As Global Subscribers Near The One Million Mark, CuriosityStream™ Announces New Sponsor-Supported "Showcase" Service Designed For Free Universal Consumer OTT Access And Distribution Partner Use
- New plan marks a "paradigm shift" in the economic model of delivering premium on-demand television without commercial interruption; Sprint is the first of six category-exclusive brands on the re-launched platform
- CuriosityStream SHOWCASE™ is available globally for free, with 18 blue-chip titles; Access to all 1,800 titles is now just to $19.99 per year
SILVER SPRING, Md., Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CuriosityStream, home to world-class original documentary films and series exploring science, technology, history, nature, health, human interest and more is today announcing significant developments in distribution, promotion, pricing, and sponsorships.
Distribution
As of today, CuriosityStream has executed distribution agreements for its premium SVOD service with over 30 leading third party distributors that have a cumulative, unduplicated global customer base of over 100 million households. By the end of third quarter 2018, the unique on-demand service that delivers content across the entire spectrum of factual entertainment will be accessible by customers of Prime Video Channels, Comcast, Sling TV, Cox, Sony, Samsung, Dish Network, TiVo, StarHub, VRV, Roku, Apple TV, MobiTV, VIZIO, NCTC, LG, YouTube TV and many more.
In addition to offering CuriosityStream subscriptions as part of an a la carte premium service, CuriosityStream and many of its distribution partners are exploring potential "bundling" opportunities that could provide CuriosityStream subscriptions to significant portions or all of a distributor's customers. In addition, CuriosityStream is now able to deliver a linear channel feed for distributors who desire a CuriosityStream Channel to accompany the premium CuriosityStream SVOD service. StarHub, the cable distributor in Singapore, is launching both a linear CuriosityStream channel as well as making the full CuriosityStream on-demand service available to its Singapore subscribers.
CuriosityStream SHOWCASE™
In order to drive and maximize SVOD sales through its distribution affiliates, as well as to provide a sampling of its premium service to all global OTT broadband users, CuriosityStream today announced its 18-title CuriosityStream SHOWCASE service, which became available at 9am ET at CuriosityStream.com for free consumer access. CuriosityStream SHOWCASE is available for carriage, without wholesale cost, by CuriosityStream's SVOD distribution affiliates, which include cable operators, satellite TV providers, and "skinny bundle" OTT distributors. As an added-value, on-demand content service, CuriosityStream SHOWCASE is designed to be distributed as part of an affiliate's basic service offering and thereby made available to all customers of CuriosityStream's affiliated distributors.
Sponsors
Both CuriosityStream's new SHOWCASE service as well as its premium SVOD service will be supported by 6 category-exclusive presenting sponsors. Sponsor categories are scheduled to include automotive, aerospace, energy, communications, insurance, and financial services.
Each of the six sponsors will have a branded "theater" on the CuriosityStream platform through which curated selections of CuriosityStream original content is presented alongside informative sponsor content. Unlike other ad-supported SVOD services, CuriosityStream has been designed to be television's least-cluttered advertising environment, having no commercial interruption of content and only a 15-second pre-roll commercial spot placed before each show. Working with its six sponsors to preserve a premium television viewing experience, CuriosityStream will eliminate the repetitive exhibition of commercial spots during each viewer session. The addition of sponsorship revenue has allowed the company to take an important step towards fulfilling its mission to price CuriosityStream for the planet; the service's subscription price can now be offered to annual plan subscribers for as low as $19.99 per year for HD service.
Sprint is the exclusive telecommunications carrier to work with CuriosityStream on the new platform and will develop original content designed specifically to directly reach consumers. The original CuriosityStream series, DIGITS, will be featured in the Sprint Theater on the CuriosityStream SHOWCASE.
The announcement of five other exclusive sponsors in categories such as automotive, insurance, banking, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace are expected before year end.
Concurrent with today's press announcement is the release of "Undeniable and Unstoppable," a 9-page industry analysis and commentary by John Hendricks on the current state of on-demand streaming television, in which Hendricks projects that the global streaming-capable consumer universe will grow from 1 billion today to 2 billion within 10 years and 3 billion within 20 years. Within this context, Netflix's 125 million current subscribers constitute just 12.5% of today's global streaming-capable universe, demonstrating the enormous future for full-category SVOD services that can penetrate just 3-5% of this expanding new media universe. A PDF of this industry paper is available here.
