Next month another streaming video service, Fullscreen, joins an ever-crowded over-the-top (OTT) TV marketplace, reports Variety. Geared specifically toward 13-to-30 year olds, the new subscription video service will launch on April 26.
“Our customers are saying, ‘I’m glad my dad has Netflix, but I want something for me,'” says Fullscreen CEO George Strompolos.
For $4.99 a month, subscribers will get an ad-free experience and more than 800 hours of content, including movies, TV series and original content. Fullscreen’s content will come from nearly 70,000 creators including Grace Helbig, The Fine Brothers and Jack and Jack, who already have more 600 million subscribers and more than 5 billion combined video views each month.
Original shows will include “Filthy Pretty Teen$,” “Electra Woman & Dyna Girl,” and “Jack & Dean of All Trades.” Archived content will include TV shows like “Dawson’s Creek” and “Saved by the Bell” and licensed movies like “Cruel Intentions” and “Can’t Hardly Wait.”
Aside from the audience demographics, how will Fullscreen differ from other services like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube Red and CBS All Access? Fullscreen is owned by Otter Media, a joint venture between AT&T and the Chernin Group, so AT&T is a major partner. AT&T has agreed to market the OTT subscription service to its customer base of more than 100 million customers, according to Variety. In addition, AT&T will co-produce content with Fullscreen that will be distributed via Fullscreen, DirecTV and U-verse.
“It’s been really interesting on the licensing front because we’re a new buyer,” Strompolos said. “We are obviously not spending as much as the big OTT players, but we’re going after an audience that is a sign of things to come in this space.”
Though the subscription service is new, Fullscreen is not. It was founded in January 2011 by George Strompolis, a co-creator of YouTube’s Partner Program, as a global youth media company centered around creators and multi-platform entertainment.
Insider Take:
OTT TV is no longer the shiny new toy, but “the place to be,” and everyone wants in on the action. Companies like Fullscreen want a platform for sharing existing and original content while building a firm fan base and sustainable recurring revenue.
How will Fullscreen fare in this growing market? With five years to learn what their fans want and 600 million monthly subscribers already, Fullscreen has a good base from which to start. It also has a narrowly defined niche, content geared toward that niche, and an appealing price point that is less than half of most of the other OTT services. The partnership with AT&T seals the deal, giving this SVOD subscription service huge potential.
~ Dana E. Neuts, Subscription Insider
