Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Stock

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. operates as a streaming video-on-demand (VOD) company. The company is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul Productions, LLC (CSS Productions).

The company provides premium content to value-conscious consumers. The company is one of the largest advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) companies in the U.S., with three flagship AVOD streaming services: Redbox, Crackle and Chicken Soup for the Soul. In addition, the company operates Redbox Free Live TV, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service with over 160 channels as well as a transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service, and a network of approximately 32,000 kiosks across the U.S. for DVD rentals. To provide original and exclusive content to its viewers, the company creates, acquires, and distributes films and TV series through its Screen Media and Chicken Soup for the Soul TV Group subsidiaries. The company’s best-in-class ad sales organization is known to advertisers as Crackle Plus, a sales platform of unique scale and differentiated reach. Crackle Plus combines the ad inventory of its owned-and-operated networks and inventory with over 20 other premium AVOD partners who have chosen it to represent them in the marketplace. Across Redbox, Crackle, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Screen Media, the company has access to almost 70,000 content assets. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous books series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.

The company’s AVOD services boast approximately 50 million monthly active users and are distributed through every major distribution platform, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung, Vizio, Xbox, PlayStation and many more. The company’s consumers view content produced through its various television production affiliates, acquired by Screen Media, or licensed from Sony Pictures Television (SPT), Lionsgate, Paramount, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney and more than 100 other production and distribution companies, as well as through its media partners. Crackle is among the most watched ad-supported independent VOD streaming services and has multiple branded FAST networks, all of which offer consumers free TV series and movies. Crackle is known for premium original and acquired content that delivers audiences of scale across a demographic spectrum.

Through its Chicken Soup for the Soul AVOD streaming service and FAST channel, the company offers original and acquired unscripted lifestyle and scripted series and theatrical content that appeals to women and families.

The acquisition of Redbox in August 2022 added another established brand and leading home entertainment provider to the Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment portfolio of companies. For over 20 years, Redbox has focused on providing U.S. customers with the best value in entertainment and the most choice in how they consume it, through physical media and/or digital services. Through its physical media business, consumers can rent or purchase new-release DVDs and Blu-ray Discs from its nationwide network of approximately 32,000 self-service kiosks. In the recent past, Redbox transformed from a pure-play DVD rental company to a multi-faceted entertainment company, providing additional value and choice to consumers through multiple digital products across a variety of content windows. The Redbox digital business includes Redbox On Demand, a TVOD service offering digital rental and purchase of new release and catalog movies; Redbox Free On Demand, an AVOD service providing free movies and TV shows on demand; and Redbox Free Live TV, a FAST service providing consumers access to over 160 linear channels. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment also generates revenue through its Redbox Service business by providing installation, merchandising and break-fix services to other kiosk operators, and via Crackle Plus, selling third-party display advertising within Redbox’s mobile app, website, and e-mails, as well as display and digital advertising at the kiosk.

Screen Media manages one of the industry’s largest independently owned television and film libraries consisting of approximately 20,000 films and television episodes. Screen Media also acquires approximately 10 to 20 new feature films and a few hundred genre titles each year. Screen Media provides content for the Crackle Plus portfolio and also distributes its library to other exhibitors and third-party networks to generate additional revenue and operating cash flow. The company’s Halcyon Television subsidiary manages the extensive film and television library it acquired from Sonar Entertainment in 2021. This library is distributed by Screen Media and contains more than 1,000 titles, and 4,000 hours of programming, ranging from classics, including The Little Rascals, Laurel & Hardy and Blondie (produced by Hal Roach Studios), to acclaimed epic event mini-series such as Lonesome Dove and Dinotopia. The company’s Halcyon library titles have received 446 Emmy Award nominations, 105 Emmy Awards and 15 Golden Globe Awards. In March of 2022, Screen Media acquired 1091 Pictures that added approximately 4,000 films and episodes of licensed content as well as established FAST and AVOD channels in genre specific verticals with approximately 1 billion yearly ad-impressions.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group houses the company’s film and television production activities and produces or co-produces original content for Crackle Plus, as well as content for other third-party networks. This group’s production efforts are conducted through a number of affiliates, including Landmark Studio Group Chicken Soup for the Soul Studios, Indian-centric Locomotive Global Inc., and Halcyon Studios, which was formed in connection with the company’s acquisition of the assets of Sonar Entertainment. Halcyon Studios develops, produces, finances, and distributes high-caliber scripted content for all platforms across a broad spectrum in the U.S. and internationally, including premium series, such as Hunters (Amazon Prime) and Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney+).

Collectively, Screen Media and Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group enable the company to acquire, produce, co-produce and distribute content, including its original and exclusive content, in support of its streaming services.

Strategy

The key elements of the company’s strategy are to maximize transactional revenue and cost-effectively grow its production business, its content library, and its ownership of content rights; utilize technology and data to deliver innovative advertising formats and relevant ads that engage viewers; grow distribution to gain new viewers and employ sophisticated data analytics to deliver more compelling experiences; and accelerate revenue for the company’s B2B initiatives in key areas.

Intellectual Property

The company is a party to the CSS License Agreement, through which it has been granted the perpetual, exclusive, worldwide license by CSS to exclusively exhibit, produce and distribute video content using the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand and related content, such as stories published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Chicken Soup for the Soul and related names are trademarks owned by CSS. The company has the proprietary rights (including copyrights) in all company-produced content and believe the Brand provides a competitive advantage in attracting advertisers and entertainment talent. As a result of the acquisitions of Screen Media, Crackle, the assets of Sonar Entertainment, 1091 Pictures and the licensing of other libraries the company owns copyrights or long-term distribution rights and AVOD rights to approximately 110,000 programming assets totaling over 94,000 programming hours.

Competition

The company competes with dominant video on demand providers, such as Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, and Fox.

History

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 2014. The company was incorporated in 2016.