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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 Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...
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 Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is an American self-help, consumer goods and media company based in Cos Cob, Connecticut. It is known for the ''Chicken Soup for the Soul'' book series. The first book, like most subsequent titles in the ...
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 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 introduced ...
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 An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancesto ...
set-top box. In January 2012, Crackle added
Animax , stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...
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 A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...
''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'', following the end of its run with the television broadcaster
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
. Several anime shows from
Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
(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 LoveFilm was a United Kingdom–based provider of DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany. Acquired by Amazon.com in 2011, the service had reached 2 million subscribers. It claimed ...
and
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 ...
. 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! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
,'' hosted by Dan Patrick. Approximately one week after the cancellation of the theatrical release of ''
The Interview ''The Interview'' is a 2014 satirical alternate history action-comedy film co-produced and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in their second directorial work, following ''This Is the End'' (2013). The screenplay was written by Dan Ster ...
'', in the aftermath of the
Sony hack On November 24, 2014, a hacker group identifying itself as " Guardians of Peace" leaked a release of confidential data from the film studio Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). The data included personal information about Sony Pictures employees ...
, the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' 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 Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air ...
channel similar to Vevo TV. Crackle also announced its first animated series, '' SuperMansion''; their first hour-long scripted drama, ''
The Art of More ''The Art of More'' is an American series which debuted on November 19, 2015, on Crackle. On December 2, 2015, Crackle renewed the series for a second season which consists of 10 episodes. Filming for season two began in early 2016, and was rel ...
''; and '' Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser'', a sequel to 2001's ''
Joe Dirt ''Joe Dirt'' is a 2001 American adventure comedy film, directed by Dennie Gordon (in her feature film directorial debut), starring David Spade, Dennis Miller, Christopher Walken, Adam Beach, Brian Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Jaime Pressly, Eri ...
''. On October 8, 2015, Crackle premiered '' SuperMansion'', a stop-motion animated comedy television series created by
Matthew Senreich Matthew Ian Senreich (; born June 17, 1974) is an American screenwriter, television producer, director, and voice actor best known for his work with animated television series ''Robot Chicken'', which he co-created with business partner and close ...
and Zeb Wells. The series stars the voices of
Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...
,
Heidi Gardner Heidi Lynn Gardner (born July 27, 1983) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She has been a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2017, beginning in season 43. Early life Gardner was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Sh ...
, Tucker Gilmore,
Keegan-Michael Key Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series ''Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Netw ...
, Tom Root,
Yvette Nicole Brown Yvette Nicole Brown (born August 12, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, writer and host. She starred as Shirley Bennett on the NBC sitcom ''Community'', as Dani in the 2015 version of '' The Odd Couple'' on CBS and as Dina Rose on the AB ...
, Wells, and
Jillian Bell Jillian Leigh Bell (born April 25, 1984) is an American actress, comedian and screenwriter. She stars in the 2019 film ''Brittany Runs a Marathon'' and 2022's ''I'm Totally Fine''. She starred as Jillian Belk on '' Workaholics'', voiced the role ...
. 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 Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
and his G-Unit Film & Television Inc., the drama series stars
Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...
,
Ryan Kwanten Ryan Christian Kwanten (born 28 November 1976) is an Australian actor and producer. He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 to 2002 in the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away''. After his stint ended, he joined the American teen drama series ' ...
,
Cory Hardrict Cory Hardrict (born November 9, 1979) is an American actor. He has appeared in film and television since the late 1990s. Personal life Hardrict was born in Chicago, Illinois. After dating for six years, Hardrict and actress Tia Mowry were engage ...
,
Arlen Escarpeta Arlen Alexander Escarpeta is a Belizean-born American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''Friday the 13th'', '' Brotherhood'', ''Final Destination 5'', '' Into the Storm'' (2014), and most notably, his portrayal of Bobby Brown i ...
,
Katrina Law Katrina Law is an American actress. She is known for playing the roles of Mira on the Starz television series '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and '' Spartacus: Vengeance'', Nyssa al Ghul on The CW television series ''Arrow'', Karen Beach on the ...
, 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 Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is an American self-help, consumer goods and media company based in Cos Cob, Connecticut. It is known for the ''Chicken Soup for the Soul'' book series. The first book, like most subsequent titles in the ...
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 Popcornflix LLC is a website and over-the-top (OTT) service offering free ad-supported streaming video of feature-length movies and webisodes and owned by the Screen Media Ventures subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. Histor ...
(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 Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...
and its subsidiaries, including
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
,
TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...
,
Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...
,
Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produce ...
, 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 A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...
*
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadca ...
*
CBS Media Ventures CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Television Distribution, Inc. and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Inc.) is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount Glob ...
*
Constantin Film The Constantin Film AG is a German mini-major film production and distribution company based in Munich. The company, which belongs to Swiss media conglomerate Highlight Communications AG, is a large independent German maker and distributor of p ...
*
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
* Disney-ABC Domestic Television *
Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...
* Epic Pictures * ErosSTX *
FilmRise FilmRise is a New York City–based film and television studio and streaming network, which has become one of the largest independent providers of content to ad-supported streaming (AVOD) platforms, in addition to providing the largest free direc ...
*
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
*
Gaumont Film Company The Gaumont Film Company (, ), often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in ...
*
Hallmark Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...
*
Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
*
Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Ma ...
*
MarVista Entertainment MarVista Entertainment is an American production company, based in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. The company mainly provides financing and some original content, mainly made-for-TV films and direct-to-SVOD titles, many of which are carri ...
*
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
*
NBCUniversal Television Distribution NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV, is the television syndication division of NBCUniv ...
* Nordisk Film *
Oscilloscope Laboratories Oscilloscope Laboratories is an independent film company and distributor founded by Adam Yauch and former TH!NKFilm executive David Fenkel. It also has a recording studio and film production facilities. Fenkel returned to the company on May 4, 20 ...
*
Samuel Goldwyn Films Samuel Goldwyn Films is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. The curr ...
* Screen Media Ventures *
Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
*
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...
* Tribeca Film *
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
* 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 Shomi (pronounced "show me") was a Canadian subscription video on demand service jointly owned by Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications. The service was viewed as a Canadian-based competitor to Netflix, with a library of 1,200 films and 1 ...
. 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 Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...
and
Super Channel (Canada) Super Channel Entertainment Network (Formally and commonly known as Super Channel) is a Canadian English language premium cable and satellite television channel owned by Allarco Entertainment 2008 Inc. Super Channel's programming primarily inc ...
. Crackle's Canadian operations were shut down on June 28, 2018, and its content was moved to
Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
'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 An over-the-top media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributors of s ...
*
Video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
*
Popcornflix Popcornflix LLC is a website and over-the-top (OTT) service offering free ad-supported streaming video of feature-length movies and webisodes and owned by the Screen Media Ventures subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. Histor ...
*
SonyLIV SonyLIV is an Indian Over-the-top media services, over-the-top freemium Streaming media, streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first Over-the-top media service, OTT service in India. As a s ...
*
FunimationNow Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
* Wakanim *
Hooq Hooq (stylised in all caps, pronounced like ''hook'') was a Singaporean video on demand streaming service. It was a joint-venture of Singtel, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., with presence in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Indonesia, a ...
*
Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...
*
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 ...
*
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...


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