History
John Hendricks, who founded Discovery in 1982, started Curiosity Stream as a stand-alone OTT media service in March 2015 with his daughter, Elizabeth Hendricks, as CEO.[10][11] The service expanded distribution to Amazon Channels[12] and in 2017, had its first distribution deal with a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) when it became available on Comcast's set-top box VOD platform and the MSO's Xfinity Stream app/portal.[12] In April 2018, Dish Network made Curiosity Stream available on internet-connected Hopper devices and the Dish Anywhere mobile app.[13]
In June 2018, Clint Stinchcomb was appointed president and CEO of the company, after first joining Curiosity Stream in 2017 as chief distribution officer.[14] He is also the co-founder and former CEO of Poker Central.[15] Previously Stinchcomb held positions as managing director of Worldwide Media Group (WMG) and executive vice president and general manager of Discovery Communications' Emerging Television Networks.[16]
In July 2020, Curiosity Stream signed a partnership deal with Swedish telecommunications Com Hem to bring the company's library content to Sweden. Many of the programs were made available with Swedish subtitles.[17] In August 2020, Matthew Blank joined Curiosity Stream's board of directors. Blank had formerly spent over 20 years as the chairman and CEO of Showtime Networks where he had overseen television series including Homeland, Dexter, and Billions.[18][19] On October 15, 2020, Curiosity Stream became the first publicly traded streaming media company focused on factual content[20] when it started trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "CURI". The public trading was a result of a reverse merger with Software Acquisition Group, Inc., a special-purpose acquisition company.[21]
In November 2020, Indian pay-TV and OTT provider Tata Sky partnered with the company to bring its content to Tata Sky's subscribers via binge+.[22] The programs were made available to Tata Sky DTH customers as a linear channel.[23] In May 2021, the company acquired One Day University, an adult education platform which features lectures from university and college professors.[24] In July 2021, Curiosity Stream partnered with German TV channel Spiegel TV to offer a linear channel in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.[25] In August 2021, the company acquired Now You Know Media, parent of Learn25.[26]
In August 2021, the company announced a rebranding including the shortened name for its parent company, Curiosity, which is composed of Curiosity Stream (streaming service), Curiosity Channel (linear channels), and Curiosity Studios (originals production). The streaming service was also retitled from CuriosityStream to Curiosity Stream.[27]
Curiosity bought a minority share in Nebula in 2021, valuing Nebula at over $50 million.[28] A bundle subscription for both services was available from 2021 to 2023, which boosted the growth of both.[29][30] Nebula became unbundled from Curiosity Stream's plans beginning 2024, though one year of access would still be provided to subscribers that renewed by the end of 2023.[31] Before a price increase in 2022, the service was offered at $19.99 per year for the standard annual subscription.[32] As of May 2023, the standard annual subscription was $39.99.[1] On February 6, 2024, Curiosity Channel was dropped by the streaming service Frndly TV.[33]
