Crackle is an American Based video streaming service. It was founded in 2004 as Grouper, before the service was purchased by Sony Pictures in 2006 and renamed Crackle. In 2018, the name was changed to Sony Crackle.[1] Sony sold a majority stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment in March 2019, and the name was changed back to Crackle.[2][3]
Grouper Networks,[4] an encrypted P2P network that integrates file sharing, instant messaging and multimedia streaming,[5] was founded in 2004 by Josh Felser, Dave Samuel, Mike Sitrin, and Aviv Aiyal. Later,[6] Sony purchased it in August 2006 for $65 million.[7][8] In July 2007, Sony rebranded Grouper as Crackle, a multi-platform video-entertainment network and studio, and in late 2008 appointed Eric Berger as general manager.[8][9][10][11][7]
In March 2011, Crackle launched its streaming services on Bravia TVs, the Playstation 3, Roku boxes, and Sony Blu-ray players. It also partnered with Xbox Live and added its content to Xbox 360.[12][13][14][15]
In January 2012, Crackle added Animax to its content for users in the US and Canada,[15][16] and later by the end of March 2013, Animax branding was removed.[17]
On April 1, 2014, Sony Pictures Television ceased its Crackle operations in the UK and Australia.[22][23] In Australia, Crackle became the free-to-air home of Sony's popular American soap operaDays of Our Lives, following the end of its run with the television broadcaster Nine Network.[24] The same month, Crackle announced the creation of Sports Jeopardy!, a sports-themed version of the game show Jeopardy! hosted by Dan Patrick.[25]
In 2017, Crackle announced the platform had greenlit an original drama, The Oath, written and created by former Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy Joe Halpin. Executive produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and his G-Unit Film & Television Inc., the drama series stars Sean Bean, Ryan Kwanten, Cory Hardrict, Arlen Escarpeta, Katrina Law, and J.J. Soria, and premiered on March 8, 2018.[28]
Sony Crackle logo used from 2018 to 2019
In spring 2018, the company's name was changed to Sony Crackle.[29] In March 2019, Sony sold its majority stake in Sony Crackle to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, and the name was changed to Crackle again.[2] Subsequently, on December 15, 2020, Sony sold its remaining stake in Crackle, giving full control to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.[30][31]
In April 2023, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment announced Crackle Connex, its advertising sales division, allowing advertisers to measure and track performance of advertisements on the platform.[32]
On April 23, 2024, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment 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.[33] On June 29, 2024, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after missing a week of paying its employees and failing to secure financing.[34][35] On July 10, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved a conversion of the bankruptcy to Chapter 7, which would signal a liquidation of the company's assets, and the cessation of its subsidiaries, that would have be including Crackle. However, as of October 2024, Crackle's website is still operating and there is no sign of Crackle being affected by the bankruptcy.[36]
Programming
Crackle is owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. Other Crackle Plus VOD platforms include Popcornflix (AVOD), Truli, and Pivotshare (SVOD platform).[37] Crackle features programming in the following genres: action, comedy, crime, drama, horror, and sci-fi.
Crackle also features the "Crackle Original" series, including On the Ropes, Going from Broke, Hidden Heroes, The Oath, and Snatch. Crackle's content changes each month as titles are added and taken down.[citation needed]
While it was Sony Crackle, it was available in 21 countries and in three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish.[38][19] Currently[as of?], Crackle is only available in the US. Crackle was launched in Canada in September 2010.[39][40] In late 2015, several of the service's original series were made available only through the local services Crave TV and Shomi.[41][42] Following the closure of Shomi in the fall of 2016, new productions continued to be released exclusively on Crave TV, as well as Amazon Prime Video and Super Channel (Canadian TV channel).[43][44][45]
Crackle's Canadian operations were shut down on June 28, 2018, and its content was moved to Bell Media's CTV Movies and CTV Throwback services.[9] Despite Crackle being a Sony owned service, the successor CTV app has not launched on Sony's PlayStation or Smart TV platforms, although it has become available on Microsoft's Xbox One console and Samsung's Smart TVs.[citation needed]
As of late 2016, Crackle in Latin America was available only as an ad-free paid service.[37][46] Subscribers were required to have a pay-TV service provider that had partnered with Sony Crackle in order to access the service.[47] Crackle was discontinued in Latin America on April 30, 2019.[48]
Sony Pictures Television Inc. is an American television production and distribution studio. 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 multinational 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. 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 Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony Group Corporation.
Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC is an American self-help and consumer goods company based in Cos Cob, Connecticut. It is known for the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. The first book, like most subsequent titles in the series, consisted of inspirational true stories about ordinary people's lives. The books are widely varied, each with a different theme.
Crave is a Canadian premium television network and streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc.
Redbox Automated Retail, LLC was an American video rental and streaming media company, based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. Redbox specialized in automated DVD rental kiosks, and also operated transactional and ad-supported streaming video and television services. From 2022 until its liquidation, Redbox was a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.
Hulu is an American subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of The Walt Disney Company.
Animax is an Asian pay television channel owned by KC Global Media Asia. The channel was originally owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and took its name from the Japanese satellite TV network; which was then-majority owned by subsidiary Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan. The channel would be sold to its current owners on January 1, 2020.
Sony Entertainment, Inc. is the umbrella entertainment division of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation and managed by its American subsidiary, established in 2012 to oversee the corporation's ventures in film, television and music.
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.
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. On April 23, 2024, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment 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. On June 29, 2024, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after missing a week of paying its employees and failing to secure financing. On July 11, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved a conversion of the bankruptcy to Chapter 7, which would signal a liquidation of the company's assets, and the cessation of its subsidiaries, including Screen Media.
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.
Sony LIV is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Culver Max Entertainment. Sony LIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it provides live sports, original titles, other content titles from its own networks and content titles in India licensed from third-parties such as Lionsgate and ITV among others. The Sony LIV content library includes films, TV shows and series, and sports.
Crave is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily against American-based services.
Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and free ad-supported streaming television 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.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. was an American media company based in Cos Cob, Connecticut. Established in 2016, it was a subsidiary of the publisher Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Eric Berger is an American media executive. He co-founded and is the CEO of Common Sense Networks, the for-profit arm of Common Sense Media.
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