LOS ANGELES—Hoping to build on the success of The Bob Ross Channel, Cineverse has announced that it will be offering remastered episodes of "The Joy of Painting" for the first time in high definition and 4K and that it has also created new original content with the Bob Ross Gallery Collection.
Currently, the first season of “The Joy of Painting” is available in 1080p with plans to roll out the remaining seasons in the months to come.
"It's like Bob is in the room with me," said Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc., upon seeing the series in HD for the first time. "Bob was a huge dreamer, but I don't believe even he would have dreamt the show could look this vibrant and fresh!"
The Bob Ross Gallery Collection allows fans the ability to immerse themselves in the artists' work. The ambient TV series showcases Ross' iconic works of art to set the mood while they work, clean, host a dinner or just any time they want to relax. The initial 12-episode season will feature different paintings spanning his entire oeuvre, with each 24-minute episode following a theme such as the four seasons, waterfalls, mountains, streams and more – represented by his iconic paintings synchronized to music within a relaxing screensaver experience. The series is accompanied by soothing original music specifically created for the series that embodies the original style of music from "The Joy of Painting" and reflects the episode's theme. Cineverse plans to roll out the Bob Ross Gallery Collection next quarter.
The new content offerings hope to build on the success of Cineverse's Bob Ross Channel, which has become the company's top FAST channel. Launched in April 2020, the Bob Ross Channel, in partnership with Bob Ross Inc. and American Public Television, is a nonstop feed of "The Joy of Painting."
Using Cineverse's Matchpoint technology, 388 episodes were quickly made available on over two dozen platforms, including Cineverse.com, Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Xumo, Tubi, Vizio WatchFree+, LG Channels, TCL, Amazon Freevee, DIRECTV, Sling Freestream, Atmosphere TV and Fubo. It is also available in Spanish with The Bob Ross Channel en Español, on TelevisaUnivision's ViX, the world's leading Spanish-language streaming service.
As of February, The Bob Ross Channel has generated more than half a billion views and 840 million ad impressions, making it Cineverse's most successful FAST channel.
"The Bob Ross fan base has grown exponentially over the four decades since 'The Joy of Painting' premiered. It is a privilege for us to help extend his legacy by offering new ways for viewers to discover the show and learn of Bob's artistry," said Tony Huidor, Cineverse's COO and CTO. "The success of The Bob Ross Channel is indicative of the lasting impact Bob made on our culture. We are honored to restore his entire television series in high-definition for the first time and to extend the reach of his art into living rooms once more through the creation of The Bob Ross Gallery Collection."
