UPFRONT 2017
NEWS FROM CRACKLE, A SONY NETWORK:
New York, April 19, 2017 -- At Crackle’s upfront presentation held today at Sony Square NYC -- showplace for the latest in Sony entertainment and technology – the free, ad-supported streaming network greenlit its next original scripted drama, “The Oath,”(WT) and announced that it will be executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his G-Unit Film & Television Inc.; the AVOD service also unveiled a robust development slate; shared results from two recent studies, one with Nielsen that speaks to the benefits of their BreakFree advertising model and a second report which identifies with a console first psychographic called “connected entertainment enthusiasts.” The announcements were made by Eric Berger, Crackle GM and EVP, Digital, Sony Pictures Television Networks.
About Crackle
Crackle, a unit of Sony Pictures Television Networks, programs Hollywood movies, popular TV shows, original series and feature films for the worlds connected audience. Crackle is freely accessible in the U.S. with no subscription or commitment required. The streaming service is available in 21 countries and houses a robust library of original programming available anytime, anywhere on every connected device. Check out Crackle on available on Facebook or follow @Crackle on Twitter for real time updates. For additional information, please go to www.crackle.com.
CRACKLE GREENLIGHTS NEW SCRIPTED ORIGINAL, ‘THE OATH’ (WT)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY CURTIS “50 CENT” JACKSON
Executive Produced By Jackson’s G-Unit Film & Television Inc. and Storied Media Group; CREATED AND WRITTEN By Former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Deputy Joe Halpin, New 10-Episode Drama Explores A SECRET SOCIETY IN Law Enforcement
Free Streaming Network Also Partners with JACKSON and G-Unit Film & Television Inc. on "RPM," (WT) Scripted Crime Drama Currently In Development
New York, April 19, 2017 -- Today, at the Crackle upfront presentation held at Sony Square NYC, the streaming service greenlit their new scripted original drama, “The Oath,” (WT) written and created by former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy Joe Halpin ("Hawaii Five-O," "Ice," "The Lottery"). Executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his G-Unit Film & Television Inc., the series explores a different kind of subculture – gangs made up of those sworn to protect and defend.
These secret societies are nearly impossible to get into – but once inside, members will do what they must to protect each other from enemies on the outside and from within their own ranks. The drama examines this all-too-real world through a gang that started out with the right intentions. But in order to stay both out of jail and alive, they will all need to re-examine the principles that guide them and speculate as to whether they can trust the badged criminals that operate amongst them. The 10-episode, one-hour original pulls the curtain back on the inner workings of this band of brothers forced to turn on each other after being picked off by the FBI.
“I am very excited to be partnering with Sony Pictures Television Networks and Crackle. To be able to bring this story to life is something I'm looking forward to and Joe Halpin’s personal experience will make this unlike anything that's been seen before,” Jackson said.
"Curtis, G-Unit Film & Television Inc., Storied Media Group and Joe Halpin are the perfect team to take this extraordinarily fast paced and complex narrative to Crackle’s passionate and engaged audience,” noted Eric Berger, Crackle GM and EVP, Digital, Sony Pictures Television Networks. “This is the kind of unexpected storytelling that our viewers have come to expect and we look forward to breaking new ground with this new original drama.”
“The Oath” is executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his G-Unit Film & Television Inc., Todd Hoffman and Dennis Kim of Storied Media Group and Joe Halpin who is also creator, writer and showrunner. Halpin is represented by Andy Patman at Paradigm.
In addition to “The Oath” (WT), Crackle closed a deal with the rapper/actor/producer to develop an hour-long original, "RPM,” (WT) written by Leo Sardarian. A high-octane drama set in the working class streets of Boston’s most corrupt neighborhoods, "RPM" follows a used car salesman who starts moonlighting as a getaway driver for a Boston crime syndicate after financial ruin threatens his family. Executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his G-Unit Film & Television Inc., “RPM” (WT) is produced by Adam Riback, Nick Phillips and Kelly Wagner. Leo Sardarian is represented by APA, Echo Lake Entertainment and Ziffren Britenham LLP.
