Turner Announces Streaming Movie Service FilmStruck

ATLANTA: Turner is launching its first direct-to-consumer product in the U.S., FilmStruck, a movie streaming service managed by Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in collaboration with the Criterion Collection.

FilmStruck will feature a library of films that is a mix of contemporary and classic art house, indie, foreign and cult films. The service will also be the new exclusive streaming home for the Criterion Collection, which will include the Criterion Channel, a new premium service programmed and curated by the Criterion team. FilmStruck will by completely ad-free, and is slated to launch in fall 2016.

“At Turner, we are dedicated to engaging fans wherever they are, and we’re investing aggressively in content, new capabilities and new businesses to achieve that goal,” said John Martin, chairman and CEO of Turner. “FilmStruck is a terrific example of our strategy to meet consumer demand for great content across all screens. It’s tailor-made for the diehard movie enthusiast who craves a deep, intimate experience with independent, foreign, and art house films. And it takes advantage of TCM’s powerful curation capabilities, as well as its proven track record in building a long-term relationship with passionate film fans.”

“TCM is leading Turner’s strategic move into the direct-to-consumer business with a truly differentiated and distinct streaming product that adds tremendous value to our portfolio,” said Coleman Breland, president of TCM and Turner Content Distribution. “Together with our partners at the Criterion Collection, we are creating a must-have, premium film brand that will draw from the most celebrated movie libraries in the world.”

“Criterion is teaming up with TCM to launch an arthouse film lovers’ dream streaming service,” added Peter Becker, president of the Criterion Collection. “Working with TCM’s programming team, we’ll present a broad, constantly changing cross-section of Criterion titles on FilmStruck, a platform designed from the start to present films with the kind of robust supplemental features that Criterion is known for. The addition of the premium Criterion Channel will offer subscribers the most comprehensive Criterion experience ever available anywhere, including a steady stream of exclusive original content and archival discoveries, plus continual access to more than 1,000 films from the Janus Films library, many unavailable on disc or anywhere else. We’re very excited to be joining forces with TCM to make FilmStruck the streaming service serious movie fans have been waiting for.”