CuriosityStream Passes 10 Million Subscriber Mark, Partners in LatAm

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CuriosityStream, the SVOD platform created by Discovery Channel Founder John Hendricks, has unveiled that its subscription base has climbed to 10.5 million users and has partnered with Millicom for upcoming launches in nine Latin American countries.

The company expects to continue its subscriber gains through the end of this year and throughout 2020. CuriosityStream is undergoing rapid distribution growth due to its implementation of a “bundled” partnership fee plan through which distributors can provide the CuriosityStream SVOD service to all basic customers or to any significant customer segment.

In addition to its partnership with Millicom, CuriosityStream has various affiliate partners who have already implemented the new bundled distribution plan, including Altice USA and Suddenlink in the U.S., StarHub in Singapore, Totalplay in Mexico, Airtel in India, Multichoice’s DStv across Africa, Liberty Global/FLOW in the Caribbean and REV TV on Cable Bahamas.

In addition to its new bundled carriage plan for U.S. and international distributors, CuriosityStream continues to sell direct to consumers with monthly price plans ranging from $2.99 (HD streaming) to $9.99 (4K streaming) and an annual HD subscription plan of $19.99.

The service offers a menu of over 2,800 premium factual and non-fiction titles that cover the full breadth and depth of the genre from science and space to history and wildlife to food and lifestyle. It also offers over 900 exclusive original productions, including Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places and David Attenborough’s Light on Earth.

Clint Stinchcomb, president and CEO of CuriosityStream, stated: “As we have traveled the world to meet with cable, satellite, and mobile distributors, it became crystal clear to us that video providers are searching for impactful ways to serve the enormous appetite of their customers for universally-appealing factual content. Given the quality of our programming, our low wholesale cost compared with other providers, the enormous desire for on-demand streaming content and short-form factual choices for mobile, we are currently on a high growth trajectory. Our early success in growing paying subscribers through distributors is attributable, I believe, to the flexibility we offer our affiliates through a ‘partnership fee’ that allows distributors to use our content however they need to support their revenue and sub growth strategies.”

He continued, “By the end of 1st quarter 2020, CuriosityStream programs are projected to be languaged in Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin and Cantonese. While we are localizing in response to contractual distributor requirements, we have little doubt that local languaging options will also increase the engagement and acquisition of CuriosityStream’s international DTC subscribers.”

Hendricks added: “We are thrilled to play an integral role in the plans by video distributors who are adapting their platforms to the unstoppable quest by consumers for quality content on demand. We are now implementing our plan to be a full partner with our U.S. and global distribution affiliates in meeting their need for a high-quality factual content provider who can help drive video customer signups and retention, provide ‘stickiness’ to broadband and mobile customer offerings, and lower wholesale content costs. We expect that the ‘bundled’ distribution model launched first internationally and then in the U.S. will continue to roll out worldwide at a significant pace.”

He continued, “In 2014, CuriosityStream began a 6-year effort to aggregate a curated library of the highest-quality factual content in all the genres of factual television from the world’s leading producers. Our licensed rights to award-winning content have contract terms that expire well into the future. For example, David Attenborough’s landmark LIGHT ON EARTH feature documentary will be enjoyed by CuriosityStream viewers through 2026 and NHK’s stunning 8K series, THE BODY, will be available on CuriosityStream until 2033. And we expect to renew many of these long-shelf-life productions at the end of their current contract terms. In early 2015, we launched our original productions through Curiosity Studios, a 5-year effort that, to date, has created over 900 titles in which we own all media rights, worldwide, in perpetuity.”