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Curiosity Stream Inc. (simply referred to as Curiosity Stream), formerly branded as CuriosityStream, is an American media company and over-the-top subscription video
streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
service that offers documentary programming including films, series, and TV shows. The company offers a
video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...
subscription service branded as "Curiosity Stream" and a linear broadcast television channel known as the Curiosity Channel through various services such as
FuboTV FuboTV, Inc., formerly known as the FaceBank Group, and its subsidiary FuboTV Media, Inc., which operates as FuboTV or Fubo, comprise an American over-the-top sports streaming television service that serves customers in Canada, Spain, and the US ...
and
The Roku Channel The Roku Channel is an over-the-top video streaming service available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the UK. The service was launched in 2017, and is owned and operated by Roku, Inc. It is the most popular free ad-supported streaming televisio ...
. The service was launched in 2015 by the founder of the
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...
, John S. Hendricks. As of 2021, it was reported to have approximately 20 million subscribers worldwide across its direct and bundled platforms. Curiosity Stream produces original documentaries and series including ''Royals: Keeping the Crown'', ''The History of Home'', '' Miniverse'', ''
Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places ''Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places'' is an original documentary series that was released exclusively on Curiosity Stream, in partnership with production company Bigger Bang. Stephen Hawking stars in and narrates the series, in which he pilots ...
'', ''
David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...
's Light on Earth'', and '' Deep Time History''; and additionally features content from producers such as the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and
NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...
.


History

John Hendricks, who founded
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...
in 1982, started Curiosity Stream as a stand-alone OTT media service in March 2015 with his daughter, Elizabeth Hendricks, as Chief Executive Officer. The service expanded distribution to Amazon Channels, and then in 2017, had its first distribution deal with a
multichannel video programming distributor A multichannel television service, also known as simply a television provider, is a type of service provider who distributes television programming to its customers for a subscription fee. Subscription television providers distribute televisio ...
(MVPD) when it became available on Comcast's set-top box VOD platform and the MSO's Xfinity Stream app/portal. In April 2018,
Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...
made Curiosity Stream available on internet-connected Hopper devices and the Dish Anywhere mobile app. In June 2018, Clint Stinchcomb was appointed president and CEO of the company, after first joining Curiosity Stream in 2017 as Chief Distribution Officer. He is also the co-founder and former CEO of Poker Central. Previously Stinchcomb held positions as managing director of Worldwide Media Group (WMG) and executive VP and GM of Discovery Communications' Emerging Television Networks. In July 2020, it signed a partnership deal with Swedish telecommunications
Com Hem Com Hem was a Swedish brand owned by Tele2 AB which supplied Triple Play services that included cable television, broadband internet and fixed-line telephone. Founded in 1983 as Televerket Kabel-TV as part of the former state-owned Telever ...
to bring the company's library content to Sweden. Many of the programs were made available with Swedish subtitles. In August 2020, Matthew Blank joined Curiosity Stream's board of directors. Blank had formerly spent over 20 years as the chairman and CEO of
Showtime Networks Showtime Networks, Inc. is a subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global under its networks division that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship namesake service. Overview The compan ...
where he had overseen television series including ''
Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...
'', ''
Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...
'', and '' Billions''. On October 15, 2020, Curiosity Stream became the first publicly traded streaming media company focused on factual content when it started trading on
NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
under the
Ticker symbol A ticker symbol or stock symbol is an abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded Share (finance), shares of a particular stock or Security (finance), security on a particular stock exchange. Ticker symbols are arrangements of symbols ...
"CURI". The public trading was a result of a
reverse merger A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compa ...
with Software Acquisition Group, Inc., a
special-purpose acquisition company A special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC; ), also known as a blank check company or a blind-pool stock offering, is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring (or merging with) a private company, thus taking ...
. In November 2020, Indian pay-TV and OTT provider Tata Sky partnered with the company to bring its content to Tata Sky's subscribers via binge+. The programs were also made available to Tata Sky DTH customers as a linear channel. In May 2021, the company acquired One Day University, an adult education platform that features lectures from university and college professors. In July 2021, Curiosity Stream partnered with German TV channel Spiegel TV to offer a linear channel in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In August 2021, the company acquired Now You Know Media, parent of Learn25. In August 2021, the company announced a rebranding including the shortened name for its parent company, Curiosity, which is composed of Curiosity Stream (streaming service), Curiosity Channel (linear channels), and Curiosity Studios (originals production). The streaming service was also retitled from CuriosityStream to Curiosity Stream. Curiosity bought a minority share in
Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
in 2021, valuing Nebula at over $50 million. A bundle subscription for both services was available from 2021 to 2023, which boosted the growth of both. Nebula became unbundled from Curiosity Stream's plans beginning 2024, though one year of access would still be provided to subscribers that renewed by the end of 2023. Before a price increase in 2022, the service was offered at $19.99 per year for the standard annual subscription. As of May 2023, the standard annual subscription was $39.99. On February 6, 2024, Curiosity Channel was dropped by the streaming service
Frndly TV Frndly TV is an American streaming television service that offers live TV, on demand video and cloud-based DVR for over 40 live television networks. Frndly TV has a channel lineup with a focus on family-friendly programming, and includes U.S. n ...
. Frndly TV had carried the channel since 2020.


