• by Alex Weprin , October 31, 2018

The streaming video service Fandor wants to seize an opportunity presented by the imminent closure of one of its competitors.

FilmStruck, the WarnerMedia-owned streaming service featuring classic and independent movies, announced last week that it would shut down in November.

WarnerMedia has been shutting down streaming services it feels lack sufficient scale. Instead, it's focusing on a much larger service set to launch in 2019.

New Fandor, which offers its own library of independent movies and documentary films, is looking to poach aggrieved FilmStruck subscribers. 

The company says it will give existing FilmStruck subscribers an annual subscription for $24.99, 50% off the standard rate. In a statement, Fandor had nothing but praise for FilmStruck, saying the two services “shared a vision” with regard to the content on their services.

Fandor’s subscriber gambit comes after the service tapped Chris Kelly as CEO and John Zamoiski to serve as its first CMO. While it doesn’t have the scale WarnerMedia has, the company is betting it may be able to lure in enough subscribers to make a sustainable business.