Several-year agreement features U.S. premieres and several exclusives,
including ‘Ripper Street’ and ‘A Life in Ten Pictures’
COS COB, CT – Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE), one of the largest operators of streaming advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) networks, today announced a multi-year content deal with BBC Studios that will bring more than 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 advertising-supported video-on-demand networks.
This announcement comes on the heels of another major deal between the two sides that saw the exclusive rights to the popular series Sherlock go to Crackle Plus.
More than 300 hours of content will be available to viewers for free on the various Crackle Plus streaming services beginning in April, including the award-winning, critically acclaimed mystery series Ripper Street starring Matthew MacFadyen (Succession), several seasons of which will be streaming only on the Crackle Plus streaming services. In addition, A Life in Ten Pictures, will have its exclusive U.S. premiere in June on the services. More content will be added each month throughout the multi-year agreement.
The deal will also include: all seasons of BAFTA Award-winning series Happy Valley, starring BAFTA Award winning actress Sarah Lancashire and SAG award winning actress Siobhan Finneran; the crime mini-series From Darkness, starring BAFTA award-winning actress Anne-Marie Duff and Johnny Harris; and the first five seasons of the long running crime series Silent Witness, originally starring Amanda Burton. In addition, the 2014-16 action/drama series The Musketeers, and drama series The Coroner, created by Sally Abbott who wrote on EastEnders, will be available to audiences as part of the pact.
“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, chief executive officer of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. “The long-term nature of this agreement enables us to plan ahead to maximize the value of the content to our viewers as well as our advertisers, the BBC, and us.”
“We are ecstatic to bring to the Crackle Plus audience premium content from the BBC,” said David Fannon, president of Screen Media. “With the Benedict Cumberbatch series, Sherlock, their extensive catalog of quality series and movies, and brand new titles that have yet to be released, this agreement provides Chicken Soup for the Soul with a wide array of unique and high quality content. Screen Media could not be happier than to announce this agreement with the BBC.”
Dina Vangelisti, executive vice president, content sales, BBC Studios said: “Through this multi-year partnership with Screen Media, we are making it even easier for customers to discover and access our robust programming catalog. The best of British content has never been easier to find in the Americas, and we’re excited by this new relationship with a leading AVOD service.”
Screen Media is the exclusive supplier of original content to Crackle Plus streaming services. Recent titles from Screen Media that have premiered on Crackle include the Crackle Originals Vince Carter: Legacy, Playing with Power and Insomnia, as well as the exclusives The Mercy starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz, Tom Hardy-led Taboo, international thriller series The Platform and disaster film Skyfire, starring Jason Isaacs.
ABOUT SCREEN MEDIA VENTURES, LLC
Screen Media Ventures, LLC, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company, acquires the rights to high quality, independent television series and feature films. Screen Media Ventures acquires worldwide rights for distribution through theatrical, home video, pay-per-view, free, cable and pay television, video-on-demand, and new digital media platforms. The company acquires AVOD rights for third party networks and is the main supplier of content for Crackle Plus and other Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment properties. With a library of over 1,500 television series and motion pictures, Screen Media Ventures is one of the largest independent suppliers of high-quality tv series and motion pictures to U.S. and international broadcast markets, cable networks, home video outlets and new media venues. For more information, visit: www.screenmedia.net