Crackle Plus partners with Amagi for FAST distribution

Lennox Lewis- The Untold Story

AVOD operator Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment has announced a partnership between Crackle Plus and Amagi to power the linear channel experience for Crackle, Popcornflix and other channels on its growing list of Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) platforms.

The channels will be available at launch on platforms like Plex and VIZIO Watch Free, with the company promising support for additional platforms and channels in the near future.

Crackle and Popcornflix linear and VOD networks will each be available in the US on up to 27 devices and services by the end of the year. These include Amazon FireTV, RokuTV, Apple TV, Smart TVs from the likes of Samsung, LG, VIZIO, gaming consoles, Plex, iOS and Android mobile devices and on desktops at Crackle.com.

Crackle and Popcornflix offers users an extensive library of studio film titles and TV series along with original programming such as Lennox Lewis: The Untold Story, Corporate Animals, and Blue Iguana.

Philippe Guelton, president of Crackle Plus, said: “Launching free linear channels is the next phase in making our streaming services Crackle and Popcornflix more ubiquitous and accessible to a growing number of viewers. We are excited to partner with best-in-class technology partner Amagi to ensure we deliver the highest quality experiences to both viewers and advertisers.

“With 80,000 hours of content available within our networks and through our sister content distribution company Screen Media, the opportunities to create new exciting linear experiences, including additional branded channels, are endless.”

The company has partnered with Amagi, which has partners including A+E Networks UK, Discovery Networks, Fox Networks, NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia. It has added more than 150 streaming channels to its platform over the past 12 months for content owners like Cinedigm, Yahoo!Finance, beIN Sports and SportsGrid. These channels are distributed on FAST platforms such as The Roku Channel, SamsungTV Plus, VIZIO, Xumo, PlutoTV, Plex, Redbox, Sling, and YouTube TV.

Srinivasan KA, co-founder at Amagi, said: “We continue to see a meteoric rise in the ad-supported entertainment audience. Crackle Plus is a perfect candidate for successful linear channels because of the strong AVOD brands it controls, like Crackle, Popcornflix, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and A Plus, and its extensive premium content library. This gives marketers comfort in advertising with well-known and brand-safe channels.”