Hailed as the Netflix for nonfiction by Mashable, CuriosityStream launched in March, offering nearly 1,000 documentaries for less than $6 a month. Created by John Hendricks, the founder of the Discovery Channel, the online subscription video site offers an ad-free service with standard resolution for $2.99/month, a high def version for $5.99/month, an ultra high def option (4K), where available, for $9.99/month.
The subscription service is available for desktop, TV, tablet and smartphone viewing, and the monthly fee includes unlimited streaming. CuriosityStream is offering a one-month free trial which requires a credit card for sign-up. Users can cancel any time, but if they don’t do so by the end of the 30-day trial, they will automatically be billed.
In addition to short and long form documentaries, the site will also include original programming, like Destination Pluto, an eight-part series about a team planning to survey the planet with a probe this summer. Other programs, many with multiple episodes, include Annihilation, The Age of Robots, Vikings and Behind the Artist. Each comes with a video preview and a link to sign-up.
Insider Take:
It seems everyone is comparing subscription services to Netflix, and with good reason. Netflix has proven to be a wildly popular service using a simple subscription business model. It combines classic TV shows and movies with current hits and original programming like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. CuriosityStream is following suit but with nonfiction content in four primary categories: science, technology, civilization and human spirit. Though Netflix offers some documentaries, CuriosityStream could become the “go to” place for such content, especially in short form.
Thus far, the streaming TV start-up seems to have a good collection of offerings with hundreds of hours of content, but the catalog seems limited. Upon visiting the site, we could only find 16 programs in the catalog and no access to a larger catalog. We expect the service to add content as it grows with its audience, and since this niche is Hendricks’ specialty, CuriosityStream is likely to offer content no one else has. From a user experience perspective, the CuriosityStream site is simple, clean and easy to use. From a marketing perspective, we expect Hendricks will pull out all the stops to ensure this venture is as successful as the Discovery Channel was.
We are eager to watch this company grow and evolve to see if it can, indeed, become the Netflix for nonfiction. We’ll keep you posted!