Jackson is represented by Jim Osborne, Marc Kamler and Kyle Loftus at APA and attorneys Eric Feig and Stephen J. Savva.
About Crackle
Crackle, a unit of Sony Pictures Television Networks, programs Hollywood movies, popular TV shows, original series and feature films for the worlds connected audience. Crackle is freely accessible in the U.S. with no subscription or commitment required. The streaming service is available in 21 countries and houses a robust library of original programming available anytime, anywhere on every connected device. Check out Crackle on available on Facebook or follow @Crackle on Twitter for real time updates. For additional information, please go to www.crackle.com.
About Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson III, is an award-winning rapper, entrepreneur, actor and producer from Queens, New York. Since the release of his record-shattering debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', the Grammy Award winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and has been awarded numerous accolades including: 13 Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards and many more. He was ranked as the #1 rap artist and most successful Hot 100 Artist of the 2000s by Billboard Magazine, as well as that decade's sixth-best artist and fourth top male artist. Jackson serves as CEO of G-Unit Records, which he founded in 2003 and since its inception has signed a myriad of multi-platinum artists. Jackson is currently in the studio recording new music and continues to dominate the charts with his recent single “I’m the Man” going Gold.
What began as music chart dominance for the rap legacy quickly transformed to unparalleled success in corporate America as a multi-tiered business mogul. Jackson has also carved out a successful and acclaimed career as an actor and producer, founding G-Unit Film & Television, Inc in 2005. Jackson serves as Executive Producer and stars in the record-breaking #1 series on STARZ, "Power." In August 2016 it was announced that STARZ extended Jackson & G-Unit Film & Television, Inc’s exclusive overall deal to develop new projects for the network, including “Tomorrow, Today,” based on a screenplay penned by Jackson and continue as executive producer on “Power.”
Jackson has had roles in several blockbuster films most recently filming the upcoming “Den of Thieves” where he will co-star opposite Gerard Butler slated for release in 2018, he also appeared in the Antoine Fuqua directed boxing drama, “Southpaw,” alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and “Spy” with Melissa McCarthy.
About G-Unit Film & Television, Inc
In 2005, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson founded the production company, G-Unit Film & Television, Inc. producing a wide variety of content across various platforms. Jackson has quickly sold a myriad of projects to various networks. Among these is the record shattering “Power,” STARZ’s number-one series that premiered in June 2014, in which Jackson not only stars in but also serves as executive producer. In July 2016 it was announced that STARZ extended Jackson & G-Unit Film & Television, Inc’s exclusive overall deal another year into September 2018 to develop new projects for the network and continue as executive producer on “Power.” Additional announced G-Unit Film & Television, Inc. credits include: SundanceTV’s critically acclaimed series “Dream School” and the development of “Tomorrow, Today” on STARZ.
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‘SNATCH,’ CRACKLE’S MOST-WATCHED SCRIPTED ORIGINAL DRAMA, RENEWED FOR SECOND SEASON
Virtual Reality Bonus Experience Co-Produced with Future Lighthouse To Launch This Summer On PlayStation VR
New York, April 19, 2017 -- On the heels of its successful spring launch on Crackle, the original drama “Snatch,” based loosely on the wildly popular movie of the same name, will return for a second season in 2018, it was announced today. In addition, the free, AVOD service shared plans to release an exclusive virtual reality bonus experience on PlayStation VR this summer. Both announcements were made today at the network’s upfront presentation at Sony Square NYC.
“Rupert, Luke and the rest of the cast have created memorable characters who truly resonated with our viewers, and we look forward to following their adventures in season two of Snatch, " said Eric Berger, Crackle, GM and EVP, Digital, Sony Pictures Television Networks. “Sincere thanks to our production team as well as Snatch’s creator, writer and executive producer Alex De Rakoff for being the creative force behind what is our most successful drama to date.”
