iWorld
Netflix expands original TV series portfolio for kids with five new shows
MUMBAI: Working with award-winning global partners, Netflix is adding five new animated and live-action comedy series to its selection of high-quality kids and family entertainment.
“We’ve seen great characters and rich storytelling work for a global audience time and time again. That’s why we’re proud to be working with some of the industry’s best producers and animators on these shows and we can’t wait for kids and families all over the world to get to know these stories,” said Netflix vice president of global independent content Erik Barmack.
The new shows are Danger Mouse, Inspector Gadget, Some Assembly Required, Bottersnikes & Gumbles and Super 4.
Danger Mouse will release in Spring 2016 and the new animated series features all the classic characters, catchphrases and comedy that made it an 80’s cult favorite. Originally a loose parody of British spy fiction, this new Danger Mouse series will feature British actor and comedian, Stephen Fry, as Colonel K. Netflix will premiere the show in North America, Latin America, Nordics, Benelux and Japan with all other Netflix territories launching at a later date.
Inspector Gadget is back in an all-new CGI animated series this March. The 26-episode series, produced by DHX Media, premieres exclusively in the US on Netflix and will join the service at a later date in Latin America, the UK, Ireland, Benelux, France and the Nordics – after the initial broadcast in each country.
As the new owner of Knickknack Toys, fourteen-year old Jarvis Raines hires a group of friends from school to help him create awesome new toys. Following the teens’ comedic day-to-day adventures, Some Assembly Required – the live-action series created by Dan Signer and Howard Nemetz and produced by Thunderbird Films, stars Kolton Stewart, and Charlie Storwick. Netflix will premiere the series this summer in all Netflix territories this year, except in Canada, where it is currently the #1 show on YTV.
Bottersnikes & Gumbles is a fast-paced community comedy series that follows the adventures of three young Gumbles -Tink, Bounce and Willi. This new CGI-animated series is created by Cheeky Little, Mighty Nice and CAKE and co-commissioned by Netflix, BBC and Channel 7 Australia. The first 13 episode season will debut exclusively on Netflix around the world in 2016, with the UK and Australia launching at a later date.
In addition, Super 4, a brand new CGI animated series inspired by PlayMobil, makes its US premiere in April on Netflix. Super 4 follows four main characters – Alex the Knight, Ruby the Pirate, Agent Gene, and Twinkle the Fairy – as they explore the distinct islands of their planet, fight bad guys, and have fun along the way.
In 2011, Netflix launched a dedicated section for kids under 12 years old featuring TV shows and movies from great partners like PBS, Disney Channel, DreamWorks, Cartoon Network, Mattel, Hasbro, Lego and Scholastic, all in a commercial free environment. In 2012, Netflix and the Walt Disney Company signed an industry-first agreement making Netflix the Pay TV home of all live action and animated feature films released by Disney theatrically beginning in 2016. Additionally, all DreamWorks feature films are now available on Netflix in the Pay TV window. DreamWorks is also creating 300 hours of original kids shows exclusively for Netflix, including Turbo F.A.S.T., All Hail King Julien, Puss In Boots, Dragons and DinoTrux.
iWorld
Meta introduces new AI tools to boost discovery-to-purchase journey
From shoppable Reels to generative video, platforms get smarter at turning attention into sales.
MUMBAI: Meta is turning “scroll and stop” into “scroll, stop, and shop” and it’s using AI to make the whole journey feel almost effortless. The company has announced several new tools and enhancements designed to help brands guide people from discovery to purchase more effectively, while delivering more relevant and personalised experiences across its platforms.
Creators can now add product links more broadly on Instagram Reels, turning their content into shoppable moments. Businesses in 22 countries, including India, will soon be able to share their product catalogues with creators, opening up a new sales channel for brands and fresh monetisation opportunities for creators.
The Creator Marketplace has also been upgraded with enhanced target audience filtering, integrated with Ads Manager. This helps businesses quickly find creators who are a strong match for their goals. Campaigns using Partnership Ads deliver, on average, 19 per cent lower CPAs, 13 per cent higher click-through rates, and 71 per cent higher median brand lift.
Meta is expanding Reels Trending Ads inventory with new content categories including TV & Movies, Travel, Business, Finance & Investments. According to Meta’s analysis of 59 studies, Reels Trending Ads delivered an incremental 6.6 percentage point Ad Recall lift compared to control groups.
AI-Powered Shopping Enhancements
- Product Set Optimisation is now in testing, allowing retail media networks to promote specific products with detailed reporting. Early results show 17 per cent lower median seller cost per purchase.
- Product Showcase is being expanded so marketers can upload one image or video and let Meta’s AI automatically add relevant products as a carousel when it improves performance.
Meta is expanding its generative AI capabilities with:
- UGC-style videos featuring avatars and voiceovers
- Easier voiceover translation and text overlay translation in a single streamlined flow
- New tools to automatically turn product catalogues into dynamic video ads for Reels
Early testing of the Advantage+ creative video generation tool showed a 10 per cent increase in CTR and 8 per cent increase in CVR on average. Campaigns using catalog product video saw 20 per cent more conversions per dollar, while Reels placements with catalog product video delivered 33 per cent higher incremental conversions.
Industry voices welcomed the updates. Vikas Chawla of Social Beat called Partnership Ads a “flywheel” for authentic content that converts. Niti Kumar of Spark Foundry and Sadhvi Dhawan of Blink Digital highlighted the power of Reels Trending Ads for cultural relevance and guaranteed share of voice. Ramasish Bhowmik of Adbuffs noted that Meta’s GenAI tools are giving teams a clear competitive edge.
In a world where attention is fleeting but shopping intent can spark in seconds, Meta is betting that smarter AI will help brands turn discovery into decisions faster than ever. The message is clear: the future of advertising isn’t just about reaching people, it’s about reaching them at exactly the right moment, with exactly the right product.
