Parables TV is a global subscription-based provider of streaming

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and other faith-based movies and TV series. Parables TV is owned by Olympusat. Parables TV features a library of subscription video on demand (SVOD) movies, documentaries, children’s programming, original productions and TV series, as well as a streaming linear TV channel which has a daily schedule. Parables TV was established June 2009 in Florida. The CEO of Parables TV is Bob Higley, who also sits on the board of the organization Christians in Media. Vice president of programming is Issac Hernandez, who also serves on the Film Standing Committee with

National Religious Broadcasters National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an international association of evangelical communicators. While theologically diverse within the evangelical community, NRB members are linked through a Declaration of Unity that proclaims their joint comm ...

(NRB).

Business model

Parables TV primarily operates through three distribution channels: *Subscription video on demand service on its website and mobile devices similar to

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. *Subscription streaming 24-hour-per-day linear TV channel viewable on its website and mobile devices. *Program syndicator for other religious TV networks. (Parables TV offers a syndicated “movie of the week” that airs on other Christian TV networks) Parables TV has entered the online TV market with a video on demand library that includes hundreds of Christian movies, documentaries and TV series not available on many cable and satellite TV channels, including international Christian TV networks. Parable's marketing has also aligned with many churches of various denominations. In exchange, Parables TV sponsors church events using media avenues such as local radio, and provides free screenings of new movies. Expansion plans include creating original Christian movies and original scripted TV series; distribution to other “TV everywhere” platforms like Truli TV, including smart televisions and gaming devices; syndication with other faith networks; and strategic partnerships with filmmakers. According to MediaPost Communications, online TV viewing is up 246%, and within five years streaming video on demand will pass regular TV in the number of viewers. Parables is promoted on YouTube, and GodTube with endorsements from celebrities like

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...

, John Schneider,

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

and

Alex Kendrick Alexander Kendrick (born June 11, 1970) is an American pastor, film writer, producer, director and actor, best known for directing and starring in notable faith-based films, including ''Facing The Giants'', ''War Room'', '' Overcomer'', '' Coura ...

. According to

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

, Christian themed movies have been so profitable that Hollywood continues to target a religious demographic in theaters with films such as

The Bible (miniseries) ''The Bible'' is a television miniseries based on the Bible. It was produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett and was broadcast weekly between March 3 and 31, 2013 on History channel. It has since been adapted for release to theaters as a feature ...

Noah (2014 film) ''Noah'' is a 2014 American epic film, epic List of films based on the Bible, biblical drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ari Handel. Inspired by the biblical story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis a ...

, God's Not Dead, Transcendence, Heaven is for Real and

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary M ...

Parent company

Olympusat Holdings is the parent company of Parables TV. Parables TV and the Faith Broadcasting Network are the Christian networks in Olympusat's Faith and Family suite. Olympusat is an independent television network operator, providing master control, satellite/uplink, affiliate sales, administrative, and on-demand and multi platform transcoding expertise, distribution, production and technical services to the cable, satellite, and telecommunications industries. Olympusat owns and operates 70 TV networks, including 35 new high-definition networks targeting U.S. Hispanics with Spanish-language programming from Latin America, including Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, Honduras, and Puerto Rico. Networks include Hispanic TV network Cine Mexicano, the Toku Channel and Ultra HD Plex. Parables TV and Upliftv are Olympusat’s two faith channels that provide faith and family programming for its cable and satellite affiliates as well as online subscribers.

Syndication and distribution

In 2011 Parables TV entered a syndication agreement with

Daystar Television Network The Daystar Television Network (commonly referred to as Daystar Television, often shortened to Daystar) is an American evangelical Christian-based religious television network owned by the Word of God Fellowship, founded by Marcus Lamb in 1993. ...

which features a weekly faith based family friendly movie on Daystar’s network. Syndication partnerships include Uplift TV, Faith Broadcasting Network (formerly TBN Africa), TCT Network,

God TV In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

NRB Network NRB TV is an evangelical Christian cable channel founded by members of the National Religious Broadcasters, a non-partisan, international association of Christian communicators. While the NRB association is located in Manassas, Virginia, the chann ...

(National Religious Broadcasters Network) and

Christian Television Network Christian Television Network (CTN) is a non-profit broadcast television network of small owned-and-operated stations (O&O) that broadcasts religious programming. It is based in Largo, Florida (with a mailing address of Clearwater), and the flagshi ...

. Parables is also a Distributor of media content, and works directly with film producers and writers to distribute their film projects.

Technology platforms

In February 2013, Parables TV introduced its 24/7 Internet linear streaming television network. Linear TV differs from Video on Demand because it offers scheduled TV programs. Parables TV can also be viewed on Apple’s iPhones, iPads and Apple TV. An Android app was released featuring both on demand and streaming TV. Parables TV created an app for the popular

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduce ...

box that allows viewers to watch Parables TV on their large screen televisions in their homes. In December 2013, Parables introduced subscription video on demand (SVOD). Hundreds of hours of Christian movies were added to the video on demand library of the Parables streaming TV service and made available to all devices including the

Channel, Apple and Android mobile devices and Apple TV.

Programming

Parables TV offers on-demand

movies such as ''Left Behind'', ''The Finger of God'', ''The Resurrection'' and many others. Parables also carries weekly series, and scheduled daily shows on their linear TV schedule. Parables also publishes movie reviews which contain interviews with the lead actors on faith-based and/or family-friendly films such as ''

Concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

'', starring

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

, '' The Revenant'', starring

David Anders David Anders Holt (born March 11, 1981), known professionally as David Anders, is an American television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Julian Sark on ''Alias'', as Adam Monroe on ''Heroes'', as John Gilbert in the TV series '' ...

and

Chris Wylde Chris Wylde (born Chris Noll, August 22, 1976) is an American actor from New Jersey. Wylde is best known for his roles in the films ''The DUFF'', ''Space Cowboys'', the 2009 horror film '' The Revenant'', the 2017 horror comedy '' The Babysitte ...

, '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'', starring

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...

, and

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...

, '' Another Perfect Stranger'' starring

Jefferson Moore Jefferson Moore is an American actor, writer, producer, director and editor based in Fairhope, Alabama Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2020 Census list ...

, and '' C Me Dance'', produced by

Uplifting Entertainment Uplifting Entertainment is a Christian production company based in Pennsylvania. It was conceived by Greg Robbins in 1999, who portrays Pastor Greg, with the purpose of "informing with delight." It was formally founded in Oregon in 2003 as a limi ...

References

{{reflist Religious television stations in the United States Television networks in the United States Christian mass media companies Evangelical television networks