Tag: Ad-Supported Content

Whip Streaming Ad Study Finds Hulu Ad Experience Most Annoying

Respondents reported a particularly negative experience with the ads on Hulu, citing it as more annoying than users of other platforms, according to a new study from Whip Media. HBO Max, on the other hand, drew the most positive marks.

Whip Media surveyed nearly 2,500 users of its TV Time app in the United States about their experiences with AVOD tiers of major streaming services.

“Hulu’s ad loads are known to be heavier than most in the industry and our results show that viewers have noticed,” according to the study. “HBO Max was the only service that users reported feeling the amount of commercials was less than expected. Their ad loads are very low at only 4 minutes per hour and HBO originals on the ad-supported tier do not carry any commercials.”

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Also, Hulu users complained they saw the same commercials too frequently compared to the other services, according to the study.

HBO Max leads the pack in terms of viewer satisfaction with their ad-supported service, which only comes in a few points shy of its ad-free service. Discovery came in last, with 64% of respondents saying they were satisfied with its ad-supported tier.

Netflix plans to add an ad-supported tier, but current subscribers don’t look to be very interested in switching to a cheaper Netflix with commercials, once the option is available.

Crackle Plus Launches FAST Channels on FuboTV

Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company and an operator of advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) streaming services, has launched its Crackle and Popcornflix FAST channels on FuboTV’s platform in the United States. 

FuboTV’s audience will gain access to the Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment content library, including the college thriller series “In the Vault.” Viewers will also gain access to action shows from Popcornflix such as the feature films Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956) and Jackie Chan’s Little Big Soldier as well as the two-part limited series Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island. 

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“We are so excited to bring our constantly expanding content offering to FuboTV viewers,” president of Crackle Plus Philippe Guelton said in a statement. “Our advertising and marketing partners will now access new audiences through the launch of the Crackle and Popcornflix FAST channels on FuboTV.”

Other Crackle Plus recent releases include the popular sketch comedy series “Funny Girls”; the exclusive scripted series “Les Norton,” which stars Alexander Bertram and Rebel Wilson; “Inside the Black Box,” hosted by Joe Morton; and the BBC series “Sherlock,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. The company also recently announced season three of the series “Going From Broke.”

The Crackle Plus streaming services are currently distributed through 85 touch points in the United States on platforms including Amazon Fire TV, RokuTV, Apple TV, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio), gaming consoles (PS4 and Xbox One), Plex, iOS and Android mobile devices and on desktops at Crackle.com.

Netflix to Partner With Microsoft on Ad-Supported Sub Plan

Netflix July 13 announced it will partner with Microsoft on its previously announced ad-supported subscription plan.

“In April we announced that we will introduce a new lower priced ad-supported subscription plan for consumers, in addition to our existing ads-free basic, standard and premium plans,” Greg Peters, Netflix chief operating officer and chief product officer, wrote in a blog post. “Today we are pleased to announce that we have selected Microsoft as our global advertising technology and sales partner.”

He wrote that Microsoft “offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members.” 

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“We’re thrilled to be named Netflix’s technology and sales partner to help power their first ad-supported subscription offering,” Mikhail Parakhin, Microsoft president of Web Experiences, said in a blog post. “At launch, consumers will have more options to access Netflix’s award-winning content. Marketers looking to Microsoft for their advertising needs will have access to the Netflix audience and premium connected TV inventory. All ads served on Netflix will be exclusively available through the Microsoft platform. Today’s announcement also endorses Microsoft’s approach to privacy, which is built on protecting customers’ information.

“This is a big day for Netflix and Microsoft. We’re excited to offer new premium value to our ecosystem of marketers and partners while helping Netflix deliver more choice to their customers.”

“It’s very early days and we have much to work through,” wrote Netflix’s Peters. “But our long term goal is clear. More choice for consumers and a premium, better-than-linear TV brand experience for advertisers.”

Crackle Plus Launching Five FAST Channels on TCL Channel

Crackle Plus — a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company and an operator of advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) streaming services — has inked an agreement to launch five FAST channels on the TCL Channel free streaming platform in the United States.

Crackle Plus FAST channels include Crackle, Crackle Classics, its newly launched Chicken Soup for the Soul FAST channel, action-fueled network Popcornflix and Truli, its faith and family streaming service.

TCL’s viewers will gain access to the Crackle Plus library with original and exclusive programming from Crackle, including the series “Taboo” and the feature film The Mercy; Crackle Classics’ film and TV series such as the “Laurel and Hardy” and “Little Rascals” libraries; adventure and action-packed shows from Popcornflix, such as the feature Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956) and the two-part limited series “Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island”; an extensive collection of female-led shows from Chicken Soup for the Soul, including “Smart Home Nation” and “Mothers and Daughters”; and family-friendly and faith-based content from Truli, such as the critically acclaimed Bible series “The Chosen.” 

