NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Crackle Connex, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment’s (NASDAQ: CSSE) advertising sales division, today presented at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Newfronts in New York, showcasing the company’s unique capabilities in making emotional, engaging and profitable connections between brands and consumers across its full-scale media offering. Less than a month after being formed, Crackle Connex is now reaching over 80 million monthly active users (MAU). This represents a 100% growth over the last 12 months, fueled by:
- The Redbox acquisition, which added a fast-growing AVOD and FAST platform with over 160 channels and growing, as well as a digital out-of-home (DOOH) kiosk network located at grocery, drug, and convenience stores nationwide;
- The launch of the Chicken Soup for the Soul AVOD app and FAST channel last year, which rapidly secured distribution across all major streaming platforms;
- The addition of millions of Crackle and Redbox buttons on VIZIO TV remotes to bring consumers directly into the Crackle and Redbox branded apps;
- A growing audience extension program with over 20 third-party partners, including Crunchyroll, Funimation, Vidgo, and Cinedigm; and
- The recently announced growth of its DOOH network to over 10,000 screens through deals with Coinstar’s Adplanet Retail Media Group and Velocity MSC.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is the only independent media group that offers premium content to consumers across all key platforms, including DVD and Blu-Ray rentals, Premium and Transactional Video-on-Demand (TVOD), Ad-Supported VOD (AVOD), and Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) platforms. Rentals and TVOD are particularly important to bring consumers into the Redbox experience to watch new releases and then stay to consume ad-support content. That rich content offering is made possible by:
- Output deals with all major studios for all major new releases;
- A massive network of 32,000 Redbox kiosks across all major retail chains;
- A combined library of 70,000 movies and TV series;
- A loyalty program, Redbox Perks, with 42 million registered members; and
- The Redbox digital app combines TVOD, AVOD, and FAST in one seamless experience.
Building on top of legacy expertise in creating branded entertainment, Crackle Connex presented a number of renewed and new projects which allow brands to own a series, a segment, or create their own custom content with messaging authentically woven into the fabric of the storyline. Branded content from Crackle Connex includes:
- A brand-new original series At Home with Genevieve Gorder;
- A brand-new original series about the hottest new sneaker drops and the collectors that chase them, Just For Kicks;
- A new season of the hit Crackle original, Going From Broke, from executive producer Ashton Kutcher;
- The second season of the series Inside the Black Box, hosted by Emmy winner Joe Morton, produced in partnership with Publicis Media’s APX Content Ventures, sponsored by The General Insurance Company;
- The series Pet Caves with PetSmart – providing seamless brand integrations that do not overwhelm viewers; and
- The series Wedding Talk, a diverse show hosted by Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski and sponsored by Snuggle, Men’s Wearhouse, James Allen, and Kleinfeld.
As part of its mission to simplify video advertising buying across platforms, Crackle Connex presented a number of data and technology partnerships that allow for the execution, targeting, and measurement of advertising campaigns across platforms:
- Later this year, interactive video ads through Amazon Publisher Direct will be available to Amazon DSP advertisers. The ads connect viewers directly to purchase by using their voice or remote control and will be able to “Add to Cart,” “Buy this Cart,” or “Add to List”;
- A partnership with the measurement company Upwave allows Crackle Connex to demonstrate the positive lift for both in-shows and out-of-shows units of Branded Entertainment shows, such as Inside the Black Box;
- The company recently announced that it joined Advertising Industry Standard Geopath for Out-of-home Audience Measurement for its 3,000 DOOH Video Screens sitting on top of Redbox kiosks; and
- Crackle Connex continues to offer brands 360 data and measurement capabilities with partners such as Experian, InMarket, iSpot.tv, LiveRamp, Transunion and Nielsen Catalina.
“When we formed Crackle Connex only a month ago, we designed it so brands could seamlessly integrate their campaigns across AVOD, FAST, kiosks, digital out-of-home, and through branded content,” said Philippe Guelton, chief revenue officer of Crackle Connex. “The response has been tremendous – as we provide one of the most unique entry points for advertisers. We will have even more announcements in the coming weeks.”
About Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) provides premium content to value-conscious consumers. The company is one of the largest advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) companies in the US, 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 service (FAST), with over 160 channels as well as a transaction video on demand (TVOD) service, and a network of approximately 32,000 kiosks across the US 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. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous book series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.
Forward-Looking Statements and Available Information
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance. Such assumptions involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to risks relating to our core strategy, operating income and margin, seasonality, liquidity, including cash flows from operations, available funds, and access to financing sources, free cash flows, revenues, net income, profitability, stock price volatility, future regulatory changes, price changes, ability to achieve and sustain market acceptance of our content streaming services and other content offerings, ability to recruit and retain officers, key employees, or directors, ability to protect our intellectual property, ability to complete and integrate into our existing operations future strategic acquisitions, ability to manage growth, ability to pay dividends and our debt obligations, as well as evolving regulatory or other operational risks, and risks presented by changing general market conditions impacting demand for our services. For a more complete description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please refer to Item 1A (Risk Factors) in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March 31, 2023. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Information regarding the acquisition of Redbox and related transactions is qualified by reference to the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 11, 2022 as amended May 12, 2022, June 6, 2022, August 12, 2022, November 14, 2022 and thereafter from time to time, and all exhibits filed with respect to such reports. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
