On Monday, Mar. 25, Apple held a keynote event where it finally unveiled Apple TV+, the company’s foray into the world of streaming video subscription. Nestled in the nearly two-hour keynote event were all sorts of neat, exciting announcements especially appealing to moms and dads—and we’ve rounded them all up here!
Read on for all the cool new things Apple has planned that parents everywhere can totally get behind.
A Coding TV Show Just for Preschoolers
Apple announced Apple TV+, its first video subscription service offering original programming. It's not all just for grownups, as Big Bird himself came out on stage to introduce a new show from Sesame Workshop: a TV show all about coding, just for preschoolers. Pricing and availability for Apple TV+ will be announced this fall.
Why parents will love it: A STEM-focused show for the preschool set—from Sesame Workshop, to boot? What's not to love!
A Better Kid-Friendly Experience for Apple TV
Besides original programming on Apple TV+, the company announced that its popular Apple TV app will get major upgrades with a big redesign. With Apple TV Channels, the Apple TV app will now bundle just about every available streaming video provider out there—including hulu and Amazon Prime Video—along with popular cable networks, too, like Showtime and HBO. What this means is that instead of having to scroll through pages of apps to find your streaming shows and movies, the Apple TV app keeps everything your family watches all in one place.
Cindy Lin, Apple's director of program management, showed off a much user-friendlier interface for Kids content on the Apple TV app. Speaking of her own 5-year-old son, Lin said, "whether we want to learn something new, be inspired by other kids or just let our imaginations run wild, I love that we have a safe place to explore together." Parents will be able to see the new redesigned Apple TV app with an app update coming in May.
Why parents will love it: All of your kiddo's favorite characters, shows and movies—and all in one easy-to-navigate place.
Apple Arcade Ups the Ante for Gaming
Apple Arcade hopes to change the gaming experience as the "world’s first game subscription service for mobile, desktop and the living room." With new and original games from both indie game developers and major title producers, Apple Arcade will allow subscribers to try any of its handpicked, curated game for free. Apple Arcade will also support the development of games that might not otherwise have gotten the chance.
In a video promo for the platform, Sam Rosenthal and Cedric Adams, creators and game devs of the forthcoming title Where Cards Fall, explained why Apple Arcade is such a big deal: "Where Card Fall tells a very personal coming-of-age story that other publishers wouldn't take a chance on. We're not shying away from uncomfortable, formative experiences. We see the characters at school, we see them at the homecoming dance, we see them have a fight with their mom... It's really important for us to be authentic. There's no guns, there's no killing—we're just telling a story. We're almost the complete opposite of the current market and most people typically wouldn't see it unless Apple Arcade existed."
Why parents will love it: Without having to worry about shady in-game pop-up ads or or the kids accidentally buying in-game currency, Apple Arcade offers a more family-friendly experience to paid gaming.
Say Hello to Apple Card
Chances are you've used Apple Pay, especially if you're juggling kids with one arm and groceries with the other. Apple's tap-and-go payment service just took on a physical form with its first IRL credit card. Like other rewards credit cards, the Apple Card offers 2 percent Daily Cash back for all purchases (3 percent for purchases made at Apple Stores or via the App Store), applied directly to your Apple Cash account via your Apple Wallet.
Unlike other credit cards, however, Apple has upped its commitment to the privacy of its customers' data, where "unique security and privacy architecture...means Apple doesn’t know where a customer shopped, what they bought or how much they paid," the company said in a statement. Apple Card will be available via application from iPhones everywhere starting this summer.
Why parents will love it: Rack up that cash back, even on all those kids' games and apps you buy for your iPhone or iPad.
—Keiko Zoll
All photos: Courtesy of Apple/Featured photo: Keiko Zoll via screenshot
Hulu’s newest price plan goes into effect Feb. 26 and reduces the cost of its basic package by $2. And yes, that’s about the same amount your Netflix plan just went up by. In case you missed it, Netflix also recently announced a price change—with a $1 to $2 increase for all plans. So Hulu’s price change is pretty much an all-out equalizer.
