Cinedigm Acquires Faith-Based Streaming Platform to Enhance Dove Channel Family-Friendly Offerings
To better serve customers looking for family-friendly content, Cinedigm has ramped up its efforts. The company has acquired the faith-based streaming platform Christian Cinema and the movie review and ratings service Dove.org from Giving Company. The Dove Channel, an established streaming service from Cinedigm, will be combined with these two well-known names, offering a one-stop shop for faith and family-friendly entertainment.
Cinedigm and Dove.org first partnered in 2015 to debut the family-focused Dove Channel. Christian Cinema is a transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service for faith-based movies that offers the ability to buy or rent movies with Christian values via ChristianCinema.com as well as popular app platforms like Apple TV, iOS, Android, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and Amazon Fire tablets.
“Over the last few years, we have perfected what we think is the best approach to enthusiast streaming: giving customers more of what they want in the medium they want – movies, podcasts, editorial, commerce – under the business model of their choice,” Cinedigm president Erick Opeka said. “This has led to record growth in other verticals for us, including Fandom, Genre, and Asian content, and we think that Faith & Family could be bigger than all of those combined. This pair of acquisitions immediately provides us with an established consumer base, immediately accretive revenue, and multiple new avenues for growth. Much like we have done in other verticals, we expect to dramatically ramp up our offerings in original theatrical releases, podcasts, publishing, audiobooks and more.”
In September, Cinedigm launched its free Cineverse streaming service in an attempt to fill in the “gaps” left by other streaming services. The streamer offers a diverse selection of shows, including original titles in both the VOD and FAST channels. Offerings from channels like Crime Hunters, Fandor, Screambox, and many others are among favorites. The company reported 1.2 million paid subscribers during its fourth-quarter earnings report among its various streaming services.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities that will come from Christian Cinema becoming part of the Cinedigm family,” said David Henriksen, president and CEO of Giving Company. “The audience for Faith & Family-focused content is powerful, passionate and growing – yet very underserved. I am convinced that the sky is the limit for how these services can grow with the addition of advanced technology, content and marketing expertise from Cinedigm. Cinedigm is the perfect long-term home for Christian Cinema and Dove.org.”
Dove Channel
Dove Channel is a streaming service offering family-friendly, usually Christian programming. It also offers a small selection of classic TV shows. Some titles are available for free, while a larger library is available to premium subscribers.