Independent non-fiction streaming video service CuriosityStream said Wednesday that it is naming Clint Stinchcomb CEO.
Stinchcomb had been chief distribution officer for
the company, securing deals with companies like Verizon, Comcast and Sling to gain wider distribution for the service.
CuriosityStream launched in 2015, and was one of the earliest
independent niche streaming services on the market. Hendricks, who turned Discovery Channel into the cable TV home for non-fiction and factual entertainment, was aiming to do the same thing for
over-the-top video.
The service is available direct-to-consumer, but also as an add-on from many pay-TV providers and streaming bundles like Sling TV.
The service starts
at $2.99 and is commercial-free, although Stinchcomb tells Digital News Daily that they are weighing options to add sponsorships into the service.
“We are committed
to offering CuriosityStream programs to our viewers in a format that is uninterrupted by commercials,” he says. “As we increase our programming and marketing efforts in the service of
subscriber growth, a light, blue-chip sponsorship touch will likely be incorporated.”
CuriosityStream’s former president and CEO, Elizabeth Hendricks North, will
become president of Curiosity Studios, which will produce original programming for the service.
Hendricks North is the daughter of CuriosityStream founder John Hendricks, who
previously founded Discovery Channel.
Stinchcomb previously served as an executive at Discovery Communications.