In a perfect world you could purchase a plan for one streaming service and get everything from Ozark to The Handmaid’s Tale. But sadly, this can never happen (thank you studio contracts). And that means you need at least two streaming services (and that’s not counting Amazon Prime). With Hulu’s $2 reduction, you might feel more comfortable with the $1 to $2 extra Netflix will charge streaming customers.
Keep in mind, the price drop isn’t for every type of Hulu service. The basic plan, which comes with commercials, will go from $8 a month to $6. On-demand plan customers who currently pay $12 a month won’t see any change at all. But if you’re signed up for Hulu’s Live TV plan, you’re looking at a $5 increase—to $45 per month.
Do you share your online accounts with others? If so, you’re not alone. With so many different streaming service platforms it can be tempting to share access with family and friends to cut down on costs, but is sharing online streaming accounts really safe?
According to a new study by Country Financial, three our of four Americans share their streaming service accounts, like Netflix, Hulu and Spotify, or other online or mobile app accounts, including Amazon Prime and Uber. Entertainment services were the most widely shared with at least one other person, while younger adults were most likely to use shared services.
Disney is getting ready to jump into the world of streaming services next year, joining an already crowded pool of offerings including Netflix, Amazon and Hulu—which means adding yet another subscription fee to your budget. To avoid paying to watch your kids’ favorite shows, you might consider sharing an account with other family members, but is that the best idea?
On the upside sharing an account, can save you more than you might think. According to a separate survey by Waterstone Management Group, 84 percent of consumers underestimate what they spend on monthly expenses. On average people estimated that they spend $111 per month on subscription services, but the actual average is $237. Sharing accounts could significantly cut down on those costs.
The downside to sharing, however, is safety. Along with sharing an account, comes sharing passwords, which might not seem like a big deal to do with family and close friends…but what if they decide to share the love even more and give access to others? Then your password, which you likely use for other secure accounts, isn’t exactly secure anymore.
Not to mention the fact that sharing likely violates the Terms of Service agreement, a.k.a. all that fine print that you scrolled through without reading. If you’re caught, there’s a good chance you’ll lose all access to your online account. While sharing is clearly common practice, it’s important to take safety precautions.
Calling all television-lovers. Your dream job is here! Yep, now you can get paid to watch TV. That is, if you’re lucky enough to score this ridiculously rad gig. Oh, and did we mention that it pays $20 an hour?
Your fantasy could come true (and no, we don’t mean the one that has any of the Hemsworth brothers in it). Imagine that you get to spend the day sitting on the couch binge-watching show after show. And you don’t need to feel bad about it—because it’s your job. Whoa.
The website HowToWatch.com recently announced that they have an open position for the right candidate to test live-streaming platforms. The job requires some serious TV-watching—100 hours in all. This contract position (meaning it’s not full-time or permanent) pays $500 up front and $1,500 after the job is completed.
There are no required or set hours, as long as you watch 100 hours total by Nov. 1, 2018. This includes at least 14 hours of live content on each of the major streaming platforms they’re testing: DIRECTV NOW, fuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Philo, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV and YouTube TV. And don’t worry if you aren’t a subscriber of these services now—the job includes free access to them.
Along with watching TV, you’ll also need to take detailed notes (on the performance of the streaming service) and help HowtoWatch.com score live streaming services.
To apply you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, have excellent communication skills, maintain a strong social media presence, a passion for TV and entertainment and the ability to rate the quality of the stream itself. While experience creating product reviews isn’t a must-have, it is a bonus.
If this sounds like the job for you, go to HowtoWatch.com and apply!
Mindfulness and meditation aren’t always easy concepts for energy-filled kids to grasp, but a new series on Hulu can help. Stop, Breathe & Think Kids mindfulness videos on Hulu can help those never-stop-moving tots do exactly that, which means maybe you can have a minute to stop, breathe and think too.
