Cinedigm CEO: Goal Is for Cineverse to Add ‘Hundreds of Thousands’ of Titles, Become ‘Spotify of Independent TV’

It’s a good time to be a Cinedigm employee, at least from the tone struck by the company’s CEO on Thursday. In a letter to shareholders, Cinedigm chairman Chris McGurk outlined the company’s success in 2022, and looked ahead to 2023 and beyond in stating the company’s short-term goals.

Cinedigm operates numerous streaming services including Cineverse, a general entertainment service with a focus on global content; Screambox, a dedicated horror service; and Dove Channel, which specializes in faith-based programming. All three have a free tier, and offer users the ability to upgrade to a paid tier with extra features.

Earlier this week, Cinedigm acquired a pair of faith-based online platforms in order to add even more content and functionality to the Dove Channel. As a whole, the company reported 1.2 million paid subscribers in its 2023 fiscal third quarter, which ended in December.

McGurk told shareholders in the letter that he saw enormous growth potential for Dove Channel and similar programming, and that the company would look to make similar acquisitions in the near future. The CEO singled out anime, Asian content, and independent films as genres he thought Cinedigm could make meaningful investments in.

McGurk struck an even more ambitious tone when discussing the amount of content he hoped to see the company stream in the next 30 months. In that time, he said he hoped to see Cineverse add “hundreds of thousands” of new titles. The executive claimed that only around 3% of all global content is available on the major streaming services and that he wanted to provide a place for users to access the other 97% of shows and movies out there, to become “the Spotify of independent film & TV.”

That’s a lofty comparison for any company to aspire to, but Cinedigm has been highly successful so far. The company added 200,000 paid subscribers in its most recent quarter, which is all the more impressive considering how much content it offers for free. Total minutes streamed rose 60% year-over-year during the quarter, now topping out at over 2 billion.

A new partnership with ROW8 will help ensure Cinedigm has the biggest blockbusters available to stream, as well as more independent fare. Cinedigm recently signed a deal with the company that will allow users to rent or purchase new Hollywood movies, including some that are still in theaters.

Cinedigm’s stock price may not be as lofty as its bigger siblings in the streaming industry, but its ambitions are sky-high. If it stays on its current path, the company may exceed even its own brightest dreams for the future.