- RetroCrush's DTC app has seen its monthly active users rise
660 percent, minutes watched jump 95 percent, and paid subscribers
rise 17 percent year-over-year
- Channel also generated a 15% YouTube Subscriber Increase in
Year Since Cinedigm's Acquisition of DMR
LOS
ANGELES, May 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --
RetroCrush, experiencing strong distribution and subscriber
growth, is turning anime into a red-hot genre among the
Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM) family of channels. The
surge of the genre gives Cinedigm, the premier independent
streaming entertainment company super-serving enthusiast audiences,
another expanding content category – alongside other genres such as
horror and faith & family.
Anime is the 3rd most in-demand subgenre worldwide (5.5% demand
share) according to Parrot Analytics with around 30% of American
adults being a fan of anime (according to Morning Consult). In
addition, while Anime is the most popular in Japan, the United
States is the largest international market for Anime
(according to Parrot Analytics).
Thanks to new distribution and continued growth across paid
subscribers, YouTube and its social footprint, and overall monthly
viewership across its SVOD, AVOD and FAST offerings, RetroCrush has
become the top independent anime streaming brand. During the
last year, the RetroCrush FAST channel has added distribution
partnerships that include Samsung TV Plus, Sling TV, Philo and Amazon Freevee.
Additionally, Cinedigm has announced today the rebranding of its
Viewster Anime channel as RetroCrush – now available as an a la
carte SVOD option on The Roku Channel. Concurrently, RetroCrush has
begun to roll out its newest version, powered by Cinedigm's
proprietary Matchpoint Blueprint 2.0 platform, across desktop,
mobile and CTV devices.
During the last year, since Cinedigm acquired RetroCrush from
DMR (along with several other streaming channels), RetroCrush's DTC
app has seen its monthly active users rise 660 percent, minutes
watched jump 95 percent, and paid subscribers rise 17 percent
year-over-year. On social media, RetroCrush's YouTube subscriber
base jumped 15 percent to nearly 900,000 subs, making it Cinedigm's
second most subscribed YouTube channel after only AsianCrush, and
its total Instagram followers rose 4X during the same period of
time.
Noted EVP and General Manager, Cinedigm Networks, David Chu, "By curating top-quality content and
expanding its availability, RetroCrush has become a go-to
destination for fans of classic anime movies and TV series. It's
hard to believe that RetroCrush launched on social media just a few
years ago and quickly grew into a full-fledged VOD and FAST channel
with a passionate fanbase. The channel's continued success is a
testament to the strength of being a part of the Cinedigm streaming
portfolio for the past year, and we look forward to the next phase
of growth."
Driven by its growing popularity and position in the streaming
anime space, the company is taking a 360-degree approach to genre,
as it has successfully done with others such as horror. It has
plans to expand the RetroCrush brand through audio content as part
of the Cinedigm Podcast Network, and is actively pursuing
editorial, consumer products, home entertainment and strategic
theatrical distribution opportunities.
RetroCrush is adding a variety of new content ranging from the
Yu-Gi-Oh series and movies (all of which are classic
properties), the Urusei Yatsura movie collection, and
for the first time ever, a new remastered version of Nadia:
The Secret of Blue Water will be available exclusively for
streaming this June via the company's partnership with GKIDS.
ABOUT RETROCRUSH
RetroCrush (www.retrocrush.tv) is
dedicated to the Golden Age of anime, highlighting classic anime
movies and series for old and new fans alike. The RetroCrush
line-up includes more than 200 series and 40 features.
It is available at www.retrocrush.tv, and as a VOD app on
Android and iOS mobile phones and tablets, connected TV (CTV)
devices from Apple TV, Chromecast, FireTV Google TV, Roku, and
smart TV's including LG and VIZIO. Additionally, RetroCrush is
available on Amazon Freevee, LG Smart TVs, Peacock, Philo, Samsung TV Plus, Sling Freestream, The
Roku Channel, Redbox, Vizio SmartCast, and Plex as a free streaming
linear channel, and on Pluto TV as a VOD playlist. Follow
RetroCrush at YouTube.com/retrocrush and on social media at
Facebook.com/retrocrush.tv, Instagram.com/retrocrush.tv,
Twitter.com/retrocrush_tv and on Discord.
ABOUT CINEDIGM
For more than 20 years, Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM)
has led the digital transformation of the entertainment industry.
Today, Cinedigm entertains consumers around the globe by providing
premium feature film and television series, enthusiast streaming
channels and technology services to the world's largest media,
retail and technology companies. As a leader in the rapidly
evolving streaming ecosystem, Cinedigm continues its legacy as an
innovator through its adoption of next-generation technologies,
such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, through its
proprietary, highly scalable
Matchpoint™ technology platform. For more information,
visit cinedigm.com.
PRESS CONTACTS FOR
CIDM:
Matt Biscuiti - The Lippin Group
for Cinedigm
cinedigm@lippingroup.com
Julie Milstead
investorrelations@cinedigm.com
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SOURCE Cinedigm Corp.