The makers of the Stop, Breathe & Think wellness app for kids have launched a series of mindfulness-themed animated episodes. The videos aim to teach kids mindfulness techniques in an entertaining and fun way. The episodes focus on ideas like Quiet, Focus, Caring and Connecting and Sleep. The episodes can turn screen time from a mindless distraction to an engaging activity that promotes wellness.
photo: Stop, Breathe & Think
“At a time when everyone is concerned about young kids’ device usage, these videos are like healthy digital snacks,” CEO Julie Campistron said in a press release. “Rather than offering escapism or distraction, they nudge kids towards full presence and help them address the complete range of their emotions. We have learned so much recently about how effective screen-delivered mindfulness and meditation activities truly are, and we are excited about what this will mean for today’s kids.”
The episodes are available to stream now on Hulu. They range in time from 30 seconds to six minutes in length. The Stop, Breathe & Think app, which features over 40 mindfulness activities, is available to download on iOs and Android.
Have you tried practicing mindfulness with your kids? Tell us about it in the comments.
Your kids stream what they want when they want. But back in the ’70s, kids’ TV shows were anything but on demand. We were the first generation to experience Sesame Street, and we seemed to have a penchant for unassuming heroes and successful spin-offs (and the toys we played with prove it). Want to know exactly what our generation was watching? Keep reading to take a walk down memory lane.
1. Sesame Street
'70s kids were the first to meet Oscar, Big Bird, Grover and more on this long-running show. Back in the day, you could still find Mr. Hooper manning his store on Sesame Street, and kids were in the joke—that Mr. Snuffalupagus was Big Bird’s imaginary friend. 70’s kids spent their sunny days learning the alphabet from Bob and Susan and relied on Gordon to help them learn to count to ten.
Whether you came from a big family or a little one, every kid wished he or she was part of the Brady Bunch in the '70s. They lived in that cool house their dad designed, and housekeeper Alice always doled out sage advice in the kitchen when you needed some. Plus a trip to Hawaii, even if it did involve a creepy tarantula, was every kid’s dream back in the day.
Kids marveled at Underdog, shoeshine boy turned superhero, in the '70s. Not only could he turn a mean couplet, but his “There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!” cry lifted us up and reassured us that all was right in the world ... especially for Polly Purebread.
Jinkies! Kids sure did love watching Shaggy, Scooby and the gang solve mysteries on this Hanna-Barbera classic. Sure, we always knew it was some masked character behind all the shenanigans, but we didn’t care. The only thing we couldn’t figure out was why Scooby and Shag were always so hungry.
As kids, we probably didn’t appreciate the genius of Robin Williams’ groundbreaking performances in this silly show. But we were hooked at his first burst of, “nanu nanu,” and tuned in once a week to catch his screwball antics through all four seasons.
We did a lot of learning from each other while Fat Albert and the Cosby kids did their thing every time we’d sit down to watch this classic. Kids loved the life lesson that accompanied each story—na, na, na it was a good time!
Because who wouldn’t want to go on exotic adventures with your famous scientist dad, bodyguard Race Bannon and mystic sidekick Hadji every week? Jonny Quest did just that while kids in the '70s dreamed of tagging along. Don’t forget to bring Bandit!
Who knew that future stars like Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno and Mel Brooks were part of our after-school entertainment lineup when we were kids? We were way more interested in the funky graphics, silly sight gags and humor that made watching The Electric Company one of our favorite ways to learn.
Speed Racer was every '70s kid's introduction to the world of anime. And his hi-tech racecar, the Mach 5, prepared us to love K.I.T.T. in the next decade. This short-run series will live forever in our hearts.
After 120 episodes and five seasons, kids never got tired of this half-hour comedy show. They’d tune in each week to watch the Swedish Chef cook up weird dishes, Gonzo get shot out of a cannon and Kermit politely put off Miss Piggy’s advances. And our parents? Well, they loved the antics of Statler and Waldorf.
