CuriosityStream™ Celebrates 2-Year Anniversary And Sets Goal of 30 Million Worldwide Subscribers by 2026
-- Following a 2-year formation period involving content development and refinement of digital streaming technologies, CuriosityStream today announced a long-range goal of achieving 30 million global subscribers by 2026
-- John Hendricks, Founder of CuriosityStream and the Founder and Former Chairman of Discovery Communications, declares that "subscription video-on-demand is the absolute future for quality television content."
SILVER SPRING, Md., March 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hendricks, the Founder of CuriosityStream and the Founder and Former Chairman of Discovery Communications, announced today that CuriosityStream, which is currently available in 196 countries worldwide, has undertaken a ¼ scale TV advertising test that would yield an annualized registration rate of over 1.3 million when the full-scale ad campaign is launched in June. "We are on track to meet a near-term goal of 1 million subscribers, and we are confident that CuriosityStream will reach a long term goal of achieving more than 30 million subscribers by 2026," stated Hendricks. "In 2026, we project that Netflix will have more than 120 million global subscribers and I expect that CuriosityStream will have reached about 25% of Netflix's distribution base reflecting the long-demonstrated consumer demand ratio, 1 to 4, between non-fiction and entertainment programming. As has been the experience of other SVOD services, word-of-mouth promotion should dramatically accelerate our growth once we climb over 2 million subscribers."
John Hendricks commented on the technical challenge of developing a high-quality video streaming service. "As many streaming services have learned, the creation of a reliable streaming platform is costly, complex, and time consuming. At least when I founded the Discovery Channel back in 1985, I didn't have to build a communications satellite which was the delivery platform of the cable era. However, the delivery platform for each major streaming service is largely a customized build as each streaming service requires unique indexing and navigational requirements among other capabilities that involve a substantial investment of time and resources. Given this enormous task, I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of our digital technology team which has created an on-demand, video streaming platform that is second to none in reliability, user friendliness, and aesthetics," stated Hendricks.
Brand-defining content in production
Elizabeth Hendricks North, President & CEO of CuriosityStream, commented on the current library of content available to subscribers worldwide.
"CuriosityStream has some of the best science, nature, history and technology programs available anywhere," stated Elizabeth Hendricks North. "Our subscribers have gravitated toward the more in-depth programming, in contrast to the trends we see in linear television. While nonfiction documentaries about space and physics topics are hard to come by on broadcast and cable television, CuriosityStream subscribers have ready access to top performing CuriosityStream Originals like Deep Time History, Digits, Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places and many more. We will continue to invest in quality, original productions that will ensure CuriosityStream remains the world's best streaming destination for on-demand documentaries."
Steve Burns, CuriosityStream's Executive Vice President for Content Production and Acquisition and former EVP of Global Programming of National Geographic Channel, outlined the development slate of brand-defining content for 2017 and 2018 including 100 productions in 4K and upcoming monthly VR specials, starting with Destination: Pluto, a walk on the dwarf planet based on NASA hi-res photography of the surface.
"In 2017, we have the best line up of science and history programs anywhere," Burns said. Exclusive CuriosityStream Originals debuting on the service in 2017 include the science series Ancient Earth, available now, about extinction events in Earth's history, as well as the space exploration special, Miniverse, where viewers will tour a version of the Solar System scaled down to the size of the continental U.S., hosted by astronaut Chris Hadfield and featuring guest Michio Kaku. Later in the year, subscribers will see new episodes from the hit program Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places and the groundbreaking search for life on exoplanets in Living Universe.
Advancements in speed, quality, and overall platform design
Peter North, Chief Operating Officer for CuriosityStream, commented on recent advancements in global distribution efficiencies for the service.
"CuriosityStream has made significant advancements in its platform design and function," North said. "We've completely overhauled the interface design and replaced it with a sleek back-end and front-end system that will make it easier for members to find the content they love. Our new rating system and recommendation engine provide a smooth process for sourcing the best documentaries, geared specifically for each member. Lastly, we've layered our API into a CDN (Content Distribution Network) that serves content much more quickly and efficiently, enabling CuriosityStream to deliver some of the world's best HD and 4K documentaries cost-effectively."
CuriosityStream recently launched its service on Xbox One and has imminent app releases set for LG, Sony and Samsung Smart TVs in Spring and Summer of 2017.
"The mission of CuriosityStream is to provide affordable, global access to quality, factual programming," stated Elizabeth Hendricks North. "We are thrilled to see such a rapid adoption of our streaming service across the world, with a growing community of curious minds eager to dive deep into premium science, technology, history and nature documentaries."
About CuriosityStream
CuriosityStream is the world's first on-demand streaming service for documentary and nonfiction programming. Over 1,700 shows from the world's best filmmakers are available to watch on most streaming devices, including Xbox One, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, iOS and Android, starting at just $2.99 per month. Focused on offering enriching and enlightening content covering science, history, technology and nature, CuriosityStream was founded by Discovery Communications founder and media visionary John Hendricks. For more information, visit www.curiositystream.com.
SOURCE CuriosityStream
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