‘Despicable Me’: Will kids movies improve on Netflix after Universal deal?
Kids movies on Netflix are always a great way to kill some time with the family. You don’t have to do the commitment of a binge-watch when the kids get enraptured by a television series. Instead, you have a couple of hours of family bonding time. Needless to say, everyone’s Netflix account got quite the workout due to the pandemic, especially in households with children.
Luckily, there is a fairly big library of children’s content on Netflix to keep the kids occupied. One of the biggest partners in making sure that Netflix’s film library remains stocked with kids movies is Universal. Now, with everyone and their mother making a streaming service nowadays, the concern is that the offerings from Universal’s children geared arm would stop coming.
Good news, however; it won’t. Universal & Netflix announced today (Tuesday, July 13) that they have hammered out a new deal in order to keep universal content on the streaming service. What were the deals made? How were things hammered out between the two? Here’s everything you need to know about the latest deal between Universal & Netflix.
The terms of the deal
According to Variety, who got the exclusive on the story, Netflix & Universal Filmed Entertainment Group are extending an agreement that gives the streaming giant exclusive rights to Universal’s animated films in the US. This continues a multi-year licensing deal which guarantees that the streaming service will have access to films involving Shrek, Despicable Me, and more.
Upcoming films such as The Bad Guys will have a four-month streaming window on NBCUniversal’s Peacock service before migrating over to Netflix. This way, Peacock gets a chance to host the films, but Netflix, which has a wider audience, will be able to continue streaming these kids movies that the whole family can enjoy. This builds upon the deal with Illumination and now folds in DreamWorks Animation.
Recently, Universal signed a similar deal with Amazon & IMDbTV for its live-action features. So it’s clearly ready to continue to play ball with its movies for other streaming services. Whether this means Peacock is doing well or not, we can’t say, but it’s always good to have options opened. Otherwise, well, things could crash & burn like Quibi did. Y’all remember Quibi?
It’s a smart move
The Universal kids movies that are available on Netflix have continued to be popular with families, especially those who are still trying to find balance adjusting to a post-pandemic lifestyle. It’s not surprising that Netflix & Universal decided to keep the deal going since things were going well on both ends of the arrangement. It makes sense.
Colin Morawski, director of studio licensing at Netflix said, “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with UFEG to bring more films from Illumination and DreamWorks Animation to our Netflix audience. As we’ve seen with our own slate, Netflix families love watching and rewatching animated films, and this deal allows us to expand our library to bring our audience more of what they want to watch.”
Peter Levinsohn, vice chairman and chief distribution officer of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group said, “UFEG produces some of the biggest animated franchises and boldest originals from some of the most influential, impactful and inspiring creators in the industry. This exciting agreement further demonstrates the importance of that content to our distribution partners as they grow their audiences and deliver the very best in entertainment.”
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What do you think about this latest move from Netflix & Universal to continue their partnership? Do you think that Peacock is on unsteady ground? What are your favorite kids movies on Netflix to watch? Let us know in the comments down below!
