Crackle (company)

Crackle, formerly called Grouper and Sony Crackle, is a free video streaming service supported by advertisements that was founded in 2004. The service was purchased by Sony Pictures in 2006 and renamed Crackle. In 2018 the name was changed to Sony Crackle. Eric Berger served as the general manager of Crackle from 2008 to 2019. Sony sold a majority stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul in March 2019, and the name was changed back to Crackle. Later, Sony sold its remaining stake to the same company. As of January 2022, Crackle has about 40 million monthly active users.

History

2004–2006

Josh Felser, Dave Samuel, Mike Sitrin, and Aviv Eyal founded the online video site Grouper in 2004. In August 2006, Sony purchased Grouper for $65 million.

2007–2013

In July 2007, Sony rebranded Grouper as Crackle, a multi-platform video-entertainment network and studio. In late 2008, Eric Berger was appointed to oversee Crackle. Early features included movies and television shows from Sony's library, along with the development, production and distribution of original content.

In March 2011, Crackle launched its streaming services on Bravia TVs, the Playstation 3, Roku boxes, and Sony Blu-ray players. The following month, Crackle announced that it would release apps for Android and iOS systems later that June. Crackle also partnered with Xbox Live, making its content available for Xbox 360. In June 2013, Crackle released an app for the BlackBerry 10 platform. In December 2013, Crackle made its content available for the Apple TV set-top box.

In January 2012, Crackle added Animax to its content, available to viewers in the US and Canada. Towards the end of 2013, the Animax branding was removed. In Australia, Crackle became the free-to-air home of Sony's popular American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', following the end of its run with the television broadcaster Nine Network.

Several anime shows from Funimation (some outsourced from Animax and others, since November 20, 2013, directly from Funimation) are streamed on Crackle.

2014–2017

On April 1, 2014, Sony Pictures Television ceased its Crackle operations in the UK and Australia without prior notice. Crackle UK had struggled against competitors like LoveFilm and Netflix. NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution struck a deal with Crackle to add a large number of films from its collection to the Crackle library.

On April 30, 2014, Crackle announced it would begin carrying '' Sports Jeopardy!'', a sports-themed version of the game show ''Jeopardy!,'' hosted by Dan Patrick. Approximately one week after the cancellation of the theatrical release of ''The Interview'', in the aftermath of the Sony hack, the ''New York Post'' reported that Sony would release the movie for free on Crackle.

On April 14, 2015, Crackle announced a new feature called "Always On"; an ad-supported, internet television channel similar to Vevo TV. Crackle also announced its first animated series, ''SuperMansion''; their first hour-long scripted drama, ''The Art of More''; and '' Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser'', a sequel to 2001's ''Joe Dirt''.

On October 8, 2015, Crackle premiered ''SuperMansion'', a stop-motion animated comedy television series created by Matthew Senreich and Zeb Wells. The series stars the voices of Bryan Cranston, Heidi Gardner, Tucker Gilmore, Keegan-Michael Key, Tom Root, Yvette Nicole Brown, Wells, and Jillian Bell.

In 2017, Crackle announced the platform had greenlit an original drama, ''The Oath'', written and created by former Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy Joe Halpin. Executive produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and his G-Unit Film & Television Inc., the drama series stars Sean Bean, Ryan Kwanten, Cory Hardrict, Arlen Escarpeta, Katrina Law, and J.J. Soria, and premiered on March 8, 2018.

In November 2017, Eric Berger became Sony Pictures Television Networks' chief digital officer in addition to his role as GM at Crackle.

2018–present

On January 14, 2018, the company announced that the name of the service would be changed to Sony Crackle in spring 2018.

On March 28, 2019, it was announced that Sony would sell a majority stake of Sony Crackle to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, with the service reverted into "Crackle" name.

On December 15, 2020, Sony sold its remaining stake in Crackle, giving Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment full control.

Programming

Crackle is owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. Other Crackle Plus VOD platforms include Popcornflix (AVOD), Truli (faith-based content), and Pivotshare (SVOD platform). Crackle features programming in the following genres: action, comedy, crime, drama, horror, and sci-fi.

Original programming

Movie and TV library

Crackle features films and TV shows, some of them on an exclusive basis, mainly from Sony Pictures and its subsidiaries, including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics, and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.

Crackle also features “Crackle Original” series such as ''On the Ropes'', ''Going from Broke'', ''Hidden Heroes'', ''The Oath'', and '' Snatch''. Crackle's content changes each month as titles are added and taken down.

Content providers

* A24
* A&E Networks
* BBC Worldwide
* CBS Media Ventures
* Constantin Film
* Discotek Media
* Disney-ABC Domestic Television
* Entertainment One
* Epic Pictures
* ErosSTX
* FilmRise
* Fremantle
* Gaumont Film Company
* Hallmark Entertainment
* Lionsgate
* Magnolia Pictures
* MarVista Entertainment
* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
* NBCUniversal Television Distribution
* Nordisk Film
* Oscilloscope Laboratories
* Samuel Goldwyn Films
* Screen Media Ventures
* Shout! Factory
* Sony Pictures
* Tribeca Film
* Universal Pictures
* Warner Bros.

Availability

Crackle was available in 21 countries and in three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Currently, Crackle is only available in the US.

Crackle was launched in Canada in September 2010. Beginning in late 2015, several of the service's original series were made available only through the local services Crave TV and
Shomi. Following the closure of Shomi in the fall of 2016, new productions continued to be released exclusively on Crave TV, as well as Amazon Prime Video and Super Channel (Canada). Crackle's Canadian operations were shut down on June 28, 2018, and its content was moved to Bell Media's CTV Movies and CTV Throwback services. Despite Crackle being a Sony owned service, the successor CTV app has not launched on Sony's PlayStation or Smart TV platforms, although it has become available on Microsoft's Xbox One console and Samsung's Smart TVs.

As of late 2016, Crackle in Latin America was only available as an ad-free paid service. Subscribers were required to have a pay-TV service provider that had partnered with Sony Crackle in order to access the service. Crackle was discontinued in Latin America on April 30, 2019.

See also

* List of streaming media services
* Video on demand
* Popcornflix
* SonyLIV
* FunimationNow
* Wakanim
* Hooq
* Tubi
* Netflix
* Peacock

References

External links

*

{{Authority control

Advertising video on demand
Former video hosting services
2019 mergers and acquisitions
Internet properties established in 2004
Windows software
Former Sony subsidiaries