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TechNetflix

How Netflix Is Tricking Kids on New Year’s Eve

By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
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By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 30, 2015, 3:38 PM ET
Netflix Launches In Mexico City - Press Conference
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - SEPTEMBER 12: General view during a press conference with Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, to announce the Netflix service in Mexico at the St. Regis Hotel on September 12, 2011 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Latin Content/Getty Images)Photograph by Getty Images

Netflix (NFLX) wants to help give parents a little privacy on New Year’s Eve, and it isn’t above tricking their kids to do it.

The movie and television streaming service is tapping into the trend of parents lying about the time to get kids into bed before the clock strikes 12. Netflix has brought back a series of programs that pretend to count down to 2016, and it’s already available to play.

Hosts for the shows include cartoon characters such as Puffin Rock’s Oona and Baba, the Care Bears & Cousins, Inspector Gadget, King Julien, and Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Children can select the host they want themselves, according to a Netflix trailer:

The company actually based the decision on data. In fact, Netflix reportedly conducted a survey with SurveyMonkey from Dec. 4 to Dec. 15 that asked 9,000 parents about their New Year’s Eve habits, according to Marketwatch. The results found that almost half of parents in the U.S., Britain, Canada, and Australia hold a countdown for their kids by around 9 p.m.

Netflix aired the program for the first time in 2014.

Fortune has reached out to Netflix for comment.

About the Author
By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
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Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

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