variety