CSS Entertainment (CSSE) signs multi-year content deal with BBC Studios
Get instant alerts when news breaks on your stocks. Claim your one week free trial for StreetInsider Premium here.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE), one of the largest operators of streaming ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) networks, today announced a multi-year content agreement with BBC Studios which will bring over 2,500 hours of premium content to all current and future Crackle Plus streaming services, including Crackle, Popcornflix and Chicken Soup for the Soul. Crackle Plus, also a chicken soup for the Soul Entertainment company, is one of the largest operators of streaming ad-supported video-on-demand networks.
This announcement follows another major deal between the two parties which saw exclusive rights to the popular series sherlock go to Crackle Plus.
Over 300 hours of content will be available for free to viewers on various Crackle Plus streaming services starting in April. This includes the award-winning and critically acclaimed mystery series Ripper Streetwith Matthew MacFadyen (Succession), several seasons of which will air only on Crackle Plus. Besides, A life in ten pictures will have its exclusive US premiere in June on Crackle Plus. More content will be added each month throughout the multi-year agreement.
The deal will also include: All seasons of the BAFTA-winning series happy valley, with BAFTA-winning actress Sarah Lancashire and SAG-winning actress Siobhan Finneran; the detective mini-series From darkness, with BAFTA-winning actress Anne-Marie Duff and Johnny Harris; and the first five seasons of the long-running detective series silent witness, originally starring Amanda Burton. Additionally, the 2014-16 action/drama series The Musketeersand drama series the coroner, created by Sally Abbott who wrote about EastEnderswill be made available to the public as part of the agreement.
“The BBC has been producing highly sought after content for years and we expect this content to perform exceptionally well on our streaming services,” said William J. Rouhana Jr, Managing Director of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. “The long-term nature of this agreement allows us to plan ahead to maximize the value of the content for our viewers as well as our advertisers, the BBC and us.”
“We are delighted to bring premium content from the BBC to Crackle Plus audiences,” said David Fannon, Chairman of Screen Media. “With the Benedict Cumberbatch series, sherlock, the BBC’s extensive catalog of quality series and films, and brand new titles that have yet to be released, this deal provides Chicken Soup for the Soul with a wide range of unique, high-quality content. Screen Media couldn’t be happier to announce this deal with the BBC.
Dina Vangelisti, Executive Vice President of Content Sales, BBC Studios, said: “Through this multi-year partnership with Screen Media, we are making it even easier for our customers to discover and access our strong catalog of programming. The best of British content has never been easier to find in the Americas, and we are delighted with this new relationship with a leading AVOD service.
Screen Media is the exclusive original content provider for the Crackle Plus streaming services. Recent Screen Media titles that have been created on Crackle include Crackle Originals Vince Carter: Legacy, play with power and Insomnia, as well as exclusives Mercy with Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz, directed by Tom Hardy Taboointernational thriller series The platform and disaster movie fire from heaven, with Jason Isaacs.
ABOUT SCREEN MEDIA VENTURES, LLC Screen Media Ventures, LLC, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Company (Nasdaq: CSSE), acquires the rights to high-quality independent television series and feature films. Screen Media Ventures acquires worldwide distribution rights through theaters, home video, pay-per-view, free-to-air, cable and pay TV, video-on-demand and new digital media platforms. The company acquires AVOD rights for third-party networks and is the primary content provider for Crackle Plus and other Chicken Soup for Soul Entertainment properties. With a library of over 1,500 television series and motion pictures, Screen Media Ventures is one of the largest independent providers of high-quality television series and motion pictures to the U.S. and international markets from broadcast, cable networks, home video outlets and new media. For more information visit: www.screenmedia.net
ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR SOUL ENTERTAINMENTChicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE) (the “Company”) operates video-on-demand (VOD) streaming networks. The company owns Crackle Plus, which owns and operates a variety of ad-supported and subscription-based VOD networks, including Crackle, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Pivotshare, Españolflix and FrightPix. The Company also acquires and distributes video content through its subsidiaries Screen Media and 1091 Pictures and produces original video content through Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the popular book series and produces premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and management’s current expectations and are not predictions of actual performance. These assumptions involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our primary strategy, our operating profit and margin, seasonality, liquidity, including operating cash, available funds and access to funding sources, free cash flow, revenues, net income, profitability, stock price volatility, future regulatory changes, price changes, the ability of the Company’s content offerings to gain market acceptance, the Company’s success in retaining or recruiting officers, key employees or directors, the ability to protect intellectual property, the ability to make strategic acquisitions, the ability to manage growth and integrate acquired businesses, the ability to pay dividends, regulatory or operational risks and the conditions general market conditions affecting demand for the Company’s services. For a more complete description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please see the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021. , and for information regarding our recent acquisitions and other information, please see our current reports on Form 8-K, filed as of the date of this 10-K. Our results for the year ended December 31, 2021 will be included in an annual report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC. If one of these risks materializes, or if our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations. in this regard or any change in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
INVESTOR RELATIONS Taylor KrafchikEllipsis[email protected](646) 776-0886
MEDIA CONTACTAKate BarretteRooneyPartners LLC[email protected](212) 223-0561
Source: Chicken Soup for Soul Entertainment, Inc.