Programs

The service offers on-demand content and linear, live TV-style streams from its VoD catalog. Programs cover factual content including science, history, mathematics, technology, robotics, and nature. It also offers content for children and original programming, along with a Kids Mode option to filter out inappropriate content. In June 2020, Curiosity Stream signed a partnership with wildlife production company Doclights to add 50 original nature documentaries to SVOD and pay-TV platforms. Programs include ''Cheetah: Beating the Odds; Hidden Australia; These Birds Were Made for Walking; Jaguar: King of the Jungle; Magical Fjords; Meet the Meerkats; Meet the Marsupials; Puma: The Ghost Cat;'' and, ''Sloth Bear: Birth of A Prince.'' In November 2020, the company announced a new series, ''Beyond the Spotlight'', from executive producers
Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
and Stephen David. Each episode features conversations with celebrity icons, focused on their personal lives, histories, and inspirations. Celebrities include Samuel L. Jackson and his wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson,
Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. List of Kristen Bell performances, Her work includes both film and television, and List of awards and nominations received by Kristen Bell, h ...
,
Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...
,
Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...
, and
MrBeast James Stephen "Jimmy" Donaldson (born May 7, 1998), commonly known by his online alias MrBeast, is an American YouTuber, media personality, and businessman. His YouTube videos, where he often hosts elaborate challenges and philanthropic effor ...
. The first episodes premiered on November 19, 2020. In December 2020, the company announced an original series focusing on primatologist
Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...
called ''Rescued Chimpanzees of the Congo with Jane Goodall''. The series was produced by Curiosity Stream, Off the Fence Productions, and the Jane Goodall Institute and premiered on July 14, 2021. It includes three decades of unseen archival footage. On June 10, 2021, "Doug to the Rescue", a six-part docuseries, premiered. The series follows Doug Thron, an aerial cinematographer, who uses technology like drones, infrared cameras, spotlights, and high intensity zoom lenses to find and rescue animals in the wake of natural disasters around the world. In September 2021, the company released its first original feature-length film, ''Heval'', which is about the life of Michael Enright who volunteered to fight
ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...
. Additional available programs on Curiosity Stream include David Attenborough's ''Light on Earth'' and ''Ant Mountain''; ''Dream the Future'', ''Empire of Tsars'', ''Out of the Cradle''; ''The Spying Game: Tales from the Cold War''; ''The Normans''; ''Heston's Dinner in Space''; and ''The Secret World of Lego.'' Content for children includes ''Quarx'', ''Prehistoric Worlds'', and ''Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin.'' Documentaries


