Cineverse

Cineverse Corp.

Logo used since 2023
Formerly	Access IT Digital Media, Inc. (2000–2013) Cinedigm (2013–2023)
Company type	Public
Traded as	Nasdaq: CNVS Russell Microcap Index component
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	2000; 25 years ago (2000)
Founders	Bud Mayo
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California & New York City, New York
Key people	Chris McGurk (chairman and CEO) Gary Loffredo (president) Erick Opeka (Chief strategy officer)
Products	Motion pictures Entertainment Video on demand Digital distribution Film distribution
Subsidiaries	Bloody Disgusting Midnight Pulp The Dove Channel The Film Detective New Video SD Entertainment Shout! Studios (minority stake)
Website	cineverse.com

Cineverse Corp. (originally Access IT Digital Media, Inc., and later, Cinedigm) is an American entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Cineverse’s businesses encompass digital cinema, streaming channels, content marketing, and distribution.^[1][2]

History

Early years

The company was founded in 2000, under the name Access IT Digital Media, Inc., through a group led by Bud Mayo. Mayo served as director until his retirement in 2010, and subsequently founded Digital Cinema Destinations Corp. In September 2013, the company changed its name to Cinedigm Corp.^[3] In January 2011, Chris McGurk became the new chairman and CEO.^[4]

In July 2011, the company sold its physical and electronic distribution business to Technicolor.^[5] The following month, Screenvision acquired UniqueScreen Media, Inc. (USM), the cinema advertising division of Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. The companies entered into a long-term agreement, with Cinedigm providing distribution and promotion for Screenvision.^[6]

In April 2012, the company acquired distributor New Video.^[7]

In October 2013, the company acquired Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment.^[8]

In May 2014, Cinedigm established Docurama, an OTT documentary channel,^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]} focused on documentaries and film festival coverage.^[15][16] Later that year, Jeffrey Edell would join as CFO,^[17] and the company began trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol.^[18]

Expansion into Video on Demand

In February 2015, Cinedigm and Wizard World launched CONtv.^[19][20] In June of that year, Cinedigm would acquire a minority stake in Shout! Factory.^[21] Finally, in September, Cinedigm partnered with The Dove Foundation to create The Dove Channel, an online streaming service focusing on faith-based programming.^[22]

In December 2017, control of Cinedigm was given to Bison Capital of Hong Kong to start one of the first China-U.S Studios.^[23]

On February 5, 2019, Cinedigm acquired streaming service Viewster and its Viewster Anime subsidiary.^[24] Viewster would eventually merge with CONtv and rebrand as CONtv Anime on June 13, 2020.^[25][26][27]

In April of that year, Cinedigm licensed content from Chinese firms CCTV, China Lion, Starrise Media and Youku, in order to launch an entertainment and film service called Bambu; the service would launch on October 22, 2019.^{[28][29][30][31]}

In 2020, Cinedigm acquired The Film Detective.^[32]

In February 2021, Cinedigm acquired the horror-genre streaming service, Screambox.^[33] Later that year, on September 21, 2021, Cinedigm acquired Bloody Disgusting. As part of the acquisition, Screambox would be relaunched under the curation and management of Bloody Disgusting.^[34]

In August 2021, Cinedigm announced a partnership with Robert Rodriguez to relaunch the former cable and satellite-based El Rey Network as a streaming channel.^[35][36][37]

In December 2021, Cinedigm signed a deal with SideStream, a live video streaming service.^[38]

In March 2022, Cinedigm acquired streaming, advertising and distribution company, Digital Media Rights; including the ad-supported streaming services Cinehouse (originally known as YuYu), AsianCrush, RetroCrush, Midnight Pulp, Cocoro (now discontinued), and KMTV.^[39]

Cineverse launch and rebranding

On September 15, 2022, Cinedigm launched Cineverse, marketed as the company's flagship streaming service, featuring programming from across its AVOD (ad-supported video on demand) and FAST (free, ad-supported, television) brands.^[40]

In May 2023, the company rebranded to Cineverse Corp. and began trading on NASDAQ under CNVS. The company stated that it was an "important step forward" in its "evolution into a streaming content and technology company".^[41]

In June 2023, Cineverse announced that it would signed a content deal with Sid and Marty Krofft Pictures, allowing it to acquire the worldwide digital distribution rights to its library of shows, with the exceptions of The Brady Bunch Hour (owned by Paramount Television, now part of CBS Media Ventures), D.C. Follies (owned by Amazon MGM Studios) and Mutt & Stuff (owned by Paramount Media Networks under the Nick Jr. brand) and they would launch a VOD channel, called the Sid and Marty Krofft Channel on February 5, 2024.^[42]

Television and streaming

Cineverse owns or programs the following brands for either its namesake streaming service, or standalone services and apps, as of 2023.^[43]

