History
Books
Motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen collaborated on the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book, compiling inspirational, true stories they had heard from their audience members. Many of the stories came from members of the audience of their inspirational talks. The book was rejected by major publishers in New York but accepted by a small, self-help publisher in Florida called HCI. [12]
After the success of the first book, Canfield and Hansen, with HCI, published additional, similar Chicken Soup for the Soul titles. [13] Later, they published Chicken Soup for the Soul books for specific demographics, such as Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, which came out in 1997 [14] and was a major best-seller. [15] New Chicken Soup for the Soul titles and sequels to existing books have been published on a regular basis since the first book came out in 1993. [13] In 2009, author Adeline Lee Zhia Ern was found to have plagiarized the story "Happiness" by Sarah Provençal from Jack Canfield's Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul IV. [16]
A 19-episode anthology series made up of stories from the series was produced and aired in the 1999–2000 television season by PAX TV, the current-day Ion Television. [17] [18] [19]
Expansion from books
In 2008, the founders, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, sold the company to a new ownership group led by William J. Rouhana and Robert D. Jacobs. [20] Since then all new titles have been published by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC and distributed by Simon & Schuster. [1]
Under the new ownership group, Chicken Soup for the Soul has expanded into other products besides books. The company markets pet foods under the brand Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul and a line of soups, sauces and other prepared foods under the brand Chicken Soup for the Soul. [21]
Entertainment expansion
In 2013, the company announced plans to produce a television series and a film with Alcon Entertainment. Chicken Soup for the Soul has produced television programming with other partners, including PBS. [22] In 2016, Chicken Soup for the Soul acquired a majority stake in the website A Plus. [23]
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment went public in 2017. [24] In November 2017, it acquired Screen Media Ventures, LLC, an independent television and film distribution company, which included Popcornflix, an ad-based online video service. [25] [26]
On March 28, 2019, it was announced that Sony Pictures Television would sell a majority stake of Sony Crackle to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, after which the service would revert to the "Crackle" name. [27] [28]
On November 5, 2019, it was announced that the Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment division would purchase foreign sales company Foresight Unlimited for the new Screen Media division. [29]
On December 15, 2020, Sony traded its remaining shares in Crackle for a yet to be disclosed preferential stake in Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, giving them full control of the ad-supported streaming service. [30] As of 2020, the Chicken Soup for the Soul series included more than 250 titles. [31]
In April 2021, Chicken Soup for the Soul acquired the film and television catalogue of Sonar Entertainment. In return, Sonar will hold a 5 percent stake in a new AVOD network featuring its library. [32] Through the acquisition, Chicken Soup now currently owns the North American rights to a majority of the Laurel & Hardy films and shorts, and most of the Our Gang library, as well as the holdings of the former RHI/Hallmark/Cabin Fever/Sonar outputs, and a majority of the Hal Roach library, all via their Halcyon Studios division.
On March 2, 2022, Chicken Soup for the Soul announced its acquisition of specialty film distributor, 1091 Pictures, for $15.55 million, in a mix of cash ($8 million) and stock (newly issued Series A preferred stock and Class A common stock). The deal included an estimated 4,000 movies and TV series from the 1091 catalog, as well as its portfolio of free, ad-supported networks and channels. [33]
On May 11, 2022, Chicken Soup for the Soul announced its intention to acquire Redbox for $357 million ($36 million in stock and $321 million in assumed debt). [34] The acquisition closed on August 11, 2022. [35]
Post-sale, bankruptcy and liquidation
On April 1, 2024, Chicken Soup for the Soul received a delisting notice from Nasdaq, informing that the company's stock would be delisted from the Nasdaq after it had 180 days to return to compliance. [36]
On April 23, 2024, Chicken Soup for the Soul announced a $636.6 million loss in 2023, and warned that without any options to generate additional financing, the company may be forced to liquidate or pause operations, and seek a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing. [37] In June 2024, chairman and CEO Bill Rouhana removed the company's board of directors. [38] On June 29, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after cutting benefits in May, missing a week of paying its employees, and failing to secure financing. [39] [40] [41]
On July 1, 2024, former federal prosecutor Bart Schwartz replaced Rouhana as CEO, and a new board of directors was installed. [42] On July 5, the company was able to secure funding to restore payroll and benefits. [43]
On July 10, 2024, a bankruptcy judge ordered Chicken Soup for the Soul's Chapter 11 bankruptcy to be converted into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation after accusing the company's previous CEO of misusing the business and failing to pay employees or support healthcare. With the Chapter 7 conversion, the company's assets will be liquidated, resulting in the cessation of its subsidiaries, including Crackle, Popcornflix and Redbox. In addition, over 1,000 employees will be laid off and over 26,000 Redbox kiosks will shut down permanently. [44] [45]
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A video rental shop/store is a physical retail business that rents home videos such as movies, prerecorded TV shows, video game discs and other media content. Typically, a rental shop conducts business with customers under conditions and terms agreed upon in a rental agreement or contract, which may be implied, explicit, or written. Many video rental stores also sell previously viewed movies and/or new, unopened movies.
