In another sign of how the pay-TV market is evolving, Up Entertainment is expanding its streaming service by bundling outlets that fit into the company's beliefs and family entertainment theme.
Gospel legend Bill Gaither is teaming up with APP to bring a Gaither TV+ package of gospel music and specials to the UP Faith & Family streaming platform starting next month. Later this year, in the third quarter, Minno, an indie streamer focused on children's content centered around the Bible and other spiritual themes, will also join her Up Faith and Family bundle.
Up Faith and Family has been an independent streamer since 2013, starting with the G Movies service and rebranding to Up Faith and Family in 2018. The service currently has approximately 1.4 million subscribers. Charlie Humbard, founder and CEO of Atlanta-based App Entertainment, believes this expansion is natural for App Entertainment as well as consumers. He has set his five-year goal of gaining as many as 20 million subscribers, up from 15 million, with a wide range of services aimed at the youngest in households as well as older viewers.
“The good thing was we were able to diversify the business,” Humbard said. variety. “We started early enough that we had time to understand a lot about the subscription streaming market before the real pressure came on. We started growing rapidly in 2018.”
The flagship Up Entertainment cable channel is still distributed through traditional straight-line distribution to approximately 50 million cable households. Up's companion network, Aspire, still serves about 40 million households linearly. These channels provided stable cash flow and enabled Up Entertainment to grow. Humbard is well aware that these linear distribution numbers will shrink in the long run once the effects of cord cutting are taken into account. Like its big studio rivals, Up Entertainment is bundling multiple channels into its service as a way to increase subscriber engagement and reduce churn.
Up Entertainment remains private. Producer Larry Levinson is one of Humbird's partners in this venture.
“We're happy to celebrate our 20th anniversary. It's a tough situation for independents,” Humbard said. “We've been through a lot. It's like we were selling wagons and then all of a sudden it's 1910 and there are cars on the road. We lost the wagon business completely. Instead, we entered the streaming business.”
With GaitherTV+ and Minno's deal, Humbard is curious to see how Up's target audience will respond to the diversified service. A study by Up found that there are approximately 60 million consumers in the U.S. who identify as “looking for uplifting programming services that align with their values.” It provides plenty of runway.
“We're like Netflix without all the dark stuff,” Humbard joked. “Documents, dramas, comedies, kids shows, you name it, Netflix has it all and it's all bound to lift your spirits.”
Gaither's library of music series and specials will be a hit with Up's audience, Humbard predicted.
“When I started recording videos, I had no idea what mass media and communications would one day look like,” Gaither said. “It's so gratifying to see our decades of performances and songs reach a wide range of people through our Up Entertainment initiative. Our focus is on uplifting, family-friendly entertainment. complements our mission to provide daily encouragement and eternal hope through gospel music.”
Nashville-based Minno launched in 2018, primarily offering animated content.
“Our mission has always been to support families on their spiritual journey by providing engaging and imaginative content that sparks curiosity about God and the Bible,” said Minno CEO and Co-founder says founder Erick Goss. “By joining this bundle, we will be able to reach even more families and provide a safe and enriching viewing experience in line with Up's entertainment commitment to uplifting, family-friendly programming.” Become.”
Up Faith and Family will continue to be ad-free. The monthly price for the bundle will be $9.99, or $99 per year, compared to her current $5.99 for the Her Up package. Up, GaitherTV+, and Minno will also continue to be available a la carte.
“At a time when other streamers are raising prices or inserting ads, we are partnering with trusted brands like Gaither Music and Minno to bring you affordable, high-quality, uplifting entertainment without ads. We're thrilled to be doing this,” said Philip Manwaring, Head of Up Entertainment. of streaming.
(Photo: Actor Dennis Quaid acting in GaitherTV+ special)