Called a “whole lot of fun…with an irreverent sense of humor,” by the Boston Globe, “Snatch” is the network’s most-streamed scripted original to date and centers on a group of twenty-something, up-and-coming hustlers who stumble upon a truck load of stolen gold bullion and are suddenly thrust into the high-stakes world of organized crime. The boys must quickly learn to navigate the treacherous waters of London’s underworld as rogue cops, gypsy fighters, international mobsters and local villains descend.
During the VR experience, the hustlers attempt to break into the safe of Sonny Castillo (Ed Westwick) and can choose to keep cracking the safe or leave the hideout before the cops and Castillo’s goons arrive on the scene.
“In VR the viewer has a lot of power and controls the outcome. Our goal is to teleport you alongside Rupert Grint and his thieving friends to make you feel the adrenaline of the heist. We want the viewers to have agency over where they want this caper to go,” said Nicolas Alcala, Future Lighthouse’s CEO and director of creativity.
Inspired by the cult favorite film of the same name, Crackle’s “Snatch” stars Rupert Grint as the utterly posh, Charlie Cavendish-Scott. Best known as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter film franchise, Grint also serves as an executive producer. In addition, the series stars an ensemble cast featuring Luke Pasqualino (“Skins”, “The Borgias”) as Albert Hill, Lucien Laviscount (“Scream Queens”, “Honeytrap”) as Billy Ayres, Dougray Scott (“Fear the Walking Dead,” “Doctor Who”) as Vic Hill, Phoebe Dynevor (“The Village,” “Dickensian) as Lotti Mott and Juliet Aubrey (The Infiltrator,” “Primeval”) as Lily Hill. The series is executive produced by Alex De Rakoff, who also serves as writer and showrunner.
About Future Lighthouse
Future Lighthouse is one of the leading virtual reality studios operating at the crossroads of storytelling and technology. With offices in Los Angles and Madrid, we specialize in VR narrative fiction. Our studio develops new experiences for brands and networks, innovating in both form and content. We’ve worked with Sony Entertainment, Digital Domain, RTVE, Fly Emirates, and Pernod Ricard. We also produce original content like our films Tomorrow, Ray, and Melita which have been selected by film festivals such as Raindance, Oxford International Film Festival, and Filmteractive. Our films/experiences have also been screened at SXSW, Raindance (China & London), and Sonar (Barcelona). Follow @LighthouseVR on Twitter. For additional information, please go to futurelighthouse.com.
SOPHOMORE SEASON OF CRACKLE’S ‘STARTUP’ TO DEBUT ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH
IN SEASON TWO, GRITTY ORIGINAL DRAMA STARRING ADAM BRODY, MARTIN FREEMAN, EDI GATHEGI AND OTMARA MARRERO, ADDS ADDISON TIMLIN (‘CALIFORNICATION’) AND RON PERLMAN (‘HELLBOY,’ ‘SONS OF ANARCHY’) WHO WILL ALSO PRODUCE
New York, April 19, 2017 -- Currently in production in Puerto Rico, “StartUp” explores what happens when a brilliant, yet controversial tech idea gets incubated on the wrong side of the tracks by three strangers who don’t necessarily fit the mold of “tech entrepreneurs.”
Crackle announced at an upfront presentation today that the hour-long drama will return for a second season on
September 28th and released a first look clip featuring new addition Ron Perlman (Hellboy, “Sons of Anarchy”). Perlman portrays Wes Chandler, a multi-millionaire businessman with a level-headed grit.
It was also announced today that Perlman will be taking on producer role in this new, 10-episode season. In addition, the network announced that Addison Timlin (“Californication”) who will play Perlman’s daughter Mara, will also be a featured player in Crackle’s tech-centric original.
Set amongst the unconstrained, yet opportunist streets of Miami, “StartUp” weaves a complex and exciting narrative, featuring the high-stakes struggle of what one will do to reach ultimate success. Forced to fund a tech company with dirty money from unsuspecting places while forming ties with a dangerous, Haitian gang, the fight to build a business pales in comparison to the fight to stay alive, especially when there’s a vehement FBI agent who wields the power to make or break those he comes in contact with—and not always for the right reasons.
