Netflix will offer parents a special kid-friendly countdown that lets children celebrate the New Year before midnight, CNNMoneyreports.The on-demand specialwill be hosted by King Julien, the titular animated lemur from the new Netflix series, All Hail King Julienand allows parents to pretend its midnight at any time.
The three-minute clip is available to stream now, and in a statement released by Netflix, King Julien himself addressed his constituents: Move over, Ryan Seacrest, Ive got my very own on-demand countdown party on Netflix.
While parents will appreciate the help in tricking their kids, the countdown special doubles asa calculated move by Netflix. The streaming service and Wakefield Research conducteda survey that showed 87 percent of parents will celebrate New Years Eve with their kids, and that 34 percent of parents already fool their kids into thinking its midnight at an earlier time.
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The special also bolsters Netflixs efforts to reach as wide an audience as possible, including kids. In October, Netflixs chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, told CNNMoneythat over 70 childrens shows had been streamed by approximately 2 million subscribers. To a 12-year-old boy, Netflix means something completely different than it does to a 5-year-old girl or 40-year-old, Sarandos said.
Based off the character of the same name from the Madagascar franchise, All Hail King Julien premiered on Netflix earlier this month. The show is one of several series the site is producing in conjunction with DreamWorks Animation.
For childlessadults andparents thathave locked down a babysitter, check out Rolling Stones guide to the best New Years Eve concertsacross the country. Also, heres hoping Netflix rings in 2016 with a House of Cardscountdown hosted by Frank Underwood, in which hegravelysings Auld Lang Syne and compares the slow march of time to the incremental accumulation of power in an impassioned soliloquy delivered straight to the camera.