Committee publication · Correspondence · 19 May 2026
Letter from Benjamin King, Senior Director of Global Affairs, UK and Ireland, Netflix, regarding Children’s tv oral evidence follow-up, 14 May 2026
From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Inquiry: Children's tv and video content
Summary
Netflix's Senior Director of Global Affairs Benjamin King responds to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee's oral evidence follow-up on children's TV. Netflix details £325M investment in UK-originated children's content over three years, its recommendation algorithm prioritising UK content, BBFC-compliant age ratings and parental controls, tax relief benefits, and support for continued public funding and co-production incentives to sustain quality children's programming.
Key findings
- Netflix invested £325M in UK-originated children's content 2023–2025 (£161m, £118m, £60m respectively), across live action, animation, and BBC co-productions including Heartstopper and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
- 9 of 20 most-viewed kids TV titles on Netflix UK originated in the UK (45%), accounting for over 80m View Hours and 40% of top-20 viewing.
- Netflix's recommendation system uses viewing history, micro-genres, contextual signals, dynamic ranking, UK Top 10 rows, and search optimisation to surface UK-made children's content; does not use demographic data.
- All UK Netflix children's content rated U or PG via BBFC partnership; Netflix offers profile-specific PIN locks, age-rating controls, individual title blocking, and bi-weekly activity reports to parents.
- Three productions received children's TV tax relief since 2020; ten received animation relief. Netflix argues Animation relief (29.25%) is less competitive than Ireland (32%), Canada (~36%), Australia (40%), and supports increased AVEC rates and contestable funding equivalent to Young Audiences' Content Fund.
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Benjamin King, Netflix, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), Silverback Films
Notable line
“We believe that an increase in the AVEC rate for animation to be more competitive with these countries would be a helpful driver for additional animation activity in the UK.”
Key Quotes
“… since 2020 we've invested over £6bn in UK-made content”
“Netflix has invested over £325M (£161m, £118m, and £60m in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively), in UK-originated Kids & Family and YA programming”
“Based on viewing patterns on Kids profiles on Netflix in the UK, 9 of the 20 most-viewed TV titles originated from the UK (e.g. Peppa Pig , Shaun the Sheep , The Adventures of Paddington, etc ) - or 45%.”
“Our recommendation system does not use demographic information (such as age or gender) as part of the decision-making process.”
“We were the first VoD service to enter into a voluntary partnership with the BBFC, setting our own age ratings for 100% of our catalogue of film and TV series, consistent with their classification guidelines, which are then audited by them for accuracy.”
“The separate conditions for children's programming (e.g. no minimum spend requirement, reduced slot length and allowance for competition shows) are all vital in ensuring that a wide spectrum of children's programming will qualify.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