Returning in season two are series’ stars Adam Brody (“CHiPS,” “The League”) also prouducer, Martin Freeman (“Fargo,” “Sherlock”), Edi Gathegi (“The Blacklist,” “The Blacklist: Redemption”) and Otmara Marrero (“Graceland”).
“StartUp” is produced by Critical Content and Hollywood Gang Productions. Tom Forman, Andrew Marcus, Ray Ricord, Gianni Nunnari, Shannon Gaulding and Anne Clements (“Cleaners”) all serve as executive producers. The series is created and written by Ben Ketai (“Chosen,” THE FOREST) who also serves as executive producer and director. Adam Brody and Ron Perlman serve as producers.
CRACKLE ANNOUNCES SEASON THREE PICKUP OF EMMY-NOMINATED ‘SUPERMANSION,’
AND GREENLIGHTS ALL-NEW SPECIALS
New York, April 19, 2017 -- Crackle executives announced at their upfront presentation today that “SuperMansion,” the Emmy-nominated, stop motion-animated comedy series from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, will return for a third season in 2018 and will go into production on two all-new specials, debuting this fall and early next year.
“SuperMansion has delivered for Crackle on every metric,” noted Eric Berger, Crackle, GM and EVP, Digital, Sony Pictures Television Networks. “Critics love it, fans pine for it and the list of talent who want to appear in this series just goes on and on.” He added: “We are so pleased to greenlight a new season of this wildly popular show and look forward to working closely with SuperMansion’s stellar production duo, Zeb Wells and Matthew Senreich, and of course, Bryan Cranston, to create more laugh out loud content for Crackle viewers.”
"It’s been an incredible ride creating SuperMansion with the team at Crackle,” said co-creator Zeb Wells. “We can’t wait to bring these imperfect heroes back for more fun at the mansion.”
Called “smart and deliriously unpredictable” by the New York Times and “uproariously funny” by Collider, the series follows the adventures of Titanium Rex (voiced by Bryan Cranston, also the series’ executive producer) as he struggles to live with and fight alongside the Millennial-aged, often lackadaisical members of The League of Freedom. Season two voiceover stars included Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Keegan-Michael Key (“Key & Peele”), Chris Pine (“Star Trek”), Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street), Yvette Nicole Brown (“Community”), Heidi Gardner (The Groundlings), Tucker Gilmore (Frozen), and Zeb Wells (“Robot Chicken”).
“SuperMansion” is created by Matthew Senreich (“Robot Chicken”) and Zeb Wells (The Amazing Spider-Man, “Robot Chicken”), who also act as executive producers under their production company Stoopid Buddy Stoodios alongside Seth Green, John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner. Bryan Cranston and James Degus also serve as executive producers under their production banner Moon Shot Entertainment.
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CRACKLE GREENLIGHTS BRIAN KAVANAUGH-JONES AND TIM KRING
TECHNO-THRILLER MOVIE, ‘IN THE CLOUD’
New York, April 19, 2017 -- On the heels of its movie success this past year with the Charlie Sheen-starrer “Mad Families” and “Dead Rising: Endgame,” starring Jesse Metcalfe (and based on the popular video game franchise), Crackle announced today that it will begin production on the Tim Kring (Heroes) and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Insidious: Chapter Three) feature, “In the Cloud.”
This thriller from Kring’s Imperative Entertainment and Kavanaugh-Jones’ Automatik, explores a tech company shrouded in secrecy as it develops software capable of uploading a person’s consciousness and memories to a virtual space regardless of location, time, and state of life—essentially, in the cloud. This allows them to interact with a realistic AI avatar of that individual, even if they are no longer alive. As Cloud Inc.’s public launch date looms, we discover many people with questionable interests in the company and its technology – all of whom have secret agendas – many of which threaten to end the company and the lives of all involved – never mind changing the course of humanity. Production begins in late summer 2017 and casting news will be announced in the coming weeks.
The techno-thriller is written by Vanya Asher and produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones’ Automatik and Tim Kring’s Imperative Entertainment.