Viewership and partners

In August 2021, the company had approximately 20 million subscribers across 175 countries. In 2019, Curiosity Stream was translating its programs into Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Curiosity Stream offers annual and month-to-month subscriptions and a 4K plan. It distributes its programming in the U.S. and internationally using a mix of OTT players, pay-TV operators, and broadband ISPs. The app is available through
Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of consumer electronics that includes streaming players, smart TVs (and their operating systems), as well as a free TV streaming service. The brand is owned by Roku, Inc., an American company. As of 2024, Roku is the U ...
, Apple TV Channels and
Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...
,
Android TV Android TV is an operating system that runs on smart TVs and related entertainment devices including soundbars, set-top boxes, and digital media players. Developed by Google, it is a closed-source Android distribution. Android TV features a u ...
,
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
,
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...
,
Amazon Fire TV Amazon Fire TV (formerly stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon since November 2014. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed v ...
, Sprint, Google Chromecast, iOS and Android,
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
Channels,
YouTube TV YouTube TV is an American Pay television, subscription Over-the-top media service, over-the-top streaming television service operated by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, which in turn is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., who announced YouTube TV ...
,
Sling TV Sling TV is an American streaming television service operated by Sling TV LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dish Network. Unveiled on January 5, 2015, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor aim ...
, Comcast Xfinity on Demand, LG TV webOS, and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
. All programs are available in either HD or 4K. The service has over 50 partners, including
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
,
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
,
Altice USA Altice USA, Inc., commonly known as Altice, is an American telecommunications provider with headquarters in New York City, owned by the Franco-Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi. The company delivers pay television, Internet access, telephone se ...
and
Suddenlink Suddenlink was an American telecommunications subsidiary of Altice USA trading in cable television, broadband, IP telephony, home security, and advertising. Prior to its acquisition by Altice, the company was the seventh largest cable operator ...
(USA);
Com Hem Com Hem was a Swedish brand owned by Tele2 AB which supplied Triple Play services that included cable television, broadband internet and fixed-line telephone. Founded in 1983 as Televerket Kabel-TV as part of the former state-owned Telever ...
(Sweden);
StarHub StarHub Limited, commonly known as StarHub, is a Singaporean multinational telecommunications conglomerate and one of the major Telecommunications in Singapore, telcos operating in the country. Founded in 1998, it is listed on the Singapore Ex ...
(Singapore); Totalplay (Mexico);
Multichoice MultiChoice is a South Africa, South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company also operates GOtv Africa, GOtv, a minor satellite TV service operating in 9 countries, and Showmax, ...
's DStv (Africa);
Millicom Millicom International Cellular SA is a Luxembourgish fixed line and mobile telecommunications services provider operating in Latin America operating under the Tigo brand. Its main shareholder is Xavier Niel, a French billionaire who owns 40% of ...
(Latin America); Okko (Russia); Gazprom-Media (Russia);
Liberty Global Liberty Global Ltd. is a British-Dutch-American multinational telecommunications company domiciled in Bermuda, with headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. Its respective legal names are Liberty Global Holdings Limited (UK), Liberty Glo ...
/FLOW (the Caribbean); and Tata Sky (India).


Awards and nominations

News & Documentary Emmy Award The News & Documentary Emmy Awards, or News & Documentary Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Scien ...
* ''Secrets of the Solar System'' - Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary (Nominee, 2021) *''
Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places ''Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places'' is an original documentary series that was released exclusively on Curiosity Stream, in partnership with production company Bigger Bang. Stephen Hawking stars in and narrates the series, in which he pilots ...
'' - Outstanding Graphic Design & Art Direction (Winner, 2017) * David Attenborough's ''Light on Earth'' - Outstanding Nature Documentary (Nominee, 2017) * David Attenborough's ''Light on Earth'' - Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary (Nominee, 2017) Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival * David Attenborough's ''Light on Earth'' - Best Host/Presenter-Led Film (Winner, 2017) * David Attenborough's ''Light on Earth'' - Best Science in Nature Film (Nominee, 2017) * ''Big World in a Small Garden'' - Best Short Film (Nominee, 2017)
Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...
* Curiosity Stream - Best Science & Education Channel (Honoree, 2017) * ''Deep Time History'' - Best Documentary Series (Honoree, 2017) * ''Science Breakthroughs: Gravitational Waves'' - Science & Education for Film & Video (Nominee, 2017) * Curiosity Stream - Best Science & Education Channel (Honoree, 2016)
British Academy Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...
(BAFTA) * David Attenborough''s Light on Earth'' - Specialist Factual (Nominee, 2017)


See also

* Curiosity (website)


References


External links

* {{VOD services 2015 establishments in Maryland 2020 initial public offerings American companies established in 2015 Companies based in Silver Spring, Maryland Companies listed on the Nasdaq Documentary film production companies Film production companies of the United States Internet properties established in 2015 Mass media companies established in 2015 Special-purpose acquisition companies Streaming television in the United States Subscription video on demand services