Future Today said that its HappyKids free, ad-supported streaming service has added new parental control features.

The company said the new controls help make HappyKids one of the most brand-safe and brand-suitable AVOD services for kids, families and advertisers. They are first available to viewers using Roku devices but will be rolled out to other distributors in the coming weeks.

Parents previously were able to choose what programming their families can access based on designated age groups. Now, parents can restrict content based on specific topics, interests and themes, as well as block individual programs. 

For example, parents using the new controls can block content featuring video game characters they feel their child may not be ready for yet. 

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“These controls enable end users to filter their programming and optimize the contextual advertisements they receive, enhancing brand suitability,” said David Di Lorenzo, senior VP of Kids & Family at Future Today. “Our entire library of HappyKids content is family-friendly and kids safe, but many parents want even greater control over what their children watch and have access to. The latest enhancements empower parents to curate suitable and tailored content experiences that reflect their individual preferences. This has a material benefit for our contextual advertisers, as well, who can engage only the most interested viewers.”

For advertisers and brands, allowing families to granularly curate their viewing experience ensures more appropriate and suitable alignment between content and campaigns, eliminating irrelevant ads from being served and reducing waste. In turn, this increases engagement, helps drive brand retention and maximizes streaming and OTT spend.

HappyKids viewers were already shielded by Future Today’s in-house Brand Safety team. The group curates, manages and audits all content featured on the HappyKids app by hand, with every piece of content being vetted by a person. 

“While Future Today has built proprietary technology for creative review, we don’t overly rely on algorithmic content moderation for HappyKids,” said Vikrant Mathur, co-founder of Future Today. “Ultimately, a robust and comprehensive manual review process ensures a safe and suitable viewing experience for our viewers and advertisers.” 

Also: Future Today Rode Streaming Wave in 2020, Looks To Add Channels

Last year, HappyKids increased viewership by more than 160% and continues to introduce new content. The app is available across numerous streaming platforms and devices, including Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Comcast Xfinity, Cox Contour, and most recently, as a linear channel on Vizio Smart TVs.  ■

Verizon chief counsel Craig Silliman is advising parents that this might be the time to start using parental controls that are already "everywhere." 

In a blog post, Silliman pointed out that teleworking parents with homebound kids are having to balance that with "moonlighting" as "teachers, cafeteria workers, custodial staff, and sports coaches." 

Given that their kids are using devices to study, connect to friends, stream video and play games--there has been a 75% increase in gaming and a double-digit increase in streaming, he points out--they key in that "temporary new world" is to balance screen time with everything else. 

Silliman said that tools to help parents find that balance are everywhere. "They are on the digital devices used by your children, the router that powers your home internet connection, and the apps that your kids can’t put down. Many companies, including Verizon, also offer powerful suites of parental controls." 

He said those controls are only part of a comprehensive parental parenting plan (or balancing act, as it were), they remain and underutilized safeguard that can "block inappropriate internet content, protect kids’ privacy, automatically manage kids’ screen time, and much more." 

He steered parents to Internetmatters.org and the Family Online Safety Institute for more info.

"Parental controls are only of value if they work — their utility depends entirely upon an accurate, consistent and transparent content rating system to trigger them," said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, which has pushed for more social distancing between kids and inappropriate online content in the new normal. "Not only have the numerous industry-controlled rating systems failed in these three regards, but there is no single, uniform standard of content ratings across media platforms. Unless and until the content is rated by someone other than an industry representative whose corporation profits by an inaccurate age rating, the content-blocking technologies are a pipe dream."