“We’re thrilled to bring our constantly evolving library of content to TCL viewers since across all five of these different services; there is sure to be something to satisfy everyone,” president of Crackle Plus Philippe Guelton said in a statement. “Enlarging our distribution with TCL also reflects our determination to provide consumers with the best free entertainment with the support of our advertising partners who will be exposed to a completely fresh audience.” 

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“Crackle is a respected brand in the streaming entertainment industry, and we are thrilled to be adding their five channels to TCL’s robust lineup,” Rebecca Wan of FFalcon, responsible for the global operation of TCL Smart Screens, said in a statement. “TCL is committed to the free streaming space, and we continue to provide value to our audience by partnering with stellar brands like Crackle to deliver our customers top-shelf free content.” 

Crackle Plus’ recent releases include the exclusive scripted series “Les Norton,” which stars Alexander Bertram and Rebel Wilson; the suspense thriller Blast; “Inside the Black Box,” hosted by Joe Morton; the thriller series “In the Vault”; and the award-winning BBC series “Sherlock,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Crackle Plus also recently announced season three of the series “Going From Broke.”

Tubi Inks Deal for Films From National Film Board of Canada

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and Tubi have signed a new distribution deal to bring NFB films to Tubi, Fox’s free ad-supported video-on-demand platform, across Canada, the United States and Australia.

The deal includes 29 titles for the AVOD service.

“The National Film Board of Canada is thrilled to have our films on Tubi’s platform,” Nathalie Bourdon, the NFB’s director of distribution and market development, said in a statement. “This partnership, which perfectly aligns with our digital strategy, will allow us to grow our audience.”

“We’re so pleased to partner with the National Film Board of Canada to bring their premium, thought-provoking and award-winning slate of documentaries to our service for viewers to discover and enjoy,” Adam Lewinson, chief content officer for Tubi, said in a statement.

NFB films will be added throughout the year. Works available now include:

  • Angry Inuk (NFB/Unikkaat Studios/EyeSteelFilm), Inuk filmmaker Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s powerful challenge to the anti-sealing movement and winner of the Audience Award at Hot Docs and one of Canada’s Top 10 Films, selected by the Toronto International Film Festival; 
  • The Apology, Tiffany Hsiung’s exploration of the lives of three former “comfort women,” kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and winner of a Peabody Award and the Busan Cinephile Award for Best World Documentary at the Busan International Film Festival; 
  • A Better Man (Intervention Productions/NFB), Attiya Khan and Lawrence Jackman’s look at how healing can happen when men take responsibility for their domestic abuse and Top 20 Audience Favourite at Hot Docs and winner of the Sabeen Mahmud Award for Courage in Cinema at the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival; 
  • Out of Mind, Out of Sight (JS Kastner Productions/NFB), the late John Kastner’s final film with the NFB, exploring what happens to people who suffer from mental illnesses and commit violent crimes and winner of Best Canadian Feature Documentary at Hot Docs; 
  • The Rose Family by Montreal filmmaker Félix Rose, who in the film tries to understand what led his father and uncle, members of the Front de libération du Québec, to kidnap cabinet minister Pierre Laporte—unleashing an unprecedented crisis (winner of the Prix Iris Public Prize at the Quebec Cinema Awards); and 
  • Unarmed Verses by Charles Officer, a portrait of a Toronto community facing imposed relocation that focusses on 12-year-old Francine Valentine, whose observations about life, the soul and the power of art give voice to those rarely heard in society (winner of Best Canadian Feature Documentary at Hot Docs and one of Canada’s Top 10 Films, selected by the Toronto International Film Festival).

Pluto TV Updates Category and Channel Lineup

Paramount-owned, ad-supported service Pluto TV has unveiled a reorganization of its U.S. channel lineup, adding new categories, channels and programming.

“The new lineup is designed to offer greater ease of navigation for users, and more fan-favorite programming based on popular themes and genres being streamed across the platform,” according to Pluto TV.

Audiences now have 18 categories to choose from — three more than before — containing new and existing programming. New categories include Game Shows, Daytime TV, Home, Food, and Lifestyle + Culture. Those are added to existing channels Movies, Entertainment, News + Opinion, Crime, Reality,  Comedy, Classic TV,  Sports, Gaming + Anime, Music, En Español, Kids, and Local. As part of the reorganization, select channels’ content will relocate to new categories that are better suited to their genres, according to Pluto TV.