CRACKLE ANNOUNCES THREE NEW ORIGINAL SCRIPTED SERIES IN DEVELOPMENT
New York, April 19, 2017 -- Crackle, Sony Pictures Television Networks’ free, streaming, ad-supported network, today unveiled news about the following scripted originals in development at their upfront presentation held at Sony Square NYC:
ACCIDENT PARK:
When an unambitious but lovable hometown zero, Vern, uses the settlement from a personal injury lawsuit to buy the notoriously dangerous local theme park where he was injured, he realizes that he needs help to keep his new business afloat. The comedy begins when the park’s new owner, Vern, enlists the extremely reluctant help of Grant, his best friend from high school who has moved back in with his mom after a spectacular professional flame out on Wall Street.
The series is written by Pete Marquis and Jamie T. McCellan and produced by Zach Levi’s Middle Man Productions and Erik Olsen’s Apocalyptic Media.
TRIBES:
This one-hour original drama series takes us 20 years into the future when a nano-virus has ravaged the West Coast of the United States. Shut off from the rest world, the inhabitants inside this quarantined zone have reverted back to tribal culture. Until one tribe comes across an ‘elder’ – the first human they have seen over the age of 30 since the outbreak – this man may hold the clues to the cure of this deadly virus – a cure that can set them all free – but some tribes don’t want their world to change.
The series is adapted from the popular 2010 graphic novel by Michael Geszel and Peter Spinetta for IDW Publishing and SoulCraft Comics. The series is written by Alex Tse (Watchmen), who will also serve as an executive producer along with Joel Silver’s Silver Pictures (The Matrix, Die Hard, Veronica Mars).
THE ROW:
This one-hour scripted drama, centers around a select group of death row inmates who are about to be given a choice about what they want to do with the rest of their lives – continue their miserable existences on death row or be sent on an experimental mission with a 1% chance of survival. The 1% survival rate has never sounded so good to the inmates who are only too eager to take their chances in space because all of them think that they can find their way out.
The series is created and written by Michael Polish (The Astronaut Farmer) who will also direct and executive produce alongside Kate Bosworth under their production banner, Make Pictures.
CRACKLE ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF NEW WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS SHOW HOSTED THIS SUMMER
BY INTERNET SENSATION, IAN HECOX
PART OF THE SMOSH DUO, HECOX TO FRONT ‘THIS WEEK ON,’ A UNIQUE BLEND OF HUMOR AND HEART TO DEBUT THIS MAY ON NEWLY LAUNCHED SPOTLIGHT CHANNEL
New York, April 19, 2017 -- At an upfront presentation today, Crackle, a Sony Network, revealed plans to launch a new vertical on the free, ad-supported streaming service called CRACKLE SPOTLIGHT. Already home to a multiplex suite of genre destinations including Fandom, Comedy, Action, Drama and more, this newest addition will provide a home to a new weekly series, “This Week On” hosted by Internet sensation Ian Hecox. Best known to audiences as part of the comedic duo SMOSH, Hecox and his partner Anthony Padilla began posting videos to YouTube over 12 years ago and to date, their channel has over six billion views and 22 million subscribers making it the 7th most subscribed channel on YouTube. “This Week On” will debut in May.
Ian Hecox is the co-founder of the online comedy enterprise Smosh. Together with his childhood friend Anthony Padilla, they write, direct, and star in the comedy sketches they have been creating since 2005. They have amassed over 6 billion views and over 22 million subscribers on their Smosh YouTube channel. They have also starred in Smosh: The Movie (2015), Angry Birds The Movie (2016), and Ghostmates (2016) among other things.