More Observations
Clint Stinchcomb, President and CEO of CuriosityStream, stated: "As we have now achieved a reach of over 100 million homes through agreements with global distributors and our paying subscribers approach the one million mark, this is truly a milestone period in the development of CuriosityStream. Our streaming service, which offers premium programs across the entire category of factual entertainment, is riding the unstoppable wave of Internet-delivered SVOD television that is sweeping the planet. Driven by the undeniable, widespread, and accelerated consumer demand for high-quality content that can be enjoyed at any time and without commercial interruptions, CuriosityStream is taking new steps today that are designed to take full advantage of this third revolution of television that offers control to consumers far beyond what was available in the previous broadcast and cable television eras."
John Hendricks, Founder and Executive Chairman of CuriosityStream, stated: "Today marks the launch of a new and vibrant economic model for on-demand television toward which viewers are migrating by the tens of millions in the United States and by the hundreds of millions globally. As viewers access premium on-demand services either directly (OTT) or through their existing cable, satellite, or Internet distributor, they are searching for the highest quality content choices that are not cluttered with commercial interruptions. I am pleased to report today that our nearly year-long design work with some of the nation's leading advertising agencies and their 'blue-chip' clients has produced a breakthrough new way for sponsors to follow and reach these smart and affluent viewers who have gone 'missing' from linear television. The estimated 40% of television viewers who crave engaging content that informs as well as entertains now have a service to call their own and it is now more affordable than ever. Financial support by our 6 sponsors allows us to make CuriosityStream 'priced for the planet' with HD delivery now available for just $19.99 per year. For the price of what we all used to pay for a single show on a DVD, $19.99, we can now deliver over 1,800 on-demand CuriosityStream titles in stunning high-definition resolution for a full year."
Joe Abruzzese, former President of Advertising Sales for both CBS and Discovery Communications, joined CuriosityStream on April 2, 2018 as Chief Advisor for Sponsor Partnerships. Abruzzese stated: "One of the greatest challenges facing the advertising industry is the rapid migration of affluent, smart, and technically-savvy viewers from linear television to on-demand viewing platforms, which contain no sponsorship messages, such as Netflix. It is a pleasure to work with John Hendricks and CuriosityStream in developing a new model for the integration of sponsors within a premium on-demand television environment in a fashion that creates impactful sponsor messaging but preserves a quality, non-cluttered viewing experience."
Stinchcomb added, "CuriosityStream SHOWCASE provides the distributors of a la carte television with a powerful new model of promoting SVOD choices that are now available to viewers who most desire quality television that can be enjoyed at a time of their choosing. With its 18 showcase titles, CuriosityStream SHOWCASE adds significant value to universal service while also promoting the benefits of a full subscription to CuriosityStream's SVOD service and its more than 1,800 plus premium titles. CuriosityStream SHOWCASE is an elegant solution to the need by distributors to lower the cost of basic content offerings while also providing subscribers with a wealth of well- promoted a la carte viewing options that meet their varied interests. And, because the entire CuriosityStream library of 1,800 plus titles covers the full category of factual programming that is of interest to a great portion of television viewers, we are pleased to now be exploring bundled license fee opportunities with our leading distributors, opportunities that will provide most or all of a distributor's customers with the full CuriosityStream service."
"With a subscription to Netflix, Hulu, and CuriosityStream, many of our subscribers report that they have created a near-perfect television experience in which they can enjoy a great movie, favorite TV show, or enriching documentary of their choice at any time," stated Steve Burns, Chief Content Officer at CuriosityStream. "Our content line-up at CuriosityStream features abundant menus of science, history, nature, and technology shows that explore topics on almost every subject that can be imagined. For example, David Attenborough takes CuriosityStream viewers to the far reaches of the planet to explore the fascinating world of bioluminescence in LIGHT ON EARTH. And we were fortunate to have worked with the late great physicist, Stephen Hawking, whose work continues to help CuriosityStream viewers understand the mysteries of our universe through our Emmy® Award-winning series STEPHEN HAWKING'S FAVORITE PLACES. In addition to our award-winning original content, CuriosityStream features some of the very best productions from the world's greatest factual television producers, such as the BBC. Premium BBC content on CuriosityStream includes ANCIENT ROME, RISE OF THE CONTINENTS, HOW TO BUILD A DINOSAUR, WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, and ANIMAL SUPER SENSES."
About CuriosityStream
Launched by Discovery Communications founder and media visionary John Hendricks, CuriosityStream is the award-winning streaming and on demand destination where viewers can journey through our world and beyond. Our immersive experiences feature experts from all fields of inquiry, stunning visuals, and unrivaled storytelling to demystify science, history, technology, nature, health, human interest and more. With over 1,800 films and series, including exclusive originals, CuriosityStream is available on most devices and platforms worldwide. For more information, visit CuriosityStream.com.
MEDIA CONTACT
Vanessa Gillon, Director of Communications
301.755.2069 (O) / 202.441.6475 (C)
vanessa.gillon@curiositystream.com
SOURCE CuriosityStream
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