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment through multiple platforms. Through an intermediate holding company called Sony Film Holding Inc., it is operated as a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., which is itself a subsidiary of the multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony Group Corporation.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. is a Canadian-American entertainment company currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California. It was founded in Canada by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, and domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Redbox Automated Retail, LLC was an American video on-demand streaming and video rental company that specialized in DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD rentals and purchases and formerly video games via automated retail kiosks and TVOD, AVOD, and FAST services via its website, Android and iOS apps, and many consumer electronic devices. Redbox kiosks featured the company's signature red color and are located at convenience stores, fast food restaurants, grocery stores, mass retailers, and pharmacies.
The Weinstein Company, LLC was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America as well as in the United States. However, the firing of Harvey Weinstein following allegations of sexual harassment and rape against him, as well as financial troubles that followed, led to the company's decline. The studio eventually declared bankruptcy in February 2018, with independent studio Lantern Entertainment acquiring a majority of its film library and assets. Co-founder and chief executive Bob Weinstein previously owned a small stake in the company.
The Sony Corporation of America is the American arm of the Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. Headquartered in New York City, the company manages Sony's business in the United States.
Jack Canfield is an American author and motivational speaker. He is the co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which has more than 250 titles and 500 million copies in print in over 40 languages. In 2005 Canfield co-authored with Janet Switzer The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.
Sony Pictures Kids Zone is the kids and family entertainment label of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the former record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., was an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution of scripted television content, part of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. It was founded in 1979 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Robert Halmi Sr. (1924–2014) as Robert Halmi, Inc. The company uses the direct-to-series model for TV series.
Crackle, formerly named Grouper and Sony Crackle, is an American video streaming service founded in 2004. The service was purchased by Sony Pictures in 2006 and was renamed as Crackle. In 2018, the name was changed to Sony Crackle. Sony sold a majority stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul in March 2019, and the name was changed back to Crackle.
Screen Media Ventures, LLC was an American-Canadian distribution company founded in 2001 and owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment since 2017 alongside its subsidiary Popcornflix. In 2008, Screen Media selected The Creative Coalition as its exclusive nonprofit partner in launching the Spotlight Initiative. The partnership permits the pursuit of active outreach efforts for issues showcased in Screen Media produced and distributed motion pictures. While the Spotlight Initiative serves as a strategic business component that will create unique marketing, branding, and advertising opportunities as well as value for mass marketers, it also enhances America's cultural connection to the stories and social agendas of our times.
Popcornflix LLC was a website and over-the-top (OTT) service offering free ad-supported streaming video of feature-length movies and webisodes owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.
Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California.
1091 Pictures was an American production company based in New York City and Los Angeles. The company was founded as the film and television division subsidiary of The Orchard in 2015. The company is best known for the Oscar-nominated films Life, Animated and Cartel Land. Sony divested the company and its catalogue of over 4,000 in 2019, with the company adopting the name 1091 Media. In 2020, the company rebranded as 1091 Pictures and announced that its parent company rebranded as Streamwise, the name of its new technology platform in development.
Paramount Global is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan. The company was formed on December 4, 2019, as ViacomCBS through the merger of the second incarnations of CBS Corporation and Viacom. The company took its current name on February 16, 2022.
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