CRACKLE RELEASES RESULTS OF COMPREHENSIVE STUDY AND IDENTIFIES NEW PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENT
FIRST GENERATION OF GAMERS WHO ARE ALL GROWN UP SAY THAT THE GAME CONSOLE IS THEIR
HOUSEHOLD’S ENTERTAINMENT HUB
7 OF 10 “CONNECTED ENTERTAINMENT ENTHUSIASTS” STREAM TV SERIES AND MOVIES AND PLAY VIDEO GAMES DAILY; 93% HAVE BEEN PLAYING GAMES SINCE THEY WERE IN THEIR TEENS; AND 9 OF 10 SAY THEY ARE OPEN TO WATCHING ADS TO GET CONTENT FOR FREE AND SAY THE GAME CONSOLE IS THE BEST DEVICE THEY OWN
New York, April 19, 2017 -- During their upfront presentation today, Crackle released results of new research (conducted in collaboration with the media research and strategy firm, Miner & Co. Studio), that identifies a new and highly coveted psychographic segment called “Connected Entertainment Enthusiasts.”
The comprehensive study, meant to underscore the value of the Crackle proposition on connected game consoles looked at the preferences of 1500 adults, men and women (67% Male; 33% Female) 25-44 years old (50% 25-34; 50% 35-44) in an effort to define the lifestyle of this sometimes elusive cohort. This segment, one that seeks immersive experiences with their console and chooses to bring others along with them, sees the console as their entertainment gateway--it's the preferred entertainment hub of their household for streaming TV, movies and for video games making them hard to reach through traditional media outlets.
Of the 320 million people in America, 155 million play video games according to the Entertainment Software Association. But this streamer/gamer can be difficult to reach given a greater likelihood that they are cord cutters or lovers of streaming and OTT. If they aren't passionate about the brand or if the brand message seems inauthentic, it can be difficult to maintain their interest. The goal of the study was to uncover insights and behaviors about this intersecting audience, made up of gamers and streamers, that could help encourage viewer attention.
Commenting on the results, Eric Berger, Crackle GM and EVP, Digital, Sony Pictures Television Networks, said: “From programming over 100 devices in 23 countries, we’ve learned that demographics matter but it's the psychographic data, the attitudes, beliefs and values of our customers that allow us to better understand what's important to them.”
According to the study:
· 85% prefer streaming over other viewing options; 1 in 5 who are cable/satellite/telco indicated they were planning to cut or shave their plans this year. 50% said that they cancelled an SVOD service this year due to insufficient value for the money.
· Comprised of intensely passionate, console first streamers who appreciate free content, 70% stream movies/TV shows and play video games daily and 7 of 10 streamed more this year than last.
· This group is ad receptive, with 76% preferring ads on streaming services vs. traditional TV ads; 9 of 10 open to ads if the content is free; and 7 of 10 saying that they are more likely to remember ads watched while streaming. And, almost 9 of 10 report taking consumer-directed actions such as purchasing products for themselves or others, among other steps, after viewing an ad or commercial.
-more-
· 95% of Connected Entertainment Enthusiasts use gaming to escape from their busy lives and almost half said they would give up other streaming devices (Roku, Apple TV, etc) and their cable/telco/satellite subscription before parting with their video game console.
· 90% prefer streaming saying that it's more convenient, better for show discovery and binge watching. On average, this segment streams on an average of 3.66 devices in their home with 88% visiting social media sites and apps at least once a day.
· And the Connected Entertainment Enthusiast is both aware and influential, with 80% saying it's important to them to stay up to date and new trends and 80% sought out by those in their social circles for recommendations on tech, TV/movies, food/restaurants and video games.
· And for the Connected Entertainment Enthusiast, the console provides hassle-free access to the content they love with 90% reporting that their video game console helps them discover new entertainment; 9 of 10 streaming because they can easily find shows and movies that they like to talk about with friends; and they have a voracious appetite for content with 94% saying that they are “always looking for new games, shows and movies.”
· This segment is more prone to co-gaming/co-viewing than the general population, re-defining life in the living room. 61% co-view with another person or family member; 7 of 10 are most likely to be in their living room when streaming on the big screen; and 71% enjoy playing games as a group or team in a larger community.
· Gaming is in their DNA – 70% stream movies, TV shows and play video games daily; 93% have played games since their teens and 9 of 10 say the game console is the best device they own.
