Crackle (service)

Last updated

Crackle, LLC
FormerlyGrouper (2004–2007)
Sony Crackle (2018–2019)
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Entertainment
Founded2004;20 years ago (2004) (as Grouper)
May 4, 2007;17 years ago (2007-05-04) (as Crackle)
FoundersJosh Felser
Dave Samuel
Mike Sitrin
Aviv Eyal
Fate Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation by parent company
Headquarters,
United States
Area served
United States
Services Digital streaming
Members40 million monthly active users (as of December 31,2021)
Parent Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment

Crackle is an American 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]

Contents

History

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]

In June 2013, it released an app for the Blackberry 10 platform and added its content to the Apple TV set-top box. [18] [19] [20] [21]

Logo used from 2008 to 2018 Logo of Crackle.svg
Logo used from 2008 to 2018

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 opera Days 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]

On April 14, 2015, Crackle announced a new feature called "Always On"; an ad-supported, internet television channel similar to Vevo TV. Crackle also announced its first animated series, SuperMansion ; their first hour-long scripted drama, The Art of More ; and Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser , a sequel to 2001's Joe Dirt . [26] On October 8, 2015, Crackle premiered SuperMansion , a stop-motion animated comedy television series created by Matthew Senreich and Zeb Wells. The series stars the voices of Bryan Cranston, Heidi Gardner, Tucker Gilmore, Keegan-Michael Key, Tom Root, Yvette Nicole Brown, Wells, and Jillian Bell.. [27]

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 Sony Crackle Logo.jpg
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, including Crackle. However, as of August 16, 2024, Crackle's website is still operating. [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.

Original programming

Movie and TV library

Crackle features films and TV shows, some exclusive, mainly from Sony Pictures and its subsidiaries, including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics, and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.[ citation needed ]

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 ]

Content providers

Availability

While it was Sony Crackle, it was available in 21 countries and in three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish. [38] [19] Currently [as of when?], 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 (Canada). [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]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Show Network</span> American digital cable and satellite television channel

Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by the television network division of Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revived game shows. The network has also previously aired reality competition series and televised poker.

Funimation was an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime and other foreign entertainment properties in North America. It streamed popular series, such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, YuYu Hakusho, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, Black Clover, Fruits Basket, Assassination Classroom and Tokyo Ghoul among many others. The service and its parent company were acquired by Sony, who ran the service through Sony Pictures Entertainment from 2017 to 2019 and then through SPE and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex from 2019 to its closure in 2024. In 2021, Sony acquired Crunchyroll.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Pictures</span> American television and film studio

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicken Soup for the Soul</span> American self-help and consumer goods company

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.

Redbox Automated Retail, LLC is an American video rental and streaming media company, based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. Redbox specializes in its namesake automated DVD rental kiosks, and also operated transactional and ad-supported streaming video and television services. Since 2022, Redbox has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animax</span> Japanese anime satellite television network

Animax Broadcast Japan Inc., stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legendary Entertainment</span> American film studio

Legendary Entertainment, LLC is an American mass media and film production company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull. The company has often collaborated with the major studios, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures, as well as streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. Since 2016, Legendary has been a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group and American equity firm Apollo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animax (Asian TV channel)</span> Asian television network

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popcornflix</span> On-demand streaming service

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SonyLIV</span> Indian video streaming service

SonyLIV is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1091 Pictures</span> American film studio

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment</span> Former American media company

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.

