LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Cinedigm has inked a deal with the Giving Company to acquire the movie review and ratings service Dove.org and the faith-based streaming platform Christian Cinema.
The two brands will be combined with Cinedigm’s existing streaming service the Dove Channel, and will allow Cinedigm to provide an expanded offering of faith and family entertainment.
Cinedigm and Dove.org first partnered in 2015 to launch the family-focused Dove Channel. Cinedigm will now operate both services and integrate them into a single offering of family-friendly content.
Founded in 1991, Dove.org’s mission is “to encourage and promote the creation, production, distribution and consumption of wholesome family entertainment,” the companies said.
Its legacy goes back two decades to the organization’s first “Dove Approved” seal of approval given to thousands of titles since inception. Today the organization publishes reviews, news, podcasts and rates films, TV shows, video games, online content and more through its website, email newsletters and social channels to help families make informed media choices.
Christian Cinema is a transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service for faith-based films, offering the ability to buy or rent movies with Christian values via ChristianCinema.com as well as leading app platforms such as Apple TV, iOS, Android, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and Amazon Fire tablets.
The deal comes at a time when the Faith & Family film & TV market vertical continues to see rapid growth. A research study published by Grandview Research in 2020, estimated that more than $1.5 billion is spent annually in the sector in North America and that the market is expected to grow at 20% CAGR through 2027.
“Over the last few years, we have perfected what we think is the best approach to enthusiast streaming: giving customers more of what they want in the medium they want – movies, podcasts, editorial, commerce – under the business model of their choice,” said Erick Opeka, president and chief strategy officer of Cinedigm. “This has led to record growth in other verticals for us, including Fandom, Genre, and Asian content, and we think that Faith & Family could be bigger than all of those combined. This one-two punch of acquisitions immediately provides us with an established consumer base, immediately accretive revenue, and multiple new avenues for growth. Much like we have done in other verticals, we expect to dramatically ramp up our offerings in original theatrical releases, podcasts, publishing, audiobooks and more. It is an exciting time to see this culmination after nearly 8 years of successful partnership with Dove.org and Giving Company.”
