This week we learned that Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment will be shutting down. Originally, the company filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy to try and reorganize and handle its debt to relaunch. Instead, they converted it to a Chapter 7 with plans to lay off 1,000 staff and end all operations.
This means Crackle, Redbox, and Popcornflix will end service at some point soon.
With this move goes one of the original free ad-supported streaming services. Crackle launched in 2004 and was bought by Sony in 2006. It grew to be one of the first well-known streaming services that offered 100% free content with ads legally.
In 2019 Sony sold Crackle to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.
Crackle’s impact on cord cutting today cannot be understated. It led the way into what is now one of the fastest-growing areas of cord cutting with the launch of free ad-supported streaming services like Tubi and Pluto TV.
The closure of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment also impacts Popcornflix. First launched in 2010, it was another early pioneer in the world of free ad-supported streaming. In 2017, its parent company Screen Media Ventures, was purchased by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.
The other major streaming service impacted by shutdown is likely the most well-known: Redbox.
In 2022, Redbox was purchased by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and the name used to launch a new free ad-supported streaming service. Growing in popularity early based on the name Redbox streaming gained a strong following.
Now Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment will be shutting down operations and ending its search for new funding, which means all three of these services will be shutting down. Redbox is already down and other services like Crackle should soon be following in its steps.