• AsianCrush
• The Bob Ross Channel
• Comedy Dynamics (The Nacelle Company)
• CONtv (now Midnight Pulp)
• Docurama
• Dog Whisperer Channel
• The Dove Channel
• El Rey Network
• The Elvis Presley Channel
• EntrepreneurTV
• Fandor
• First Responders Network
• Gusto TV
• Insight TV
• Maverick Black Cinema
• MeatEater TV
• Midnight Pulp
• Nacelle Pop
• QTTV
• Real Madrid TV
• RetroCrush
• Row8
• Screambox
• Sid and Marty Krofft Channel
• So...Real
• So…Dramatic

References

1. "Cinedigm Stock Soars". indiewire.com. October 18, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
2. "Cinedigm Set to Become Top Theatrical Home Video Distributor". The Hollywood Reporter. October 17, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
3. "Bud Mayo". Opportunist Magazine. Archived from the original on April 5, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
4. "Cinedigm Digital Cinema Names Chris McGurk Chairman and CEO". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
5. "Technicolor Acquiring Cinedigm's Digital Cinema Delivery Assets". The Hollywood Reporter. July 27, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
6. "Cinedigm sells cinema ad unit to Screenvision". BusinessWeek. September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
7. Lieberman, David (April 20, 2012). "Cinedigm Agrees To Buy New Video Group". Deadline. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
8. "Cinedigm Stock Soars After It Acquires Gaiam Vivendi | Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews". Indiewire. October 18, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
9. "Docurama Releases iPad and iPhone App". Market Watch. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
10. "Flush with New Cash Historically Film Focused Cinedigm Cut to Streaming Future". Forbes. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
11. "Cinedigm Launches Theater Series". Hollywood Reporter. April 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
12. "Cinedigm Launches Docurama". The Video Ink. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
13. "Docurama Streams Free On-Demand Documentaries". CNET. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
14. "Cinedigm's Documentary Arm Announces Brand Expansion and Streaming App". Deadline. April 2, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
15. Cieply, Michael (May 5, 2014). "Documentary Channel Aims at Underserved Audience". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
16. "Catching Up with Susan Margolin on Docurama". June 4, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
17. Block, Alex Ben (June 9, 2014). "Jeffrey Edell Joins Cinedigm as CFO". The Hollywood Reporter.
18. "Cinedigm, Wizard World to Create Digital Channel | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. February 12, 2014.
19. "CONtv Announces Film and Television Programming". Retrieved February 5, 2015.
20. "Cinedigm Signs 12 Picture Deal". Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
21. Lang, Brent (June 25, 2015). "Cinedigm Takes Minority Position in Shout! Factory". Variety.
22. Todd, Spangler (September 16, 2015). "Cinedigm Launches Dove Channel SVOD Service That Strips Out Sex, Drugs and Violence". Variety. Variety Media. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
23. Spangler, Todd (June 29, 2017). "Cinedigm Sells Majority Ownership Stake to Hong Kong's Bison Capital in $40 Million Deal".
24. Ressler, Karen. "Cinedigm Finalizes Viewster, Viewster Anime Acquisition". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
25. "Cinedigm Finalizes Viewster, Viewster Anime Acquisition".
26. "Cinedigm Announces Global CONtv Anime Network". June 8, 2020.
27. "Cinedigm Launches Linear Streaming Network CONtv Anime".
28. Davis, Rebecca (April 12, 2019). "Cinedigm Sets June Date for Bambu Channel Launch, Partners With Future Today".
29. "Bambu – Media Play News".
30. Corp, Cinedigm Digital Cinema (October 22, 2019). "Cinedigm's Chinese Entertainment Channel BAMBU Launches Today on CONtv". GlobeNewswire News Room.
31. "Bambu set for OTT distribution on Future Today | VOD | News | Rapid TV News". www.rapidtvnews.com.
32. McNary, Dave (October 19, 2020). "Cinedigm Buys Vintage Network The Film Detective". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
33. "Cinedigm Acquires Horror Streaming Service Screambox (Exclusive)". Deadline. February 12, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
34. "Cinedigm Slashes Its Way to the Forefront of Horror Streaming with Latest Acquisition: Bloody Disgusting - the Leading Source of All Things Horror".
35. Faughnder, Ryan (August 6, 2021). "Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network to revive through streaming after going dark". LA Times. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
36. Spangler, Todd (August 6, 2021). "Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network Cable Channel to Be Rebooted for Streaming With Cinedigm". Variety. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
37. Hayes, Dade (August 6, 2021). "Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network Segues From Cable TV To Streaming In Deal With Cinedigm". Deadline. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
38. "Cinedigm Signs Deal With Live Video Streaming Service SideStream". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
39. Ago, 4 Hours (March 30, 2022). "Cinedigm to acquire Digital Media Rights in US$16.4 million deal". Digital TV Europe. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
40. Ago, 4 Hours (September 15, 2022). "Cinedigm Debuts Cineverse, a Next-Generation Streaming Service". Accesswire. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
41. Spangler, Todd (May 22, 2023). "Cinedigm Changes Name to Cineverse". Variety. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
42. "Cineverse to Launch Sid and Marty Krofft Channel" (Press release). Cineverse. PR Newswire. June 1, 2023.
43. Cineverse - Your Ticket to a World of Entertainment Delights _ On-Demand Content & Free Linear Channels

External links

• Official website