Berger added: “Engaging viewers doesn't happen by accident. Commissioning this third party study assists our team in better defining our target audience, in this case Crackle viewers who stream on game consoles, and ensures that we can provide our advertising partners with insights and analysis which will make a difference to their respective brands.”
METHODOLOGY
Miner and Co. Studio conducted a 25-minute quantitative online survey among 1,500 male and female gamers and streamers fielded from March 31st to April 9th, 2017. Respondents met the following criteria:
· 2/3 Male, 1/3 Female
· 25-44 years old, (50% 25-34, 50% 35-44)
· Live in the US
· Own a console / live in a household where a console is present
· Are light to heavy gamers – game once a month to multiple times a day
· Are heavy streamers – stream TV/ movies a few times a week or more
· Natural fall-out of cable/satellite/telco subs and cord-cutters, cord-shavers and cord-nevers
CRACKLE’S BREAKFREE AD STRATEGY BRINGS SIGNIFICANT LIFT TO VIEWER ENGAGEMENT;
Nielsen Study Shows Higher Brand Recall With Fewer Ads
CRACKLE ALSO JOINS FORCES WITH A.V. CLUB AND MASHABLE AS PART OF AN
EXPANSION OF THE BREAKFREE EXPERIENCE
New York, April 19, 2017 -- At their upfront presentation today, Crackle released the results of a Nielsen study they commissioned that sheds light on the free, ad supported service’s innovative approach to advertising called ‘BreakFree.’ A first-to-market, premium experience for both the consumer and the advertiser, BreakFree promotes binge viewing of Crackle original content and allows for a second touch point of engagement and relevant content for the viewer to go deeper into the show.
Working with Nielsen, Crackle set out to assess both the impact of the network’s over the top channel in driving brand lift, and separately, to understand the optimal frequency of advertising within Crackle’s BreakFree ad environment encouraging binge-viewing. The results, based on the use of BreakFree in Crackle’s tech-centric drama, “StartUp,” proved that even with significantly less ads served, advertiser performance can be excellent if wrapped with compelling content. Key findings included:
The BreakFree ad environment outperforms linear television
· Engagement while viewing content, even with less frequency of a brand’s ad, resulted in brand lift and affinity as high or higher than if the ad ran 8x+
· Crackle viewers are 7x more likely to recall BreakFree ads vs traditional advertising
BreakFree delivers for brands
· Average Brand - Aided Recall: 76%
· Average Brand Affinity Increase: 25%
· Average Recommendation Intent Increase: 22%
BreakFree creates a more binge- friendly experience for viewers
· 74% of respondents were interested/engaged with the BreakFree story lines
· Majority of respondents described the ad experience as ”creative" or "entertaining"
· 68% of respondents indicated that they were likely to binge-view episodes of “StartUp”
· 42% of respondents "could spend all day" watching “StartUp”
“We took a risk out of the gates with BreakFree, and the Nielsen results show that we are onto something very compelling,” said Rene Santaella, Senior Vice President, Global Ad Strategy & Operations, Sony Pictures Television Networks. “BreakFree ads perform better than live TV advertising for brand recall, purchase intent and recommendation intent, and are considered a more creative and innovative ad experience. Everyone wins.”
"We are extremely happy with how BreakFree performed and how quickly it was adopted by our advertisers,” said James Smith, Senior Vice President, Digital Media Sales, Sony Pictures Television Networks. “The blue chip partners that came on board for our launch are testament of the markets readiness for new ad models that focus on viewer attention and return on investment." In the case of our most recent dramas, BreakFree participating advertisers included Sprint, Cadillac, Microsoft, Jaguar, Telltale Games and Infiniti.
Crackle’s ongoing commitment to BreakFree advertising, a first-to-market premium experience for both the consumer and the advertiser, is further evidenced by an announcement made today. Crackle will be joining forces with two leading publishers -- Fusion Media Group’s A.V. Club and Mashable – to produce stand-alone video content as an extension to our network’s originals. By aligning with these two brands, consumers will have access to engaging, relevant and exclusive content which will be available on Crackle as well as on their respective editorial platforms.
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