References

  1. Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 14, 2018). "Crackle Officially Changes Name To Sony Crackle — TCA". Deadline. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Hayes, Dade (March 28, 2019). "Sony Crackle Gets Reboot Via Chicken Soup For The Soul Joint Venture; Eric Berger To Depart After Deal Close". Deadline. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  3. Jarvey, Natalie (March 28, 2019). "Sony Sells Crackle Majority Stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  4. "Welcome to Grouper". Grouper Networks. Archived from the original on May 18, 2004. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  5. "Former AOLers Bet on Private P2P App: Is there a place in the enterprise for a legal file-sharing application using peer-to-peer technology?". Yahoo News . November 19, 2004. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  6. "Friendster and Grouper Target P2P Personal Media File Sharing". Converge Digest. October 31, 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Sony's Grouper becomes Crackle, a pathway to Hollywood". VentureBeat. January 16, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  8. 1 2 "Sony restructuring Crackle online video hub". Reuters. October 29, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Roettgers, Janko (June 27, 2018). "Sony Crackle Shutting Down in Canada". Variety . Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  10. "NewFronts: Sony's Crackle Takes David Arquette to 'Cleaners'". Variety. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  11. "Sony Pictures Bringing Online Video to Boxee". Mashable. December 2, 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  12. Lawler, Richard (April 18, 2011). "Crackle starts streaming all of its free movies to Roku, PS3, Sony TVs and Blu-ray players". Engadget. AOLtech. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  13. Edgar, Cervantes (April 18, 2011). "Watch movies and shows on your phone free with Crackle". Android and Me. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  14. "Sony's new Crackle app for iPad and iPhone lets you take 'Seinfeld' with you". USA Today. April 18, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Crackle bringing free movies to Xbox Live". The Gamers' Temple. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  16. Team (January 17, 2012). "Sony's Crackle Adds Animax Anime Channel". The Deadline.
  17. "Sony Pictures merges TV divisions in major step to secure its digital future". Los Angeles Times. June 20, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  18. "Sony's Crackle arrives on BlackBerry 10, reminds us to not watch Bad Boys II". Engadget. July 4, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  19. 1 2 "Crackle streaming TV and Movies app arrives for BlackBerry 10". CrackBerry. June 30, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  20. "Apple Adds ABC, Bloomberg, Crackle, and KOR TV Channels to Apple TV". MacRumors. December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  21. Ingraham, Nathan (December 11, 2013). "Apple TV adds new channels for ABC, Crackle, Bloomberg, and KORTV". The Verge. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  22. Adie, Nigel (March 31, 2014). "Sony Pictures Television shutting down Crackle". cable.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  23. Briel, Robert (March 25, 2014). "Sony UK closes down Crackle VOD". broadbandtvnews.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  24. "Nine axes Days of our Lives after 45 years". TV Tonight. April 29, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  25. "Sony making a sports version of Jeopardy!". Associated Press. April 30, 2014. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014.
  26. "Crackle Bridges The Gap Between Linear TV And On Demand With New Robust Slate Of Originals And Revolutionary 'Always On' Experience For Connected TV". Broadcaster Magazine. April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  27. Kimball, Trevor (April 14, 2015). "SuperMansion, The Art of More, Chosen: Crackle Announces New TV Series". tvseriesfinale. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  28. Pedersen, Erik (November 30, 2017). "'The Oath': Premiere Date & Teaser For Crackle Drama From EP Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson". Deadline. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  29. Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 14, 2018). "Crackle Officially Changes Name To Sony Crackle - TCA". Deadline. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  30. "Sony Sells Crackle Majority Stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul". Hollywood Reporter. March 28, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  31. "Sony Trades Crackle Equity For Stock; Full Control Of Streamer Goes To Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment". Deadline. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  32. "Chicken Soup for the Soul launches Crackle Connex". April 4, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  33. "Chicken Soup Reports $637 Million Loss for 2023, Preps Investors for Bankruptcy". NextTV. April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  34. Hayes, Dade (June 29, 2024). "Redbox Owner Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  35. "Crackle Plus, LLC files for bankruptcy". BKData. June 29, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  36. Harding, Scharon (July 11, 2024). "DVDs are dying right as streaming has made them appealing again". Ars Technica. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  37. 1 2 @todotvnews. "How Crackle Moved from OTT to SVOD". Todotvnews. Archived from the original on October 26, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  38. "Crackle at Sony Pictures Television". iab. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  39. Jarvey, Natalie (January 17, 2019). "Sony to Shut Down Crackle in Latin America". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  40. Vlessing, Etan (September 7, 2010). "Sony's Crackle comes to Canada". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  41. "The Art of More to Debut in Canada on shomi". Worldscreen. November 12, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  42. Daly, Ryan (April 18, 2016). "The Dudes From Robot Chicken Have A New Series On Shomi & It's Definitely Worth Your Time". CJQQ-FM (92.1 Rock). Rogers Media . Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  43. "Crime Drama SNATCH Becomes the Latest CraveTV Original, Beginning April 7". Newswire . Crave TV. March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  44. Hardy, Ian (December 14, 2016). "Amazon Prime Video in Canada: Complete TV and movie list". MobileSyrup. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  45. Elmes, John (January 11, 2018). "Super Channel buys Mercedes, takes Oath". C21 Media. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  46. "¿Por qué Crackle ya no es gratis?". Ayuda de Crackle. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  47. "¿Qué necesito para ver Crackle?". Ayuda de Crackle. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  48. "Sony to Shut Down Crackle in Latin America". The Hollywood Reporter. January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2020.