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.
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. [17] 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. [18]
Entertainment
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. [19] In 2016, Chicken Soup for the Soul acquired a majority stake in the website A Plus.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment went public in 2017. [20] Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment now owns Screen Media Ventures, LLC, an independent television and film distribution company, and Popcornflix, an ad-based online video service.
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. [21] [22]
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. [23]
On December 15, 2020, Sony traded its remaining shares in Crackle for a yet to be disclosed preferential stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment effectively giving them control of the ad-supported streaming service. [24] As of 2020, the series included more than 250 titles. [25]
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. [26] 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. [27]
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). [28] The acquisition closed on August 11, 2022. [29]
Decline
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. [30]
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. [31]
Sony Pictures Television Inc. is an American television production and distribution company. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainment and a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation.
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.
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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.
Mark Victor Hansen is an American inspirational and motivational speaker, trainer and author. He is best known as the founder and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series.
Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is 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.
Wendy E. Diamond is an American philanthropist, entrepreneur, and television personality. She is the founder and CEO of LDP Ventures, an investment company focused on socially responsible ventures. Diamond is also the founder of the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization. Diamond is the creator of Animal Fair Media Inc., a media platform related to pets and pop culture.
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Marilyn Elizabeth King is an American former pentathlete. In 1971 she won the AAU title and placed fourth at the Pan American Games. She finished 17th at the 1976 Summer Olympics. At the 1972 Games King failed to complete her program due to an ankle injury. While preparing for the 1980 Moscow Olympics she injured her lower back in a car crash. She managed to recover and place second at the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials, but could not attend the Games due to their boycott by the United States.
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