 | |
| Type of business | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 2010 |
| Dissolved | June 2024 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Parent | Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment |
| URL | Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index) |
| Registration | None |
| Launched | March 2011 |
| Current status | Closed |
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. [1] [2]
Popcornflix was conceived in July 2010, and went into live beta in March 2011. The site primarily streamed independent feature films, many of which come from Screen Media's library. [3] The service is accessible in the United States and Canada, with plans to launch in more territories. [4] In 2017, Popcornflix's owner, Screen Media Ventures, was acquired by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. [2]
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. [5] 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. [6] 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 Popcornflix. [7]
Popcornflix was available on the following platforms:
In addition to full-length independent movies, Popcornflix featured original content including web series and film school originals. [9] [10] The service was accessible in the United States and Canada, and plans to launch in more territories were cancelled. [4]
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting schedule, which was popular under traditional broadcast programming, instead involving newer modes of content consumption that have risen as Internet and IPTV technologies have become prominent, and culminated in the arrival of VOD and over-the-top (OTT) media services on televisions and personal computers.
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.
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.
FX Networks, LLC is a company consisting of a network of the original American version of the channel, plus a production company and a subsidiary of Disney General Entertainment Content, a division Disney Entertainment which itself is a unit of the Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of News Corporation and later 21st Century Fox, the company was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019. Consequently, FX Networks was integrated into the newly renamed Walt Disney Television unit.
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.
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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.
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SnagFilms was a website that offered advertising-supported documentary and independent films. Films were streamed on the website, which contained a library of over 5,000 films. Filmmakers could submit documentaries for consideration as well. The site included documentary films produced by National Geographic and titles such as Super Size Me, The Good Son: The Life of Ray Boom Boom Mancini, Kicking It, Cracked Not Broken and Nanking.
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Fisher Klingenstein Ventures, LLC, doing business as FilmRise, is a New York–based film/television studio and streaming network, which has become one of the largest independent providers of content to ad-supported streaming (AVOD) platforms, in addition to providing the largest free direct to consumer service with its 22 owned-and-operated streaming channels, the "FilmRise Streaming Network". Currently, the FilmRise Streaming Network has reported more than 31.5 million downloads in the U.S. and can be seen on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Comcast, iOS, Android and Apple, among other platforms. FilmRise also syndicates its own digital linear channels to platforms including The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, and Amazon's Freevee and Vizio.
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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.
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Free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) is a category of streaming television services which offer traditional linear television programming and studio-produced movies without a paid subscription, funded exclusively by advertising akin to over-the-air or cable TV stations. Platforms following this model include Pluto TV, Rakuten TV, The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi, and Xumo. These services stand apart from platforms predominantly featuring user-generated content, as well as from subscription-based services. The term was coined by Alan Wolk to differentiate the category.