Recommended ages: 4 & up.
Season 1 and select episodes available on disney.com
11. The Partridge Family
Because kids dreamed of being in the Jackson 5 or sibs with Donnie and Marie back in the '70s, it’s only natural that a show about a singing family would take center stage. Widow Shirley Partridge and her talented crew took to the road in their colorful bus throughout the show’s four-season run. And we can thank the Partridge kids for recognizable sing-along classics like, “C’mon Get Happy” and “I Think I Love You.”
In the '70s you either wanted to be Fonzie or be his best friend. Who else could start a jukebox with the smack of an elbow or rock the James Dean look better than James Dean? And that’s how it was for many years … until Arthur Fonzarelli jumped the shark.
Hulu is giving parents another reason to choose its services over its competitors. In an everlasting battle with Netflix and Amazon Prime, Hulu has announced another multi-year deal with Disney. In this new agreement, Hulu is gaining exclusive rights to stream classic Disney films such as Mulan, Pocohantas, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
In total, over 50 titles will become available on Hulu in the months ahead. More titles include Hercules, Air Bud, Sister Act, Lilo & Stitch, Tarzan, The Mighty Ducks, The Princess and the Frog, and Muppet Treasure Island.
Hulu and the Disney-ABC Television Group began began their partnership in early 2016, after agreeing to distribute 500 episodes and more than 20 original movies from The Disney-ABC Television Group’s suite of networks to the Hulu Kids library. It’s the largest kids programming deal made between the two companies to date.
With major streaming services competing for our children’s attention, Amazon stepped up it’s game and landed exclusive rights to the majority of the PBS Kids programming. This means shows including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Caillou, and Odd Squad will be removed from competing streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, and will only be available on Amazon Prime and Amazon FreeTime Unlimited.
“We are very pleased to be continuing our relationship with Amazon, increasing Prime Video members’ access to our trusted, educational programming,” says Lesli Rotenberg, SeniorVP and general manager of children’s media and education at PBS.
A few programs were excluded from the deal. Super Why! will remain on Netflix; Sesame Street is on HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now; Curious George is still exclusive to Hulu; and Thomas and Friends will remain available on Amazon, Netflix and Hulu.
Shows will premiere on PBS stations and then will be made available on Amazon after a short period of time.
During the glory days (in our opinion) of animation, you had to wait until Saturday morning to get your fill of cartoon fun. Now, tech-savvy kids have access to what seems like an unlimited number of shows, and—luckily for you—the cult-favorites are available too. From wascally wabbits to Thundercats, Ho!, here are nine classic cartoon series perfect for streaming with your little people.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
If you were a kid in the early '80s and watched the short-lived but super-popular series, then you were probably the proud owner of the entire Mattel line: He-Man, Skeletor, Man-at-Arms, Battle Cat, The Sorceress, Beast Man, Orko and more. As a parent, you can now appreciate the positive messaging that shines in every episode, while the kid inside will happily re-live all 66 episodes of good versus evil on the planet Eternia. Don’t forget to don your imaginary power sword and declare “By the power of Greyskull!”
Hulu announced an expansive new content licensing agreement with The Disney-ABC Television Group that will make full prior seasons of top rated kids titles from Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney X D available to stream on Hulu. The deal, which will bring over 500 episodes and more than 20 original movies from The Disney-ABC Television Group’s suite of networks to the Hulu Kids library, is the largest kids programming deal made between the two companies to date.
Through the agreement, Hulu will become the exclusive subscription video-on-demand home to a total of seven programs, including all past season episodes of the Disney Channel’s hit spy comedy K.C. Undercover starring Zendaya, as well as Disney XD’s highly-rated animated series Gravity Falls and Star vs. The Forces of Evil. Hulu also acquires the exclusive SVOD rights to all episodes of former Disney Channel series Dog With A Blog and Austin & Ally.
Which show are you excited to watch? Tell us in the comments below!