Genres such as game shows, reality and daytime television series have shown to be incredibly popular among viewers, therefore creating a demand for their own dedicated categories and even more channels and titles added to these categories, according to Pluto TV.

In coordination with the rollout of the new lineup and categories, Pluto TV is also launching two new channels, the Judge Judy Channel and the “Let’s Make a Deal” channel, featuring the updated game show hosted by Wayne Brady.

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“We are always looking for ways to improve our programming offering and make it easier for the audience to find what they are looking for. Not only is this expansion driven by viewing habits we can see, we spoke directly to our audience to gain feedback on suggested changes before they were made,” Scott Reich, SVP of programming at Pluto TV, said in a statement. “Everything we do puts the audience first and this optimization is the latest step to maintain our market leadership in partnership with our audience.”

With a global audience of more than 68 million monthly active users, Pluto TV delivers more than 1,000 global channels, featuring on-demand and linear programming, for free, across all major internet connected devices.

Crackle Plus Series ‘In the Vault’ Tallies 3.4M Views

Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company and an operator of AVOD streaming services, announced its series “In the Vault” has garnered more than 3.4 million views since its premiere June 1, making it one of the most-watched new shows on Crackle, according to the service. 

The eight-part thriller series, starring Audrey Whitby, Claudia Lee, Anthony Granaderos and Sydney Sweeney, follows students at Woodlawn College, where a coed is killed at a campus party. The series focuses on the murdered student’s surviving dorm hallmates. Each individual possesses their own secret that may or may not serve as a motive for the dark deed that has taken place. No one is safe from the suspicions of others as each episode spotlights a different student as they move from being the protagonist one week to a suspect the next. 

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“We are so excited to see our audience responding to the fun nail-biting edge-of-your-seat thrill-fest that is ‘In the Vault,’” Jeff Meier, head of programming for Crackle Plus, said in a statement. “We thought this series would be a big hit, but the strong word of mouth and social buzz our fans are giving it exceeds even our wildest expectations.” 

Season two of the show will premiere as a Crackle Original later this year, with new cast members joining the student body of Woodlawn College. The plot thickens as the students continue to dig into the mystery of the previous season while fresh intrigue cries out from under the very ground on which they stand. 

Crackle Plus’ recent releases include the exclusive scripted series “Les Norton,” which stars Alexander Bertram and Rebel Wilson; the suspense thriller Blast; “Inside the Black Box,” hosted by Joe Morton; the sketch comedy series “Funny Girls”; and the award-winning BBC series “Sherlock,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Crackle Plus also recently announced season three of the multi-award-winning series “Going From Broke.”

The Crackle Plus streaming service is currently distributed through 85 touchpoints in the United States on platforms including Amazon Fire TV, RokuTV, Apple TV, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio), gaming consoles (PS4 and Xbox One), Plex, iOS and Android mobile devices, and on desktop at Crackle.com.

FilmRise Greenlights Third Season of ‘Bloodline Detectives Hosted by Nancy Grace’

New York-based film and television studio and streaming network FilmRise has renewed it first original true-crime documentary series “Bloodline Detectives Hosted by Nancy Grace” for a third season on digital and broadcast.

Season three of the series, produced by FilmRise and Los Angeles-based production company Peninsula Television, will begin production later this month and will begin airing this fall.

The series, which explores familial DNA search and testing used to uncover criminals, is hosted by legal analyst and former prosecutor Nancy Grace. Grace opens each episode by detailing a highly publicized and violent crime with unknown motives whose assailants were ultimately caught using familial DNA Search. Viewers are led through the case’s resolution with the help of forensic scientists and detectives. Integrating key witness testimony with new forensic and psychological expert interviews, plus reconstruction and archival footage, “Bloodline Detectives Hosted by Nancy Grace” is a study in modern crime-solving techniques. The series takes viewers behind the scenes of cold cases as detectives solve years-old murder investigations using two kinds of technology: genetic genealogy and familial searching. Detectives can harness these techniques to pinpoint an unknown criminal’s relatives and then trace the path of a family tree to reveal the killer, as used in high-profile investigations uncovering the Golden State Killer and the Grim Sleeper.  

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“We were able to experience first-hand the overwhelming demand for true crime programming when we first acquired ‘Unsolved Mysteries,’ and ‘Forensic Files,’” Max Einhorn, SVP of acquisitions and co-productions at FilmRise, said in a statement. “With the success of these two programs, we knew that when we moved into producing our own original content, this was the genre to build upon. Once we had Nancy Grace onboard for ‘Bloodline Detectives,’ there was no doubt in our minds that this program was going  to be a major draw for the true-crime fan.”

AVOD Service Crackle Plus Announces June Lineup

Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company and operator of advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) streaming services, announced content planned for June.

