Actress Maria Conchita Alonso attends the Los Angeles premiere of “God’s Not Dead: We The People” at Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City on September 21, 2021 in Universal City, California.
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Sony Pictures Entertainment and its streaming service Pure Flix are making way for cable television.
The company’s streaming service, known for faith-based content, is merging with Great American Media, a recent upstart cable rival to the Hallmark Channel.
The combination gives Pure Flix content a place for traditional TV viewers. It will also bolster the slate for Great American’s Great American Family and Great American Living TV networks.
As part of the deal, which has yet to be closed, content from both Pure Flix and Great American Media will cross platforms.
Sony purchased Pure Flix in December 2020 for an unknown amount. The service, which includes content such as the “God’s Not Dead” movie franchise and “The Chosen” series, costs $7.99 a month and has about 1 million subscribers in the US and Canada.
The deal will also give Great American’s fledgling TV networks home streaming.
Great American Media and its two cable television networks were launched in 2021 by Bill Abbott, former CEO of Crown Media, the parent company of Hallmark Channel. During his tenure at Hallmark, he helped transform the network into a Christmas movie behemoth, which continues to draw some of cable television’s highest ratings during the holiday season.
Lori Loughlin is seen on December 31, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
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Abbott left Hallmark in 2020 after backlash over commercials featuring a same-sex wedding ceremony. The network pulled the ads after being pressured by a conservative group, then reversed course shortly after a gay rights advocacy group attempted to launch an advertising boycott.
Soon after, Abbott launched Major US media and signed deals with some of the top stars known for their Hallmark Channel movies and series.
Familiar Faces at Great American Media
- Danny McKellarwho starred as Winnie Cooper in the original “Wonder Years”
- Candace Cameron Burethe old queen of Hallmark holiday movies who recently got into trouble controversy about comments about same-sex couples
- Lori Loughlinthe former “Full House” cast member, which had been fired from Hallmark for her role in the 2019 college admissions scandal
Abbott will remain CEO of the merged companies and will report to the Board of Directors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Great American Media will retain a majority stake in the merged company.
Great American Media took the step of launching its content on traditional cable networks rather than a streaming service at a time when more and more customers are fleeing cable bundles in favor of streaming. Cable subscriber losses continued to mount in the most recent quarter.
While the company’s networks are available in 50 million pay TV homes, and touts being the fastest growing TV network based on Nielsen ratings, it has yet to launch its own streaming service.
Instead, the networks are included in Internet TV bundles, such as Frndly TV and Fubo. Great American Media also has a free ad-supported channel for its content.