CuriosityStream Goes Public, Will Be 'Factual Leader,' Founder John Hendricks Says

CuriosityStream, the premium streaming service started by Discovery Network co-founder John Hendricks that features non-fiction programming, had a strong first day as a public company.

The company stock rose 14% on Thursday and closed at $1.43, after CuriosityStream agreed to go public through a merger with Software Acquisition Group, a so-called special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that buys companies with the intent of taking them public.

CuriosityStream says it has 13 million subscribers in more than 175 countries and is priced at $2.99 per month, or $19.99 a year.
The service has a broad range of factual categories including science/technology, history, medical, food, and lifestyle.

Clint Stinchcomb will serve as president and CEO of CuriosityStream.

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Hendricks, who is chairman of CuriosityStream and the company's largest shareholder, said at a recent investor conference, the new service would pursue a similar non-fictional programming/documentary content tack when he started Discovery Channel some three-and-a-half decades ago:

“We're going to participate as the factual leader,” he said, when it comes to the specific type of programming content. At the same time, he added: “We do not see our role as a niche service in any way.”

CuriosityStream has more than 3,000 titles, including over 900 exclusive originals. It intends to have a streaming library of more than 11,000 premium factual titles within five years.

CuriosityStream’s distribution partners include Comcast Xfinity, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Channels, Sling TV, YouTube TV, Cox, Dish, and T-Mobile -- as well as on smart TVs platforms such as Sony, LG, Samsung, and Vizio.

Streaming devices include Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Chromecast, and Apple TV.

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