New Crackle AVOD Exclusives in June include:

  • “A Life In 10 Pictures #1 — Freddy Mercury,” in which Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, one of the most iconic bands in rock and roll history, reveals his life in ten pictures, from iconic shots to private snaps;
  • “In the Vault — Season One,” in which freshman Liv Steele (Claudia Lee) arrives at Woodlawn College excited for a fresh start, but will her past catch up with her?; and
  • “Hollywood Bulldogs: The Rise and Falls of the Great British Stuntman,” which tells the story of the small community of British stunt performers who went on to dominate Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s.

 

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In addition to access to four seasons of “Sherlock,” Crackle Plus is offering new series from the BBC library every month. This month’s lineup includes:

  • “Ivanhoe,” a miniseries in which young Saxon knight returns to England from fighting in the Crusades to find he had been disinherited by his father, his childhood sweetheart has been betrothed to another man and the country is in the midst of an uprising;
  • “Jane Eyre,” a TV series about a young governess who falls in love with her brooding and complex master; and
  • Byron, a feature film about the famous poet starring Jonny Lee Miller.

 

New channels coming to Crackle in June include:

  • Celebrating Pride, including Wedding Wars (John Stamos, Eric Dane), Breakfast on Pluto (Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson), the Crackle original reality series “Men of West Hollywood” (Justin Jedlica, Brennen Taylor) and Two Mothers for Zachary (Valerie Bertinelli, Vanessa Redgrave);
  • Prehistoric Beasts, featuring “Dinotopia” (Katie Carr, Wentworth Miller), The Lost World (Bob Hoskins, Peter Falk), Behemoth (Ed Quinn, Pascale Hutton) and Godzilla vs Destoroyah (Megumi Odaka, Yōko Ishino);
  • Ways of the West, featuring Western titles like “Bonanza” (Michael Landon, Dan Blocker), The Shadow Riders (Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck), “The Outcasts” (Otis Young, Don Murray) and The Man from Laramie (James Stewart, Cathy O’Donnell);
  • Crimes and Capers, featuring Law Abiding Citizen (Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx), Killing Them Softly (Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini), American Animals (Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan) and Midnight Express (Brad Davis, John Hurt); and
  • The Sixties, featuring “The Flying Nun” (Sally Field, Alejandro Rey), To Sir, with Love (Sidney Poitier, Lulu), Under the Yum-Yum Tree (Jack Lemmon, Carol Lynley) and Bye Bye Birdie (Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret).

 

New to Crackle Spotlight in June are Harry Styles: Live in Manchester, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Peggy Sue Got Married, Edge of Tomorrow, Scream 4, the Canadian sketch comedy series “The Kids in the Hall,” the TV series “Hardcastle and McCormick,” Hannibal Rising, Judy (Renee Zellweger), Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Man from Laramie and Behind the Moment.

The Crackle Plus streaming services are currently distributed through 70 touch points in the United States on platforms including Amazon FireTV, RokuTV, Apple TV, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio), gaming consoles (PS4 and Xbox One), Plex, iOS and Android mobile devices and on desktops at Crackle.com, with previously announced plans to expand to over 90 touch points.

Vizio Ups Q1 SmartCast OS Streaming Hours 14%

Vizio May 12 reported that more than 4.1 billion hours of SmartCast OS content was streamed by the consumer electronics manufacturer’s smart TV owners in the first quarter, ended March 31. That was up 14% from 3.6 billion hours streamed in the previous-year period.

Vizio, like other Chinese CE manufacturers, has implemented a branded operating system affording users access to the internet and third-party apps and platforms. In addition, Vizio also streams select ad-supported video content in attempt to compete against AVOD platforms such as Tubi, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel, among others.

Irvine, Calif.-based Vizio ended the quarter with 15.6 million active accounts, which was up 16% from 13.5 million accounts in the previous-year period. Even better, average revenue per SmartCast user increased 64% to $23.68 from $14.43 per user last year.

Meanwhile, Vizio shipped 1.4 million Smart TVs in the quarter, which was down 11% from 1.5 million units in the previous-year period. Device revenue dropped 16% to $382.9 million, from $453.5 million.

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The company posted a net loss of $11 million on revenue of $485.5 million in the quarter, compared to profit of $3.4 million on revenue of $505.7 million a year ago.

“I am extremely proud of our exceptional first quarter results,” William Wang, CEO of Vizio, said in a statement. “It has been 20 years since [we] first revolutionized the TV market offer[ing] affordable HDTVs, smart-TVs, and six years ago we launched our own operating system.”

Vizio, which launched an IPO a year ago pricing shares at $21 each, saw shares close May 12 at $7.57 per share.